The Ontario government is protecting tariff-impacted workers and industries in Prescott and Russell with an investment of $300,000 through the Trade-Impacted Communities Program (TICP).
The funding, announced on Tuesday, July 21 by Glengarry-Prescott-Russell Member of Parliament Stéphane Sarrazin will support the Prescott Russell Community Development Corporation’s (PRCDC) Strategic Territorial Positioning Project, an initiative dedicated to helping local businesses adapt to U.S. trade disruptions while positioning the region as a destination for investment, business growth, and expansion.
“Our businesses in Prescott and Russell have demonstrated remarkable resilience in the face of the economic challenges created by U.S. tariff barriers,” said Sarrazin.
“Through our government’s Trade-Impacted Communities Program, we are providing the PRCDC with the tools it needs to attract new investment, strengthen our regional economy, and help local businesses seize new opportunities for growth. I am proud to see our region benefit from an initiative that will protect jobs, enhance our economic competitiveness, and help ensure long-term prosperity,” he added.
In response to the disproportionate impact of U.S. tariffs on the local economy, the PRCDC will invest $315,000 to launch the Strategic Territorial Positioning Project. In line with the goals of the TICP, the project will support investment attraction, business retention and expansion, export market diversification, supply chain resilience, and long-term economic resiliency across the United Counties of Prescott and Russell.
“The uncertainty created by U.S. tariffs has placed significant pressure on many of our small and medium-sized businesses—the employers, manufacturers, and entrepreneurs who are the backbone of our local economy,” said PRCDC Chair Patrick Brousseau.
During the next 24 months, the PRCDC will implement a regional strategy to support small and medium size businesses affected by the tariffs. To meet these challenges, the project proposes to implement three structuring levers; 1. A strong, consistent territorial brand, which will improve the UCPR’s positioning on the provincial, national and international scales as a destination for investment, relocation and expansion for industries affected by the instability of commercial trade. 2. A bilingual website with an interactive map of commercial and industrial properties, providing accessible, up-to-date data for investors, to support rapid, transparent, pro-Ontario decision-making. 3. The integration of a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system to allow for professional monitoring of existing businesses and new investment opportunities, particularly those arising from supply chains seeking to deploy outside the United States.
