North Bay officials are taking the city to Toronto in late January in hopes of bringing some former residents, who now reside in Toronto, back home.
The city announced the plan for the event called, "North Bay in the Six," at a press conference at city hall today.
The event will take place in Toronto on January 28 and will involve MP Anthony Rota, MPP Vic Fedeli, former Premier Mike Harris, members of city council and Invest North Bay officials.
The concept is similar to the boxing day "Mayor’s Think Tank" events that ran for more than six years in the last decade when Fedeli was Mayor.
See related: Home for the Think Tank
The goal of this event is to meet with business leaders in Toronto with ties to North Bay, to see if they want to come home.
“The main reason we wanted to do this was because often times business is done face to face and it is very hard for our municipal leaders in our community to get face to face with people who have actually left North Bay and it kind of gets us in the ear of people who have become business leaders down in the GTA to kind of remind them,’hey you are from North Bay, next time you have a business or a venture you want to start maybe you can consider your hometown of North Bay,’” said Tignanelli, who also moved back from Toronto to North Bay prior to running for council.
Mark Deacon is a successful businessman who is a vice president with a global firm. He and his partner moved their family back from the GTA more than a decade ago.
While Deacon will not be attending the event, he believes establishing yourself in the GTA and then moving back north makes sense.
“If you are at the point that you have a stable environment for your family, exceptional services and just a lifestyle that is unmatched by anything that Toronto can offer quite frankly, then it is time to come back,” said Deacon.
“If you really want a lifestyle that is family-focused, community-focused, with economic opportunities, then absolutely come back to North Bay.”
Anyone with leads on North Bay connected business people in Toronto that should be invited should contact city hall directly.
