Invest in Hamilton July 2026 Newsletter

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Invest in Hamilton July 2026 Newsletter

Welcome to the Invest in Hamilton July 2026 Newsletter. This month’s edition highlights the launch of the City of Hamilton's new streamlined Planning, Permitting, Licensing, and By-Law system, offering businesses a single point of contact for applications. The newsletter also covers critical updates on U.S. trade and tariffs, public consultations for a new agricultural community improvement plan, and the arrival of Graze Craze Charcuterie Boards & Boxes at City Hall’s Common House Café. Read on for additional updates from the Global Hamilton Office and the Hamilton Immigration Partnership Council.

Jul 31, 2026

Business Community Partners Newsletter

Welcome to July’s Invest in Hamilton Newsletter. This month welcomes consultation opportunities, streamlined systems at City Hall, and a new primary vendor at the Common House Café.

July saw the City of Hamilton launch a new Planning, Permitting, Licensing and By-Law system. This project offers a single point of contact for filing permits and applications with the Planning and Economic Development Department. Businesses and residents, alike, will also be able to use this platform to receive updates on their applications in real-time. I invite you to learn more about how this system is part of a meaningful change to strengthen Hamilton’s permitting process.

Members of the Economic Development team are currently exploring the feasibility of an agricultural community improvement plan for the City of Hamilton. One potential outcome of this study is the creation of grant programs and other financial incentives that would support Hamilton’s agricultural economy. More information on this project, as well as links to our public consultation on the new Economic Development Action Plan, are provided later in this newsletter.

Visitors to City Hall may notice a change on the first floor. Graze Craze Charcuterie Boards & Boxes has taken over operations of the Common House Café. While the menu may have changed, the Hamilton Business Centre’s commitment to using the Café as a way to help grow and mentor local businesses remains a consistent point of pride.

As change remains a constant for all of us, Economic Development staff are here to help support you and your business, regardless of size, scope, or mission.

Ray Kessler, Acting Director, Economic Development

In this issue

July’s Trade and Tariff Update
Hamilton Economic Development Receives Re-Accreditation
Welcoming Graze Craze to the Common House Cafe
Hamilton Immigration Partnership Council Launches a Newcomer Housing Guide
Hamilton’s Labour Market Advisory Table Explores AI
Updates from the Global Hamilton Office

July's Trade and Tariff Update

On July 1, 2026, negotiations for a renewal of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement reached an inflection point. The United States government announced its intention not to renew the trade pact for the sixteen years requested by the governments of Canada and Mexico.

In a statement following a trilateral meeting between member nations, Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc stated that the trade pact remains in force until 2036, and that it can be renewed at any time for another sixteen-year period.

Tariff uncertainty accelerated on July 20, 2026, as the United States announced a new tranche of tariffs on Canadian imports. The legislative context for these tariffs comes from Section 338 of the United States Tariff Act of 1930, also known as the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act. This act was originally engineered to raise tariffs on imported goods in an effort to shield American domestic production during the onset of the Great Depression.

These duties are set to begin on August 19, 2026, and would add a 50% tariff to an extensive array of products including alcohol, dairy products, wood products, paper products, greenhouse crops, and manufactured goods. Similar to Section 232 tariffs, these tariffs would apply to goods regardless of their CUSMA status.

The United States also announced another set of international tariffs on July 23, 2026, in response to allegations of forced labour in supply chains. Goods from Canada and Mexico will receive a 10% levy, while other nations will see a 12.5% rate applied to their goods.

To support businesses amid ongoing tariff-related challenges, the Business Development Bank of Canada has introduced new programs for companies impacted by metal and lumber supply chain disruptions. The Steel and Aluminum Support Program is available to qualified businesses headquartered in Canada with an annual revenue of $5 million or more. The Forestry Support Program is available to qualified businesses headquartered in Canada with an annual revenue of $2 million or more. Additionally, the sector-neutral Pivot to Grow Program is available to qualified businesses with a minimum of $2 million in revenue.

Looking for business funding? Try the Funding Finder

An ad for the City of Hamilton's new online planning, permitting, licensing, and by-law system at hamilton.ca/PPLB

The City of Hamilton's Economic Development Division staff posing for a picture in the city council chambers while holding up a plaque highlighting that the division is an Accredited Economic Development Organization.

Hamilton Economic Development Receives Re-Accreditation

On June 24, 2026, Norm Schleehahn and the entire Economic Development team were honoured by City Council for the Economic Development Office’s re-accreditation as an Accredited Economic Development Organization by the International Economic Development Council.

This accreditation is a rigorous and painstaking process. At present, only 99 economic development organizations in the world hold this standard of professional excellence. Hamilton’s Economic Development team is one of six Canadian and three Ontario-based economic development offices with this achievement.

The criteria for accreditation assess an economic development organization’s internal processes, its relationships with the local business community, and its capacity to interface with the community partners and economic cluster groups that reflect a municipality’s unique industries of strength.

Under Norm’s leadership, the adjudication committee found the Hamilton Economic Development team to be a “mature economic development organization navigating a decade of disturbance,” and offered special recognition of “exceptional resourcefulness in leveraging limited budgets into transformational outcomes.”

These outcomes included the completed lease agreement at the John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport, the TD Coliseum renovation, and major investments that include Amazon’s 855,000-square-foot YHM1 Warehouse, OmniaBio’s lifesaving cell and gene therapy production facility, and Bartek Ingredients creating the world’s largest malic and fumaric acid production facility.

Many congratulations to all staff in Economic Development. Their daily work and dedication to Hamilton made this accreditation possible.

Welcoming Graze Craze to the Common House Café

A fresh new experience has arrived at the Common House Café! Welcome Danielle Parkes and Stoney Creek’s Graze Craze.

Whether grabbing morning coffee, enjoying a fresh lunch, or looking for beautifully crafted charcuterie boxes, boards, and grab-and-go options, Graze Craze has something delicious in store.

The Common House Café exists to help Hamilton’s food entrepreneurs launch and grow their businesses. The entire Hamilton Business Centre team is thrilled to have Danielle and Graze Craze as part of that journey.

Follow Graze Craze on Instagram: @grazecraze_stoneycreek

Hamilton Immigration Partnership Council Launches Newcomer Housing Guide

The Hamilton Immigration Partnership Council is pleased to announce the release of their Newcomer Housing Guide.

This document seeks to address the day-to-day challenges that come with finding and maintaining housing as a newcomer to Canada. The guide provides clear and accessible information on searching for housing, applying for rentals, and understanding leases and rent payments.

Following up on the initial publication, HIPC staff are working to produce this document in French, Arabic, Spanish, and Dari. HIPC is also seeking collaboration with volunteer community translators who could make this document available in other languages.

Access the Newcomer Housing Guide

An ad for the City of Hamilton's Agriculture Community Improvement Plan (CIP), encouraging residents to contribute ideas and provide feedback

Consultation Opportunities: Agricultural Community Improvement Plan

The Economic Development Office is hosting two opportunities for consultation over the summer months.

The first is an invitation to a public consultation on the creation of a new 2026-2030 Economic Development Action Plan. This online-based consultation invites people living or working in Hamilton to share their vision for growing local economic prosperity to the end of the decade. The Action Plan’s engagement survey can be accessed through this link.

The second invitation is to provide comments on the City of Hamilton’s exploration of a new Agricultural Community Improvement Plan or CIP. This CIP could provide grants, incentives, and other supports for farm expansion, value-added agriculture, innovation, and business growth.

To provide input on this potential program, please feel free to connect with Tyson McMann via email.

AI Launch and Learn ad with the tagline: "Enhancing Your AI Readiness in 2026"

Hamilton’s Labour Market Advisory Table Explores AI

On July 16, 2026, Hamilton’s Labour Market Advisory Table hosted a free webinar that explored the transformation of AI from machine learning to the large language models that are now part of daily life.

The expert panel included Carrie Purcell, a technology entrepreneur and researcher focused on responsible AI adoption for small and medium-sized business, Ben Lee Taylor, who oversees writing support programs at McMaster University and has researched responses to generative AI in post-secondary education, and Mark Patterson, Founder and Executive Director of Magnet, whose work focuses on workforce innovation, skills development, and AI’s impact on careers and organizations.

The session explored the pillars of AI readiness through the lens of talent, technical foundations, data, and governance. The session further underscored the importance of human-centred decision-making while finding practical ways to safely and effectively use AI as a tool for automation.

Hamilton’s Labour Market Advisory Table was created as an action emerging out of Hamilton’s Workforce Strategy. The table brings together representatives from Fedcap Canada, the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce, the Industry Education Council of Hamilton, McMaster University, Mohawk College, Path Employment Services, Redeemer University, Workforce Planning Hamilton, and the Hamilton Economic Development team to ensure that our collective responses to changing labour market conditions are collaborative accelerators for positive change.

Updates from the Global Hamilton Office

Economic Development’s Global Hamilton Office focuses on investment attraction and trade, while also supporting the retention of international entrepreneurs and students who call Hamilton home.

These efforts are part of a broad, collaborative knowledge-sharing network within the Hamilton business ecosystem. The Global Hamilton Round Up is an extension of that network and provides a snapshot of Canada-wide opportunities for export, trade missions, and talent development.

Every month the Global Hamilton Office provides comprehensive updates and knowledge sharing to help support collaboration and growth across Hamilton’s internationally-focused economic development ecosystem. Click the link below to review this month’s update.

Read the latest from Global Hamilton

Would you like to know more?

The Hamilton Economic Development Division serves Hamilton by facilitating sustainable economic and ecological development aligned with the 2022-2026 Council Priorities. This goal is achieved through the attraction of new businesses, the retention and expansion of existing businesses, and the creation of quality employment opportunities.

Economic Development serves established businesses, start-ups, and entrepreneurs. For more information about starting or growing a business in Hamilton, please don’t hesitate to contact our staff through this link.