Hawken has hungry eyes for southern sprawl.

Send them on up, there's lots of room. While southern Ontario municipalities are dealing with how to limit the amount of people settling within their borders, Temiskaming Shores Mayor James Hawken is doing just the opposite.

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Northern and southern Ontario have many differences but none so stark than in population concentration. So, when Hawken heard Uxbridge (40 kilometres northeast of Toronto) was trying to limit their net in-migration to zero it made him wonder how his neck of the woods can entice new Canadians to northern climes.

"That really kind of hit home because here we are thinking we have achieved a goal by not losing any more people and these guys would consider it a success if they achieved the same goal, but from a completely different perspective," he says.

Now that the town has amalgamated into Temiskaming Shores, council wants to stop the bleeding of youth out-migration while attracting new blood into the community.

An obstacle facing business growth in the area is the undersized workforce, he says. A declining population means fewer young people and therefore a declining workforce. Temiskaming's population is approximately 11,000, but there are another 30,000 people living within a 20-minute drive.

The plan for the future is to attract more people by using call centres, value-added agriculture, forestry re-manufacturing and tourism development, to strengthen the local economy.

But for now he is nurturing local businesses.

"If we are spending all our energy trying to attract new business without looking after those that are here, we may lose what we already have," he warns.

To understand the needs of each sector, Hawken will be introducing a business retention and expansion program. Through a lengthy survey given to a cross-section of private sector business leaders the municipality can determine "what works and what does not."

As the findings begin to flow in, the local government will then identify ways in which to best support their already rooted companies. An estimated 25 to 50 retailers, manufacturers, farmers, services-oriented businesses, forestry, transportation, tourism, biotechnology and mining sectors will be invited to take part in the project.

"(Business leaders) are the ones who are out there with their feet on the ground actually making things happen," so they should shape the vision for the future.

It is uncertain as to how many people they will require to proceed with the project, since it is in the formative stages and will not be implemented until next year.

"We want to make sure we are creating a positive environment for business here."

www.temiskamingshores.ca

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By KELLY LOUISEIZE

Northern Ontario Business