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Simcoe County not shortlisted for Amazon's second headquarters

Toronto only Canadian city still in the running
2017010-19 Simcoe County Amazon bid
Pictured are CAO County of Simcoe Mark Aitken; Warden Gerry Marshall; Rachel Sullivan, manager Economic Development on Oct. 19, 2017. Sue Sgambati/BarrieToday

Amazon has announced the communities that will proceed to the next step in the HQ2 process and the County of Simcoe is not on the list.   The County threw its hat in the ring in October, hoping to win the financial boon of having the new HQ.

The bid was among 238 communities to compete and be narrowed to a list of 20. 

The County's pitch was titled the 'North of Ordinary.' 

Warden Gerry Marshall says it showed the GTA, the province, the federal government, and international markets that the Simcoe County experience and opportunity is North of Ordinary – 'beyond regular – and investment ready.'

 "Our bid to bring Amazon’s second world-headquarters to Simcoe County appears to have formally ended, but our efforts to promote our region to business investors around the world can certainly be viewed as a huge success and we celebrate the businesses and industries that are already located here and have discovered the benefits of working and living in this region. Our objectives were to promote our area with the goal of ultimately creating jobs and investment in Simcoe County," Marshall said in a statement. 

 He called the bid 'very impressive and serious' and noted it was endorsed by federal and provincial partners.

"Landing Amazon was always going to be a challenge for each jurisdiction that made a submission but absolutely worth the effort for us to showcase our region and attract other businesses and economic growth to our area," Marshall said.  

"Our message was heard by industry, businesses, and our residents that we are open for business. We offer something unique too – something that business leaders and workers want – an incredible alternative to the huge and expensive urban centres. Many business leaders and industries have told us that and proven it by locating here in Central Ontario."

 The County of Simcoe announced its bid on Oct. 19, 2017. 

Three potential sites in South Simcoe – Innisfil, Bradford West Gwillimbury and an undisclosed site – were part of the pitch.

The announcement was made at the Lake Simcoe Regional Airport with a staged delivery of a box from Amazon to County of Simcoe Warden Gerry Marshall. 

Toronto is the only Canadian city still in the running for the headquarters and Marshall says Simcoe County is ready to help. 

"We welcome other businesses and industries to reach out and join the North of Ordinary movement. We certainly remain available to assist the Toronto bid partners and the Province of Ontario in any way on their continuing efforts with Amazon.

Amazon HQ2 will be Amazon’s second headquarters in North America.

The company expects to invest over $5 billion in construction and grow the second headquarters to include as many as 50,000 high-paying jobs – it will be a full equal to its current campus in Seattle.

In addition to Amazon’s direct hiring and investment, construction and ongoing operation of Amazon HQ2 is expected to create tens of thousands of additional jobs and tens of billions of dollars in additional investment in the surrounding community.