There were no major job announcements or bombshells but London's Mayor painted a relatively rosy picture of the city for 2016.
Matt Brown delivered his second State of the City address at the London Convention Centre Tuesday. Roughly 1,300 people were in attendance for the annual event.
Brown spoke of 9,000 new jobs created over the last year and the city's first ever multi-year budget.
He used the forum to announce the launch of "London Inc." a portal created by the London Economic Development Corporation (LEDC) to provide assistance to entrepreneurs trying to get their business off the ground.
"What we hear from our start-ups, what we hear from our entrepreneurs is that they have a lot of challenges getting started," says Brown. "They have a lot of challenges also when they grow. The LEDC has heard that message loudly and clearly. They are going to come together with a program that will provide the kinds of supports these small businesses need to get off on the right foot."
Brown also used his State of the City address to go over many of the plans and proposals council began work on in 2015, including the London Plan and the Dundas flex street. He used that as a bridge to shift focus back to the rapid transit proposal, something he says "binds" all of the city building plans together.
Prior to showing a made-in-London video on rapid transit, Brown told the crowd, "we know that London's population will grow by 77,000 people over the next 20 years. We expect there to be 25% or more cars on the road by that time as well. We cannot maintain the status quo."
Speaking after the function, Brown spoke positively about getting funding for a rapid transit system.
"We know that the provincial government has identified London as a potential site for rapid transit investment," says Brown. "We have also had some good conversations with our federal partners as well. What we need to do now over the next several weeks is reach out to those funding partners to ensure that they understand that this is a project that is ready to go. We need their help to make it a reality."
Perhaps the most exciting piece of information to come from the annual remarks was the announcement of the return of the London Air Show. The event makes its return in September following a 12 year hiatus and is expected to draw 25,000 people from across southwestern Ontario.
However, Brown could not say whether the city would be kicking in money to get the show off the ground.
Brown touched on the Mayor's Advisory Panel on Poverty and the mission to resettle Syrian refugees in London.
To date, 346 government-assisted refugees have come to the city, with another 450 expected by the end of February.
At the end, Brown thanked city employees for their hard work and dedication towards building a better London, and the citizens of London for sharing their insight and holding him and council to account.
He was rewarded with a standing ovation for a second year in a row.