Mayor Matt Brown touted economic momentum, business expansion, and a thousand new jobs as he delivered his annual State of the City address.
Brown's fourth such speech since becoming mayor drew 1,282 people to the London Convention Centre Tuesday morning.
Just a day after the province announced $170-million for the city's bus rapid transit (BRT) system, it came as no surprise that the mayor trumpeted the ambitious undertaking.
"It's time. This is a system we need. This is the system we need. This system will fight congestion and improve transportation for everyone," said Brown.
He took aim at his political rivals and BRT critics adding that rapid transit will benefit all Londoners and move the city forward.
"To suggest anything less than this system is selling us short. Londoners deserve better. BRT light is London light, and going halfway is good for absolutely no one," said Brown.
Nearly 2,000 people attended Mayor Matt Brown's State of the City address
He used the forum to announce outdoor retail giant SAIL would join IKEA in south London - creating 100 jobs, and the expansion of JMP Automation, Zomaron, and Diamond Aircraft.
"London has attracted $250-million in investments over the past three years and created 5,000 direct jobs in digital creative, advanced manufacturing, food and beverage processing, defence, and more," said Brown. "To the business leaders who continue to work hard and thrive, thank you for the sacrifices you make."
Brown also gave a nod to the city's fast-growing tech sector.
"It's barely 10 years old. It is now our fifth largest employer," said Brown. "This year, five London companies made Deloitte's Fast 50 list; Big Viking Games, Arcane, Big Blue Bubble, Voices.com, and Diply - 10% of the entire roster."
Amid all the positive, Brown took a few minutes to acknowledge those in the city living in poverty or struggling to find work. He noted 17% of Londoners are experiencing poverty and that the city currently has the third highest rate of child poverty in Canada.
"I was very happy that the mayor took a little bit of time to recognize the challenges that we have in the city with respect to employment and poverty," said Councillor Josh Morgan, who last year criticized the mayor for omitting city hall controversies in his speech. "We have to be talking about that at every available opportunity because we have to take action and that action is going to involve numerous partners across the city... that was not in previous years speeches and adding that to the speech this year is a step in the right direction."
Morgan commended Brown on this year's 35-minute address. He said it was "definitely a much better speech than last year."
But not all were as pleased with the State of the City address. Gateway Casinos and Entertainment, which plans to build a flashy casino and hotel complex in London, was not given a mention.
"It's a little disappointing quite frankly because we are investing $140-million here in London," said Gateway Spokesperson Rob Mitchell. "We have made London our corporate headquarters for our Ontario operations and we hope to be creating in excess of 700 new jobs. So when the mayor speaks of $300-million coming to the city this year, we are almost half of that."
Unlike Gateway, Brescia's new $14-million, 30,000 sq ft academic pavilion and two new buildings on the site of the old South Street Hospital made it into the speech. As did the April opening of The Factory and Powerhouse Brewing which are located within the old Kellogg plant.
Brown also unveiled a new support network and resource website for entrepreneurs - findyouranswers.biz.
At the end of the speech, Brown received applauses but no standing ovation as he has in years past. Despite that, he believes his message was well received by the crowd.
"I felt the excitement in the room and I am so thrilled that this many people came out to this Chamber of Commerce event to hear about the state of the city," said Brown.