round destination spot for tourists.
#SOMETHINGSHAPPENING
Leamington sported the name ‘the toma-
to capital of Canada’ for a long time, but
when the H. J. Heinz Company of Canada
closed its plant in 2013 after being opera-
tional for over 100 years, countless peo-
ple lost their livelihoods. Since Heinz was
the municipality’s largest employer at the
time, the departure was quite a blow to the
community, but low spirits did not last for
too long. “There were a lot of hours spent
here with various agencies trying to figure
out where to go from here,” said Mayor
Paterson and within a month or two, the
municipality started carving out Leaming-
ton’s future. “Council made several busi-
ness decisions to move the municipality
forward… we still refer to ourselves as
the Tomato Capital of Canada, but we are
looking at other branding strategies for the
future.”
“Even though we’re known for tomatoes,
the volume of other products that come
66 business elite canada
H
JUNE 2016
