Hamilton, Ontario is a port city in Canada.

Biggest employers

+Hamilton's new work scene. Sector 1996 2006 % change Manufacturing 64,750 57,630 Health care & social assistance 30,630 40,080 Educational services 19,550 30,830 Construction 15,680 28,080 Finance, insurance, real estate 22,150 26,380 Professional, scientific and technical 13,400 23,930

Construction and real estate Average house prices in Hamilton were up almost 6 per cent in January 2007 compared to January 2006. The Realtors Association of Hamilton-Burlington says that 'Consumers are continuing to show confidence in resale housing' and reports that 823 properties were sold in January 2007, a 1 per cent decrease from the same period last year. The number of properties listed rose by almost 6 per cent to 1,723. During January 2007, 786 homes were sold, including 650 houses and 136 condominium properties. The average price of non-condominium properties was $268,729 while the average price of a condo was $193,735.

The city of Hamilton is ranked in its top 10 Ontario places (No. 5) to invest in real estate. Hamilton's economic diversification which is shifting away from the dirty steel town impression, new immigration to Canada from other parts of the country settling here, low mortgage rates, migration of housing refugees from Toronto, improved GO Transit service, completion of the Red Hill Valley Parkway and booming development at Hamilton airport in Glanbrook are all reasons for the new bloom on Hamilton's real estate market. The report also goes on to add that "Hamilton has lots of properties that are undervalued." All of this, however, was calculated before the 2008 economic recession.

Hamilton's Real Estate Hot Zones:

East End: Anywhere within 500 metres of a ramp from the Red Hill Valley Parkway is expected to open up economic potential in the area, especially the east mountain because of the "easier commute." Ainslie Wood and Westdale: Anywhere near McMaster University where investors continue to buy property as student housing. West End: Anywhere within 15-minutes of McMaster Innovation Park (being developed on Longwood Road) Downtown: Central city, north of Main Street. A lot of activity by landlords picking up two-family and three-family homes as income properties.

+Overall ($) Value of Construction Trends in City of Hamilton.Invest in Hamilton, Economic Development Review 2005, Hamilton Spectator insert; Wednesday, June 28, 2006. Page H8Invest in Hamilton, Economic Development Review 2006, Hamilton Spectator Insert; Tuesday, May 23, 2007, Page IH5Invest in Hamilton, Economic Development Review 2007 (May 2008) - Page 5 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 Residential 287,621,422 352,759,590 262,214,137 380,297,684 375,133,564 407,331,942 395,335,459 Commercial 71,141,096 107,703,082 58,914,038 75,335,634 79,082,418 108,702,496 126,391,840 Industrial 55,240,986 50,435,054 87,276,714 60,982,261 72,466,405 72,266,757 63,337,586 Institutional 97,338,063 150,485,309 252,615,083 74,466,736 106,656,106 85,829,122 210,207,720 Miscellaneous 3,979,497 2,951,608 3,374,797 4,084,400 7,541,108 8,417,498 6,446,743 TOTALS 515,321,064 664,334,643 664,394,769 595,166,715 640,879,601 682,547,815 801,719,318

Economy

The most important economic activity in Ontario is manufacturing, and the Toronto-Hamilton region is the most highly industrialized section of the country. The area from Oshawa, Ontario around the west end of Lake Ontario to Niagara Falls is known as the "Golden Horseshoe" and the centre of it is Hamilton. Under the 2001 Statistics Canada definition, the population was 6,704,598 in the 2001 census. In 2006 the population was approximately 8.1 million people. Major industrial products include motor vehicles and parts; iron, steel, and other metal products; foods and beverages; electrical goods; machinery; chemicals; petroleum and coal products; and paper products.

Steel industry As the largest steel manufacturing city in Canada and home of the two Steel giants; Stelco and Dofasco where 60% of all the steel in Canada is produced. It is the steel and metals manufacturing capital of Canada. In the last decade, Hamilton's heavy industry reached a stable level, Stelco has returned to profitability and on August 26, 2007 United States Steel Corporation acquired Stelco for $38.50 (Canadian) in cash per share, owning more than 76 percent of Stelco's outstanding shares. Dofasco in 1999 was the most profitable steel producer in North America and in 2000 it was the most profitable in Canada. It currently has approximately 7,300 employees at its Hamilton plant and produces over four million tons of steel annually, representing about 30% of Canada's flat rolled sheet steel shipments. In addition to being one of North America's most profitable steel companies, Dofasco has been named to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index seven years in a row. Dofasco’s wide range of steel products is sold to customers in the automotive, construction, energy, manufacturing, pipe and tube, appliance, packaging and steel distribution industries. Dofasco is currently a stand alone subsidiary of Arcelor Mittal, the world's largest steel producer. Previously ordered by the U.S. Department of Justice to divest itself of the Canadian company, Arcelor Mittal has now been allowed to retain Dofasco provided it sells several of its American assets instead.

National Steel Car Ltd., North America's leader in freight and passenger train cars and equipment is based in Hamilton. They have been building rail transportation products since 1912. National Steel Car recently won (January 2007) a contract for 1,200 custom-made railcars for TransLoad America, a New Jersey–based waste transport firm.

Science and education

With six hospital sites and six specialized healthcare facilities, Hamilton Health Sciences has the largest hospital-based workforce in Ontario – 15,000 staff, physicians and volunteers, serving approximately 2.2 million people in central south and central west Ontario. Hamilton Health Sciences' six unique hospitals include Hamilton General Hospital, Juravinski Hospital, McMaster Children's Hospital, McMaster University Medical Centre, St. Peter's Hospital, and West Lincoln Memorial Hospital. Hamilton Health Sciences is affiliated with McMaster University's Faculty of Health Sciences. It is one of the most comprehensive health care systems in Canada.

McMaster University was established in Hamilton in 1930. It is locally the sixth largest employer with approximately 3,500 full-time equivalent academic and support staff. It also has six partner hospitals in the city. Total student population is well over 27,000. Almost two-thirds of the students come from outside the immediate Hamilton region. McMaster's total impact on provincial GDP ($670 million in operating expenditures impacts plus $94 million in student/visitor expenditure impacts plus an estimated $525 million in technology and knowledge transfer impacts) is $1.289 billion. Capital project impacts and informal/unmeasurable knowledge transfer impacts are not included in this total, and would be in addition to the $1.289 billion estimate. A massive McMaster University research campus, McMaster Innovation Park, is being developed on the former Camco lands near Westdale. A recent $105 million CAD donation was given to McMaster's medical program from billionaire Michael G. DeGroote. It is the largest single cash gift in Canadian history and will be used to upgrade the current medical school, called the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine. He is also a benefactor to McMaster's business school the DeGroote School of Business.

The David Braley Cardiac, Vascular and Stroke Research Institute is a $90-million Research Centre that will be home to 500+ scientists and will be built right behind the Hamilton General Hospital. The new building with is expected to open in 2010. At least 250 new jobs will be added to the local economy. David Braley contributed $10-million towards the project. Braley's donation marks an important transition in Hamilton's economy, as he takes money he made in the industrial economy and uses it to help the community develop a more diverse economic base. David Braley is the president of auto-parts manufacturer Orlick Industries Ltd., former owner of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and current owner of the B.C. Lions. On August 19, 2008, Hamilton Health Sciences welcomed Prime Minister Stephen Harper to Hamilton General Hospital for the announcement of a $35 million grant from the Canada Foundation for Innovation. The money will support the construction of the David Braley Cardiac, Vascular & Stroke Research Institute which, when it is complete in 2009, will house two prestigious research teams—the Population Health Research Institute and the Henderson Research Centre.

Food and beverage industries

Oakrun Farm Bakery opened in 1978 in Ancaster by John & Ellie Voortman. The bakery has now grown to over in size and now produces over 20 different lines and variations of other high quality products. They are a premier supplier of fresh & frozen bakery products, and are currently aggressively targeting both the United States and Canadian market. They currently produce muffins, pancakes and McGriddles for Canadian and American McDonald's outlets and bagels, cookies and tarts for Tim Hortons outlets in Canada. Their product line also includes Danish pastries, cinnamon buns, pies, cakes, crumpets and waffles. The company in January 2007 went through massive expansion to their plant and warehousing facilities in Ancaster.

Bunge is an oilseed processing plant and Canada’s largest canola processor. It has crushing facilities in Altona and Harrowby, Manitoba; Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta; and Nipawin, Saskatchewan in addition to the processing plant in Hamilton. The Hamilton plant serves food manufacturers, the biodiesel industry and farmers in Ontario & Quebec. The first Tim Hortons franchise opened in Hamilton in 1964.

Hamilton Port Authority

The Hamilton Port Authority, formerly known as Hamilton Harbour Commission, handles over 12 million metric tonnes of cargo through over 700 vessels each year. This ranks Hamilton as the busiest of all the ports of Canada's Great Lakes and 28% of all movements on the St. Lawrence Seaway System. In 2006 Total ships in and out of the harbour was 739; Domestic/U.S.: 577 (78%), International: 162 (22%) from countries including Malaysia, Philippines, Russia and Brazil. Percentage of Imports: 87%, Percentage of Exports: 13%. International arrivals at the port grew from 130 ships in 2005 to 162 ships in 2006. In 2006 most of the materials arriving at the port include raw materials including iron ore and coal for steelmaking at Stelco and Dofasco, as well as imported steel from Brazil. The port also accepted 24,000 litres (5,280 Imp gallons) of bulk Jamaican rum. The oddest new arrival was windmill blades (some more than long) destined for wind farms in southern Ontario. This is the first year windmill parts have arrived in the port. Exports include 500,000 metric tonnes (550,000 short tons) of agricultural products including grain.

+Hamilton Port Authority (Total Tonnage).Invest in Hamilton, Economic Development Review 2006, Hamilton Spectator Insert; Tuesday, May 23, 2007, Page IH8 2003 2004 2005 2006 OVERSEAS Import 1,195,105 1,119,240 1,307,301 1,329,444 Export 88,860 130,208 275,074 144,956 Total 1,283,965 1,249,448 1,582,375 1,474,400 DOMESTIC & U.S. Imports 8,860,728 9,699,948 9,606,420 9,533,026 Export 880,053 1,058,436 1,170,716 1,585,304 Total 9,740,781 10,758,384 10,777,136 11,138,330 TOTAL TONNES 11,024,746 12,007,832 12,359,511 12,612,730

Hamilton Airport