A significant number of residents are without work, planning their next move in a town of almost 10,000 that has no other large employer
“This isn’t our first rodeo with job losses in Smiths Falls,” said Luc Belanger, a Canopy employee who got laid off two weeks ago. Mr. Belanger’s mother lost her job more than a decade ago when the Rideau Regional Centre, a mental-health facility in Smiths Falls that employed more than 500 people, closed down at the height of the 2009 financial crisis.
The Cristina, an apartment development being constructed by Lépine on Elmsley St South in Smiths Falls, Ont., on Feb 13.When the pandemic hit it was to some extent a boon for Smiths Falls given it’s about a 45-minute drive from Ottawa. An influx of remote workers moved into Smiths Falls, snapping up property at a bargain compared to what they would have paid in larger cities.
Shawn Pankow, the current mayor of Smiths Falls, says he got a call from Canopy’s chief executive officer David Klein on Feb. 8, a day before the company was slated to announce its largest-ever round of layoffs: a 35-per-cent cut to its“I sensed it was not going to be good news,” Mr. Pankow told The Globe and Mail. “No one likes to see people lose their jobs and the people at Canopy who were making these decisions knew the people who were losing their jobs.
Canopy put Smiths Falls on the national radar, shone a positive light on the community and attracted other employers to the area, he points out. Critically, people in the town have gotten wealthier. Between 2015 and 2020, the average annual individual income jumped from $33,664 to $42,400. It is still, however, vastly below the provincial average of $52,600.
“Canopy has left a colossal hole in the economy of Smiths Falls,” said Scott Reid, the Conservative member of Parliament for Lanark-Frontenac-Kingston, the electoral district that includes Smiths Falls.“Tourism and remote work appear to be a permanent and beneficial part of the Smiths Falls economy, but I wouldn’t want to exaggerate how much that will help,” Mr. Reid said.
Mr. Belanger now faces a dilemma. If he stays in Smiths Falls, his job options are confined to small businesses in the area, potentially paying him much less than he used to earn at Canopy. He could move to Perth, Ont., a town to the west of Smiths Falls where the U.S. multinational 3M has a manufacturing plant.
Mr. Hawn, who has a background in sales and marketing, eventually opened his own brand strategy company. But he acknowledges he’s one of the luckier ones because of his educational level, and past work experience in sales.
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