The Chatham-Kent Chamber of Commerce warns that the economic boon to be created by the Great Lakes Transformation Action Plan may take a while to materialize, but adds that there's a great opportunity for local businesses when it arrives.
The plan was launched at the end of September 2025 and has lofty goals, including attracting 500,000 new sustainable industries across the Great Lakes Region, creating 18 million jobs, while balancing economic gain with freshwater protection over the next decade.
The plan also addresses key threats, such as climate change, toxic exposure, harmful algal blooms, and contaminated beaches.
Over 350 communities are represented in this plan, including Chatham-Kent (CK).
Chatham-Kent Chamber of Commerce President and Chief Executive Officer Rory Ring told CK News Today the plan is ambitious, but it will have some challenges to secure private sector investment and to implement, including U.S. President Trump's climate change denial.
"We've got some friction between how Canada views climate change and the need for sustainability and sustainable supply chains, and we have the rhetoric that's coming from the Trump Administration in the U.S. right now, really declaring climate change as a hoax," said Ring.
Ring said the private sector is key to getting this plan implemented, adding that they will line up if the return on investment is lucrative and if the younger, environment-conscious generations demand it.
"The private sector will react to the demands of those consumers, those investors, those with capital, and those willing to invest in these particular areas," he said.
Ring noted that CK is in a great spot to take advantage of this initiative, being on major transportation corridors and close to the Great Lakes.
He added that CK is an attractive place for these types of investments, but reminded organizing bodies and senior governments to encourage the investment with streamlined policy and reduced red tape.
