'Completely off guard': Central Elgin mayor shocked by province annexing 700 acres

The mayor of Central Elgin said he was “taken completely off guard” when he found out that the province of Ontario was annexing 700 acres into the city of St. Thomas, Ont.

“I think a little more than surprised,” said Sloan, when responding to Bill 63, which was introduced by the province, to consolidate land with St. Thomas for an investment-read mega site.

The 700 acres is in addition to the 800 acres St. Thomas purchased in 2022.

“Of the 1,500 acres 75 per cent of that lies in Central Elgin,” said Sloan. “The concern that Central Elgin has, is that some of that was marked for development land for economic development for Central Elgin. Now we’ve lost that revenue.”

Central Elgin Mayor Andrew Sloan has a laugh during the Central Elgin Council meeting on Feb. 27, 2023 (Brent Lale/CTV News London)Bill 63, the St. Thomas-Central Elgin Boundary Adjustment Act, allowed the lands to be under one municipality, and would cut down on red tape when dealing with building, planning and roads development.

On Tuesday, the Canadian Commercial Real Estate investors said in a statement, “the clustering around these plants will create significant employment opportunities and growth across the region.”

There are rumours that it could be an EV battery plant, with Volkswagen involved.

“The type of operation we are talking about, and the size of operation we are talking to needs everyone on board,” said Joe Preston, St. Thomas’ mayor.

He added, “Jobs is a big part of growth in St. Thomas and the area. We’ve accumulated the land to bring together a very large possibility for future jobs. I have to keep smiling about it, and we’ll get there with neighbouring municipalities.”

Central Elgin farmers Tom Martin and Diane Dubois live just outside to the new boundary on Edgeware Line. They are among many ratepayers who are concerned about the loss of 1,500 acres of farmland.

Tom Martin (left) and Diane Dubois are Central Elgin farmers who live just outside the new boundary. They are upset at Bill 63, and the annexation of land into St. Thomas, Ont. (Brent Lale/CTV News London)

“A society that loses its class one farmland is not a society that's going to live forever,” said Martin.

He’s not thrilled about no public consultation to a potential factory build in his area. The duo also have many questions about what's next.

“The new bill [Bill 63] says that the minister can opt to take land at any time, and for any reason,” said Dubois. “That could happen anytime. So we'll always be sitting on this precipice.”

Martin wonders what happens if the province wants to keep moving east of Yarmouth Centre Road.

“If they need another factory? Are they're just going to move here and say, ‘Well, Tom, you’ve gotta move now,” said Martin.

Sloan said he'll be reaching out to meet with the minister of economic development, job creation & trade and the minister of municipal affairs and housing to immediately discuss the annexation. He's looking to find out how it will impact the Central Elgin ratepayer.

A map showing the new boundary of the City of St. Thomas, Ont. The red area is lands which have been added to the city. (Source: Elgin County)

“We need our own economic development to ensure that our taxes and our water rates can be competitive, but we've lost that revenue, not just today, but going forward,” said Sloan.

Preston said last week when the province launched the legislation he immediately called Sloan and Elgin County Warden Ed Ketchabaw.

Preston said if Sloan had questions, he could just return his call.

“The legislation talks about us sharing with Central Elgin and facilitated conversations to do it,” said Preston. “My phone has not rung since then, so I can assume everyone is pleased with where we are headed. If not, everyone has my phone number and I’m happy to chat.”

Preston added the land accumulation has been done with “nothing but good will from the people who own the lands, and they were happy to sell it to us.”