Hamilton’s bid to attract Amazon’s second North American headquarters is marching on.
City Council has voted to spend up to $500,000 on its bid to pursue the technology giant. That includes seeking $250,000 from the private sector, federal and provincial governments.
Ward 3 Councillor Matthew Green asked the question that may be on the minds of many during Wednesday evening’s debate, that being, “will a half-million dollar bid be competitive, or are we throwing good money after bad?”
City Manager Chris Murray believes that, yes, Hamilton’s bid can be competitive.
He notes that if Amazon chooses to come across the border into Canada, “the Southern Ontario economy is massive” and when you look at what we have to offer compared to our competitors, “we like our chances.”
Murray added that “we’re not all in on one company here.” He stresses that the products and materials produced for the Amazon bid will be used to lure other “big or medium-sized fish we want to approach.”
Mayor Fred Eisenberger notes that landing Amazon’s so-called HQ2 would involve the creation of 50,000 jobs in the next ten to fifteen years and $5 billion in capital expenditures.