The Ontario government announced on Friday that it will give $1.5 million to Simcoe County for the expansion of the Lake Simcoe Regional Airport’s runway.
“The Lake Simcoe Regional Airport is a gateway to our community, and this expansion provides an opportunity for significant growth and increased economic activity right here in Oro-Medonte,” Barrie–Springwater–Oro-Medonte MPP Doug Downey said in a statement.
“I appreciate that the ministry of economic development has seen the great value in this project and understands the significant impacts it will bring to rural Ontario.”
The project involves widening the local airport’s runway from 100 feet to 150 feet as part of phase one of the planned expansion.
Currently, the existing runway is too short and narrow for large, corporate jet aircraft, most notably when there’s adverse weather conditions.
“The expansion of the Lake Simcoe Regional Airport runway will help to attract and encourage new economic development opportunities not only in Oro-Medonte but throughout the County of Simcoe,” Ontario’s economic development, job creation and trade minister, Vic Fedeli, said in a statement.