The City of Greater Sudbury is pleased to share that Melissa Riou has been promoted to the role of Director of Planning Services overseeing development approvals, geographic information systems and strategic and environmental planning.

Ms. Riou joined the City as a Senior Planner in 2016 and was most recently Interim Manager of Strategic and Environmental Planning. She is a Registered Professional Planner and a member of the Canadian Institute of Planners. Melissa holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Geography from Laurentian University and a Master of Applied Environmental Studies from the University of Waterloo.

Before her time with the City of Greater Sudbury, she also served as Director of Planning for the Sudbury East Planning Board from 2011 to 2016, and as a Planner for Oxford County from 2005 to 2011. Since joining the city, she has led several significant policy development initiatives, including the Employment Lands Strategy and the Housing Supply Strategy. Her extensive experience in municipal planning will serve her well in her new role.

“Melissa’s depth of experience and demonstrated leadership in key growth portfolios for the City make her an excellent fit for this role,” said Kris Longston, General Manager of Planning and Growth. “She has been an integral part of the Planning Services department’s initiatives during her career with the City so far, and I look forward to continuing to work with her in this new capacity.”

"I am honoured to take on this new role within the City," said Melissa Riou. "The work we are doing to drive growth in our community is essential, and I have an excellent team to work alongside. My time with them has prepared me well and I am excited to take on this new challenge."

Ms. Riou begins her new role on Monday December 1, 2025 reporting to the General Manager of Planning and Growth.

We are proud to share that Zoocasa has ranked the City of Greater Sudbury among the hottest real estate markets in Canada for 2025!

While we know this already, it's wonderful to see that we are being recognized on a national level for being a place that people want to live, work, play and invest. Not only are we a hot market in 2025, we've seen Y-O-Y growth, meaning our marketing is constantly growing and improving.

Interested to read the full report? Click here: https://www.zoocasa.com/blog/autumn-markets-2025/

Zoocasa is an award-winning prop-tech company, leveraging data and technology to provide an intelligent, end-to-end real estate experience.

The City of Greater Sudbury’s proposed budget was presented to the Finance and Administration Committee at its meeting Tuesday.

The proposed budget outlines a balanced approach to maintaining core services, investing in critical infrastructure and supporting Council’s strategic priorities, including housing, economic growth and community well-being.

The City’s proposed budget includes an increase of 0.9 per cent to support municipal operations, ensuring continued delivery of essential services to residents. In addition, capital funding to support roads, public facilities and other vital infrastructure brings the total municipal budget increase to 2.7 per cent. Including service partners such as the Greater Sudbury Police Service (GSPS), Public Health Sudbury & Districts and the Greater Sudbury Public Library (GSPL), the overall property tax impact is 5.7 per cent.

The proposed budget outlines a total capital investment of $583.2 million over two years, focused on renewing and maintaining the city’s critical infrastructure. The budget also includes the costs for continued support for key community partners such as GSPS, Public Health Sudbury & Districts, GSPL and Conservation Sudbury, along with several business cases for Council’s consideration.

City Council will review the proposed budget during public deliberations scheduled to begin December 2, 2025. Once approved, the budget will guide City operations and investments. Meetings can be viewed online at greatersudbury.ca/agendas.

For more information, visit greatersudbury.ca/budget.

The Greater Sudbury labour force survey results for October 2025 are in.

The unemployment rate for Greater Sudbury (Census Metropolitan Area) in October is 6.6%. For comparison, the unemployment rate in Ontario is 7.8% and Canada is 7%.

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) recently released the housing starts for 2025 across Canada.

The six-month trend in housing starts increased (4.1%) in September (277,147 units), according to CMHC. The trend measure is a six-month moving average of the seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of total housing starts for all areas in Canada.

Actual housing starts were up 19% year-over-year in centres with a population of 10,000 or greater, with 22,375 units recorded in September, compared to 18,806 units in September 2024. The year-to-date total was 178,033, up 5% from the same period in 2024.

To read the full report, click HERE.

The City of Greater Sudbury is inviting residents to share their priorities for the 2026-2027 municipal budget. Feedback can be provided from Wednesday, October 8, to Wednesday, October 22, 2025. Residents are encouraged to get involved and help shape Greater Sudbury’s future.

The municipal budget is the City’s business plan for the year. It outlines the costs of delivering the municipal services our community relies on, and the revenues that make them possible. The budget also helps residents understand how their tax dollars are used to invest in new infrastructure, repair existing assets and provide daily services that impact the quality of life of residents in Greater Sudbury.

Public input is an important part of the budget process. All feedback collected will be shared with City Council to ensure they understand the views of the community and can take them into consideration during budget deliberations.

Residents can provide their input in the following ways:

• Visit overtoyou.greatersudbury.ca to complete the official survey and use a variety of other public input tools.
• Call 311 to complete the survey over the phone with the assistance of a customer service representative. This service is available Monday to Friday during regular business hours.
• Complete a paper copy of the survey, available at all Greater Sudbury Public Library and Citizen Service Centre locations, and at the One-Stop Services Counter at Tom Davies Square.

The deadline to provide feedback is Wednesday, October 22, 2025.

The Greater Sudbury labour force survey results for September 2025 are in.

The unemployment rate for Greater Sudbury (Census Metropolitan Area) in September is 6.7%. The unemployment rate in Ontario is 7.8% and Canada is 7%.

The number of people employed in the city is 95,200, a drop of 200 from August 2025. Our employment indicator remains fully recovered from COVID-19 impact.

The participation rate is 62.7%, remaining the same as August 2025. The participation rate remains below the pre-COVID peak of 65.1% in May 2019.

Updated floodplain mapping for the Algonquin Road watershed will be on the agenda of the November 13, 2025, meeting of the General Board of Conservation Sudbury. Assuming the Members approve, the new mapping takes effect on November 14, 2025.

The City of Greater Sudbury is thrilled to announce the launch of the new Greater Sudbury Community Improvement Plan (GSCIP). This new plan is designed to stimulate economic growth and support vibrant, sustainable development across the city.

The GSCIP consolidates and modernizes three existing successful programs: the Affordable Housing CIP, the Strategic Core Areas CIP and the Brownfield Strategy and CIP. This streamlined approach will support mixed-use development, affordable housing, heritage conservation, and land redevelopment in key areas throughout Greater Sudbury.

Incentives are available as part of this CIP to drive revitalization, including the Tax Increment Equivalent Grant Programs, the Façade Improvement Program and the Housing Accelerator Program.

The GSCIP is now accepting applications. For more information, including eligibility criteria and how to apply, visit www.greatersudbury.ca/gscip.

The City of Greater Sudbury invites you to attend one of the upcoming Immigration 101 sessions to learn about pathways available to help your organization recruit and retain qualified international and francophone workers, beyond the RCIP and FCIP programs.

Sessions are open to hiring managers in Greater Sudbury and surrounding communities, including Estaire, French River, St.-Charles, Noëlville, Markstay-Warren, Killarney, and Gogama.

Please select one of the sessions below and click here submit your interest in attending. Submissions will close on Oct. 9, 2025, at 11:59 p.m.

If your registration is approved, you will receive a confirmation email with full event details by Oct. 16, 2025, at 11:59 p.m.