A Canadian business magazine and website has placed Chatham-Kent 13th in its top 25 list of best places for business in the country.
PROFITguide.com ranks CK ahead of the likes of Vancouver, Windsor and Oakville based on a number of factors, including general lease rates and percentage of residents with bachelor's degrees.
Chatham-Kent Director of Economic Development Michael Burton says their 26.5% corporate income tax rate has certainly helped them attain this distinction.
"Our industrial tax rate is roughly half of what Windsor's rate is. So when we're out competing with some of these same communities also listed, this is a great comparison," says Burton.
While recent efforts by CK administration have failed to turn up many concrete and public deals, Burton says companies do take rankings like these into consideration.
Chatham-Kent is the only municipality in the list of 25 seeing consistent population decline. But Burton says this doesn't matter for industrial investors.
"When you're talking retail or commercial, that's a critical factor," explains Burton. "But what we're looking for is investment in industry, and they're not too concerned about fluctuations in the population growth."
PROFIT also ranked CK second in terms of business affordability.
