Collingwood Mayor Chris Carrier welcomed a special guest to town on Friday, July 31st. The Honourable Diane Ablonczy, MP for Calgary-Nose Hill and Federal Minister of State (Small Business and Tourism) was treated to a downtown walking tour by Mayor Carrier and other town officials. Carrier was joined by Simcoe-Grey MP Helena Guergis, Collus Executive Director Ed Houghton, Downtown BIA General Manager Sue Nicholson, Economic Development Officer Catherine Durrant and downtown businessman Ed Christie. Christie's invitation was extended with respect to his long-time commitment to heritage, and his contribution to Collingwood's downtown heritage district.

Ablonczy was visibly impressed with the buildings downtown. Mayor Carrier talked about how the town has taken on a leadership role not only Ontario but throughout Canada in preserving Heritage while at the same time, moving forward with new development. He talked of how proud town officials were to learn that Collingwood's downtown district had been recognized as a "Special Place" honoured as a heritage district by the Federal Government, the first downtown district to receive such an honour. Carrier talked about how the new Loblaws store provided a new modern facility for Collingwood residents while at the same time embracing the heritage values already in place downtown. He talked about the downtown murals and how they celebrate the town's proud history. Ablonczy learned more about the new Shipyards development, and how the downtown will be extended to the water's edge for the first time in over a century.

Collingwood businessman Ed Christie was a driving force behind the first revitalization project in downtown Collingwood. He provided Ablonczy with the history of how the downtown was redeveloped 30 years ago, and how the downtown district has continued to grow over the years.

M.P. Helena Guergis accompanied the Tourism Minister on the walk through the downtown streets. Guergis was on hand earlier this summer to deliver a cheque from the federal government in the amount of $2 million dollars for the Downtown Collingwood Infrastructure Rehabilitation and Economic Revitalization Plan. In addition, the provincial government contributed $2 million dollars to the project, the Town of Collingwood will invest $2 million dollars and the Collingwood Downtown Business Improvement Area will add another $1 million dollars to the downtown revitalization project.

Collingwood is a thriving municipality with an outstanding downtown district. Ablonczy no doubt went away knowing that the future is bright for the town's downtown and for tourism not only in Collingwood, but throughout the Simcoe-Grey district.