BED became BEDT - and then the wheels fall off

By Pepper Parr

November 7^th, 2025

BURLINGTON, ON

There is an arms length organization with the abbreviation BED.

That got upgraded to BEDT.

What was the Burlington Economic Development Corporation became the Burlington Economic Development and Tourism Corporation.

They began to get on with doing what they were created to do.

In their Annual report for 2024 they reported:

Annual report released in July of this year.

Burlington Economic Development and Tourism is proud to announce the release of its 2024 Annual Report, capturing a transformative year of strategic integration, expanded programming, and record-breaking impact across sectors. Representing the first annual report following the amalgamation of Burlington Economic Development and Tourism Burlington, it reflects a strengthened, more coordinated approach to growing Burlington’s economy and elevating the visitor experience.

In 2024, the organization supported over 800 businesses, helped attract more than 300 new jobs, and recorded $524 million in visitor spending—a 26% increase over 2023.

But the wheels came off.

In the Executive Summary of the Rubicon report, prepared by a consulting company, the recommendation was to dissolve BEDT and bring the economic development and tourism functions into the City’s corporate structure, adding that the relationship between the City and BEDT is broken and leaving the current model in place risks further erosion of trust, wasted resources, and lost economic opportunities.

It’s quite a story.  Council will be meeting in a Special session on Monday to determine what they should do.

The Gazette will provide a detailed outline on what happened at Council on Tuesday.  It was not a pretty picture

Whatever they do – it will be expensive.