Ritsma recounts highs and lows in 2025 state of the city address

Stratford Mayor Martin Ritsma gives the state of the city address at the Stratford Country Club on April 9.

CONNOR LUCZKA, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Last year had some staggering highs for the City of Stratford, according to Mayor Martin Ritsma, but it also struggled with some troublesome lows.

Looking forward to 2025, Ritsma is hopeful that the community will remain as resilient as it has in the past.

On April 9, the Stratford and District Chamber of Commerce hosted the annual state of the city address, where Ritsma went over all that the municipality accomplished and was faced with in 2024, as well as looked ahead to 2025 and beyond.

“It’s pretty difficult to scale all the amazing things that are going on in Stratford,” Ritsma said. “So I apologize for the length, but I won’t apologize for the great deeds that I’m going to acknowledge here this moment. … Stratford is a vibrant, engaged and a growing community with a strong foundation. We are resilient. We strive to make Stratford inclusive for all residents, as well as our visitors, employers and employees.”

In an over hour-long speech, Ritsma went through the city’s strategic priorities, particularly praising each department at the city. He thanked retiring CAO Joan Thomson for her dedication to the city and its residents and thanked interim CAO Adam Betteridge for stepping up as the city looks for a new top staffer.

He praised the manufacturing and industrial sectors of the city, particularly highlighting the Wright Business Park expansion, which will see the construction of over 300,000 square feet in new industrial buildings through a number of Stratford-based companies.

With the U.S. tariffs placed on Canadian goods, capital expansion has largely paused among corporations, investStratford previously told the Times. After his address, Ritsma confirmed that while that is true, the expansions he spoke about in his address are carrying forward.

He further stated that there are some areas in the manufacturing sector he wants to see expanded, chiefly food processing.

“So much of our product that's produced in our local area, (an) area that produces $2 billion a day … we ship it as raw product to China, to the United States of America,” Ritsma explained. “I think one of the things we need to see is more food processing here, and then ship that finished product abroad.”

The development of the 2025 municipal budget was a huge undertaking for staff and council last year, not least because of the consistent downloading of responsibilities to municipalities by the province and the increase in capital and operating costs due to inflation.

Ritsma particularly praised Karmen Krueger, director of corporate services and treasurer for the city, for her dedication to responsible financial planning.

Many stakeholders in the city like the YMCA of Three Rivers, the Stratford School of Interaction Design and Business, the Stratford Public Library, the Stratford Festival, and Destination Stratford were likewise praised by the mayor, who went through some of the developments which occurred for each of them this year.

In terms of tourism, there were a lot of highlights in 2024. Lights On Stratford had its fifth festival that year and “did not disappoint,” according to Ritsma, and while the Stratford Festival posted a $1.1 million deficit, the season was a critical success that had a rise in ticket sales.

All in all, 1.7 million tourists came to Stratford in 2024, largely due to the efforts of the Festival and Destination Stratford working to make the city a year-round destination.

Concluding his state of the city address, Ritsma entreated everyone to lead with compassion as 2025 continues with just as many challenges, if not more, as 2024.

“To those here today and to our residents, thank you for your support and dedication to making our city a place that we can all be proud to call home together,” Ritsma said. “We are building a community that is vibrant, welcoming, and full of opportunity. I look forward to continuing this journey with you as we shape an even brighter future for our city.”