Sault Ste. Marie trying to convince remote workers to move there after pandemic

Sault Ste. Marie is hoping to be the new home for anyone who can work from home, and is looking for a new start after the pandemic.

The city is about to launch a marketing campaign aimed at remote workers who can choose where they live.

"There may be those given a taste of working from home and looking for a different lifestyle, who will be looking for places like Sault Ste. Marie to relocate and work from," says Tom Vair, the city's deputy chief administrative officer. 

In the past, the Sault has mentioned remote workers as a future driver of the local economy, possibly eventually replacing the big industrial plants the city was built around.

The city made a similar pitch in recent years to workers laid off by Bombardier in Thunder Bay and General Motors in Oshawa. 

Vair says this time the city hopes to target people originally from the Sault who want to move back, and who will help promote the city to others.

There is no word yet on how much this marketing campaign will cost Sault Ste. Marie taxpayers.