Durham Region’s transformation from an automotive manufacturing hub to Canada’s Clean Energy Capital is gaining international recognition. As a finalist in the 2025 Place Brand Impact Story Awards, Durham is being celebrated for its strategic and research-driven approach to place branding, shifting perceptions and attracting investment.
In this interview, Jacquie Severs, Manager, Marketing and Tourism at Durham Region, shares the story behind this bold repositioning, the challenges of changing perceptions, and what’s next for the region’s clean energy leadership.
Jacquie, Durham Region has been recognised as a finalist in the 2025 Place Brand Impact Story Awards for its bold repositioning as Canada’s Clean Energy Capital. What inspired this transformation, and what does this recognition mean for the region?
Place branding must be authentic to the place. Durham Region has long been an automotive manufacturing centre, and while that remains an important economic driver, our energy sector is considerably larger in terms of economic impact and employment. However, it’s simply lesser known—locally, nationally, and internationally. Durham Region leads in clean energy generation, innovation, talent development, and all aspects of the supply chain that make it a strong industry cluster. I think that may have to do with how people think of electricity—it’s simply there when you turn the lights on, and it feels different from many consumer products.
With changes in the automotive industry over the past 20-plus years, being known as just a ‘car town’ has its challenges. We wanted to show both residents and potential investors that there is much more to Durham Region. We decided to focus on our strengths and investigated whether we could authentically claim the title of Clean Energy Capital of Canada—and found that we could. From there, we forged ahead with our strategy.
Being recognised for these efforts is incredibly valuable. It raises our international profile, validates our approach, and strengthens our efforts to build awareness of our community.
Your strategy focused on a methodical, research-backed approach rather than a splashy campaign. Can you walk us through some of the key steps that helped establish Durham’s new identity in a credible and lasting way?
That is correct. We ensured we could back up the claim first by understanding the sector, its workforce, the scale of energy production, and the complexity of the industry cluster. From there, instead of launching a big campaign, we focused on creating ambassadors who would tell the story for us. While the claim was authentic, we believed it would be most powerfully communicated by others rather than through traditional marketing. For example, when elected officials mentioned it during announcements, or when the energy community itself adopted the messaging in their press releases, it carried more weight.
We may transition to a campaign model in the future now that the claim has gained acceptance among key stakeholders. Ultimately, it’s not about our economic development office having ownership—it’s about the wider community taking pride in it. We have made major progress toward this goal through consistent and methodical messaging, repetition, and strategic communications.
One key step was the creation of a pocket-sized document outlining the claim. We distributed it to elected officials and senior government staff to inform speaking notes and messaging. We also trained individuals on its content and used it as a benchmark to ensure that messaging across various projects aligned with our key narratives. This ensured our core messages were consistently conveyed in conversations, speeches, and media coverage.
The judges praised the initiative for successfully shifting Durham’s image from an industrial past to an emerging clean energy hub. What have been some of the biggest challenges in changing perceptions, both internally and externally?
Changing perceptions takes time, and it doesn’t happen overnight. As a marketer, one of the biggest challenges is patience. Progress can take years, and the wins may come in small steps rather than big breakthroughs. Staying the course—repeating the message consistently over time and resisting the temptation to jump to the next shiny thing—is critical but challenging, especially for creative professionals.
Externally, one of the biggest hurdles has been media representation. While our media coverage is generally positive, outdated imagery, video footage, or journalists who default to long-established narratives can slow progress. If a community is consistently framed in the same way, it becomes difficult to shift perceptions. Addressing this remains an ongoing challenge.
With major investments like Ontario Power Generation’s new headquarters and growing clean energy research facilities, Durham’s branding strategy is clearly making an impact. How has this recognition influenced economic development and investment attraction?
Economic development and investment attraction require a long-term strategy. There are many factors that influence investor decision-making, making it difficult to quantify the direct impact of marketing efforts. However, our place branding strategy aligns with a focused business development and investment attraction approach.
For example, alongside our marketing efforts, we are actively working on projects such as the sale of land in our designated Energy Park and supporting energy professional services investments in the region. We also participate in investment attraction initiatives, celebrating new openings and reinvestments. By maintaining a focused and collaborative strategy, we continue to attract new investment leads and increase awareness of Durham Region as a destination for energy-related investments. Working closely with partners across different levels of government and investment agencies strengthens our impact.
Looking ahead, what’s next for Durham Region’s place branding efforts? Are there new initiatives or developments that will further solidify its reputation as a leader in clean energy?
We plan to continue advancing our Clean Energy Capital of Canada positioning. As the claim gains traction, you may see us move toward a more campaign-driven approach, particularly as we market land in our community that is well-suited to energy companies.
One of the most exciting developments is the world’s first grid-tied Small Modular Reactors being developed right here in Durham Region. The opportunities emerging from this innovation are significant, and we will actively promote our clean energy leadership on a global scale to attract more talent and investment to the region.
Which cities, regions, or countries—whether in Canada or beyond—stand out to you for their approach to place branding?
I’ll give a shout-out to two! Kingston, Ontario, Canada has done a great job uniting economic development and tourism under a single brand that is creative, distinctly Canadian, and authentic.
I’m also a huge fan of the work being done in Sheffield, UK, a community with assets quite similar to those in Durham Region. I admire how well the Sheffield marketing group has brought together academia, the local community, and business stakeholders under a unified place branding strategy. Their ability to integrate tourism and investment attraction into one cohesive narrative is particularly impressive.
Thank you, Jacquie – and congratulations!
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