OMERS positive impact on Ontario's economy

September 21, 2015

Not only does OMERS provide secure and sustainable pensions to members, OMERS also has a positive impact on local communities and the economy. This happens in two ways: through the spending patterns of our retired members and through our investments in the province. In 2014, OMERS paid out $3.1 billion in benefits to more than 135,000 pensioners. That’s bigger than the annual payroll of some major corporations. Our pensioners then spend that money in their communities, which contributes to the strength of the economy.

Making significant investments in our communities

OMERS is invested in many businesses in Ontario that support thousands of jobs in our communities. Our portfolio includes interests in the following assets across the province.

Bruce Power

  • Provides 30% of Ontario’s electricity at 30% below the average cost of power in the province, keeping prices low for families and businesses.
  • Keeps the air in Ontario clean by providing 70% of the additional energy needed to phase out the use of electricity from coal.
Bruce Power

Teranet

  • Teranet is the operator of the province of Ontario’s Electronic Land Registry System under a 50-year exclusive agreement with the government.
  • Serves more than 81,000 end users, 34 real estate boards and over 250 municipalities and institutions.
  • Will provide annual royalty payments to Ontario starting in 2017.
Teranet

RBC Waterpark Place

  • Toronto's first new-build LEED Platinum Core and Shell office tower.
  • New direct PATH bridge to Union Station, connecting the waterfront to the core.

Hospitals

  • Three hospital projects since 2004: The Royal Ottawa Hospital (opened in 2006), Brampton Civic (2007) and Niagara Health System (2012).
  • These three, new, state-of-the-art projects brought over 1,100 beds into the Ontario healthcare system.

D2L

  • D2L provides e-learning solutions through the Brightspace learning platform.
  • Headquartered in Kitchener with offices in North America, Europe, Australia, South America and Asia.
  • Technology is used by more than 1,100 clients and 15 million learners in higher education

Shopping Centre portfolio

  • Ontario Shopping Centres: Upper Canada Mall (Newmarket), Hillcrest Mall (Richmond Hill), Square One (Mississauga), and Scarborough Town Centre and Yorkdale (Toronto).
  • Creates jobs and generates tax income.

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