Grand Rapids Mayor David La Grand and Vaughan, Ontario, Mayor Steven Del Duca signed the agreement Friday with hopes of spurring new international collaboration.
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Grand Rapids welcomed its seventh Sister City on Friday by signing an official agreement with a Canadian city near Toronto.
Grand Rapids Mayor David La Grand and Vaughan, Ontario, Mayor Steven Del Duca signed the agreement Friday with hopes of spurring new international collaboration.
“What stands out about Vaughan is how much we have in common,” Mayor La Grand said. “Both of our cities are growing, welcoming and investing in arts, culture and quality of life, and we share a strong commitment to innovation, economic opportunity and cultural vitality. At the same time, we each bring unique strengths – from Vaughan’s access to the Toronto region to our leadership in health care and advanced manufacturing. This Sister City Agreement creates meaningful ways for our communities to collaborate and opens real opportunities for our residents, students, artists and businesses to connect and learn from one another. I look forward to building strong connections and advancing initiatives that benefit both cities.”
The City of Grand Rapids says the new Sister City relationship will support a range of economic, social and cultural opportunities. According to a release, some of the benefits expected include:
Citizen diplomacy that helps residents connect across borders Economic development opportunities between two globally connected regions Student and artist exchanges that build cross‑cultural understanding Sports diplomacy and youth activities People‑to‑people relationships that strengthen goodwill over time
“It was a truly special day to welcome City of Grand Rapids Mayor David La Grand and City Manager Mark Washington to Vaughan City Hall as we formally embark on a Sister City partnership,” said Mayor Del Duca. “This agreement marks an important milestone for Vaughan as we strengthen our connections across the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Region. I am thrilled to work alongside the City of Grand Rapids, its Mayor and its leadership team, and we look forward to establishing strong, ongoing lines of communication to support collaboration at every level. By partnering with Grand Rapids, we are opening new doors for economic collaboration, innovation and cultural exchange that will benefit businesses, residents and institutions in both cities. The City of Vaughan is proud to enter this partnership and excited about the meaningful work ahead as we build a strong, future‑focused relationship together.”
The City of Vaughan says both cities share strengths in “advanced manufacturing, healthcare, food processing and cultural development.” The partnership is aimed at promoting knowledge exchange, business-to-business engagement, supplier matchmaking, sharing city-build priorities, innovation ideas, public art and inclusive community development,” according to both cities.
“Vaughan brings the energy of a major tourism hub with easy access to the whole Toronto region while Grand Rapids contributes its strengths in health care; life sciences; advanced manufacturing; design,” said Grand Rapids Sister Cities President Katherine Lee Baker. “When you put those together you get two cities with complementary strengths that can learn from each other create great opportunities for collaboration; exchange which is exactly why we pursued this Sister Cities partnership.”
Vaughan is located just north of Toronto in Ontario Canada. The city has about 360000 residents compared to about 200000 in Grand Rapids.
The six other Grand Rapids Sister Cities are:
Omihachiman Japan Bielsko-Biala Poland Ga District Ghana Gangnam-gu South Korea Perugia Italy Zapopan Mexico
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