Earlier this week, drowned out by the news that General Motors was going to close its historic assembly operations in Oshawa, Ont., there was another big industrial announcement in Ontario. It wasn’t about cars.

It was about chickens.

Maple Leaf Foods said it was going to build a new $660-million poultry-processing plant in London, Ont., that would eventually employ 1,450 workers. The Ontario government was going to provide $34.5 million in grants while the federal government was chipping in $28 million to build a state-of-the art facility.

Canada’s growing tech talent is drawing more investment to cities like Toronto and Montreal, but the country could lose momentum if it doesn’t do more to encourage industries to scale up, according to CBRE Ltd.

The country lacks “tech clusters,” dense areas of activity that contain critical mass for companies and educational and research institutions, the Toronto-based brokerage said in a report Thursday. Tech clusters like those in San Francisco and Seattle have helped propel those cities to global success but Toronto is the only Canadian city competitive enough to rank among powerhouses in North America.

OSHAWA, ONT. — Out of 16 metropolitan areas across Canada, the Conference Board of Canada forecasts the City of Oshawa, Ont.’s economic growth to be the highest in the country at 2.6 per cent.

Bolstered by a low unemployment rate, a growing population, relatively affordable housing and record levels of construction activity, 2018 is set to be another strong year for Oshawa, states a release issued by the city.

The city’s initial bid for $10 million in funding from Infrastructure Canada to improve access to digital technology in low-income neighbourhoods is complete.

Oshawa is in the mix to receive the money through the SmartCities Challenge.

Kyle Benham, director of economic development for the city, says the submission focuses on making improvements to the Lakeview neighbourhood.

OSHAWA, ON, April 24, 2018 /CNW Telbec/ - Bell today announced an investment of more than $100 million to bring its all-fibre optic network directly to approximately 60,000 homes and business locations throughout the City of Oshawa. Bell fibre will deliver the best Internet, TV and business communications services to Oshawa and further accelerate investment and innovation in one of Ontario's most forward-thinking and innovative urban communities.

Fully funded by Bell, the Oshawa network is part of Bell's plan to deploy all-fibre connections to an additional 1.3 million homes and businesses throughout the GTA/905 region surrounding Toronto and extending to the US border. Earlier this month, Bell turned on its all-fibre Toronto network, which is connecting more than a million locations throughout Canada's largest city.

Canada's job market has been on a hot streak lately, with the country adding a whopping 335,000 full-time jobs over the past year, and unemployment sitting at a record low of 5.8 per cent, tied for the lowest level in comparable records going back to 1976.

Now a new analysis from the Bank of Montreal shows the boom is benefitting people in all regions of the country.

STRATFORD, Ontario (Reuters) - A Canadian town known for its annual theater festival is emerging as a hub of "snowtonomous" research, as automakers face demands to produce self-driving cars that can perform in snow and sleet.

But testing driverless cars in cold climates brings added challenges to an industry grappling with the first fatality involving an autonomous vehicle.