Simcoe Strong is a community-led group focused on cleaning up and reinvigorating Downtown Simcoe. Organizer Josh Parsons began the group because he felt Simcoe was missing “a connective tissue to keep things moving along.” 

“Downtown Simcoe has been fundamentally ignored for the best parts of  a few decades,” Parsons said. “Resources have been diverted to other parts of the county and there hasn’t been the investment needed.”

 In fact, Parsons believes there has been “a large disinvestment in Downtown Simcoe,” he said. “Systems are running out of control. As you can see we have a massive sinkhole in Downtown, a Tim Horton’s burnt down, the shell of which is still sitting there.”

Parsons said years of disinvestment has contributed to a “Simcoe comes last mentality” among some residents.

Despite those challenges, Parsons does not believe that the situation is hopeless. Instead, Simcoe Strong is focused on setting concrete goals and advocating for long-term investment in the downtown. Our mandate right now is to get the county to commit to a strategic restoration plan for the Downtown,” Parsons said. “In fact we have been invited to have a seat when they do.”

The group plans to advocate for policies focused on walkability, cultural investment, and measuring how the community is developing. 

“ We need to set the tone to make Simcoe a place that is great for visitors, tourists, development, business interest, and for those that call it home,” Parsons said. 

Parsons describes Simcoe Strong as a “conduit for community conversation,” with discussions ranging from cultural restoration to homelessness and addiction. “We are a facilitator, an opportunity for ideas and organizations to come together and realize that it does take a community to get this stuff done,” he said. “When we discuss and organize, it can be done on the terms of the community members that are affected by the issues.”

That work extends beyond advocacy and discussion. Simcoe Strong also organizes community cleanups, bringing residents together to take an active role in improving the downtown.

For Parsons, the goal is ultimately to build a stronger sense of community ownership over Downtown Simcoe, and to turn that involvement into meaningful, long-term change.