Joe Salemi

Executive summary

The 2024-2025 fiscal year was a period of resilience and strategic investment for Landscape Ontario. We successfully advanced major legacy projects, specifically the new Training Centre and our digital transformation, while navigating a challenging economic climate. Like many of our members, the association faced the realities of the rising cost of doing business. Despite these headwinds, we remained focused on building the infrastructure needed to support the trade’s future workforce and long-term success.

Operational highlights

To better serve our membership during a time of tightening resources, we focused on modernization
and efficiency.

  • Digital Transformation: We implemented Phase 1 of our new Association Management Software (AMS). This investment is critical for modernizing how we interact with members and improving our data integrity.
  • Grant Management: Our team successfully maximized government funding opportunities. These grants allowed us to execute high-value workforce development programs without passing those specific costs on to the general operating budget.
  • Growing our biggest event: Our events team continues to drive the success of Landscape Ontario’s biggest event. We derive greater than 40% of the association’s revenue from this trade show and conference, and we continue to find ways to grow revenue and value for our community.

Key activities and achievements

Even amidst financial pressure, we delivered on our core promise: promoting and supporting the trade.

  • Advancing the Training Centre: We moved forward with the design and construction of our new Training Centre. This is a vital investment in solving the number one pain point for our industry: the labour shortage. It is our collective vision that by having this training centre available to us, we will change the trajectory for landscape horticulture training.
  • Event growth:
    • Landscape Ontario Congress: We saw growth in our flagship show, reaffirming its role as the industry’s central gathering place.
    • Regional momentum: We built on the success of Snowposium and the Green Trade Expo in Ottawa, ensuring value is delivered across all regions.
  • Workforce Development: Through successful government grant applications, we continued to execute programs designed to attract new talent to the profession.

Financial context and challenges

Note: The Treasurer will present the detailed audited financials.

This year’s financial results reflect the broader economic reality. As indicated in our audited statements, we have posted a deficit for the fiscal year. This result was driven by two primary factors:

      1. Membership trends: As a voluntary not for profit trade association, we are sensitive to the economic pressures our members face. In what was an unstable economic year (tariffs, rising interest rates, etc.) we managed to keep membership numbers stable and achieve minimal growth which resulted in lower-than-projected revenues.
      2. Increased wages and operational costs: Total expenses exceeded our budget, driven largely by staffing costs.

The strategic perspective:
While a deficit is never our goal, it is important to note that we did not halt our progress. We chose to press forward with critical investments because retreating now would cost the industry more in the long run. We are absorbing these costs now to build a stronger foundation for the future.

Outlook: The year ahead (2026)

As we navigate the current fiscal year, our focus is on stabilization and value.

      1. Rebuilding Membership: We are analyzing membership data to implement targeted retention strategies. We must demonstrate that in tough economic times, membership is an essential asset, not a discretionary expense.
      2. Completion of the Training Centre: We are committed to finalizing this project to begin generating new skilled labor for the sector. While the training centre will not be completed in this next fiscal year, we are driving forward and working to be on budget and on time.
      3. Fiscal Prudence: We are reviewing all operational expenses, particularly staffing and overhead, to align with our current revenue reality.

Acknowledgments and gratitude

I want to thank Landscape Ontario’s Board of Directors for their steady hand during this challenging year. To our staff, thank you for your continued adaptability and hard work. And to our members: We know it is not an easy business environment right now. We appreciate your continued support and trust. We are in this together, and we are working hard to ensure Landscape

Ontario remains a strong voice for your business.

Respectfully submitted,
Joe Salemi, CAE
Executive Director
Landscape Ontario Horticultural Trades Association

Photo highlights from the past fiscal year

people eating dinner at tables under a large tent
Landscape Ontario Golden Horseshoe’s Annual Chicken Roast (Sept 2024)
people seated at tables in a large room looking at a presenter
Communities in Bloom Ontario Awards
three men taking a selfie with a lighthouse in the background
Great Lakes Conference (Sept 2024) in Long Island, N.Y.
people seated at tables in a large room looking at a presenter on stage
Communities in Bloom National Symposium and Awards in Charlottetown, P.E.I.
people seated at tables in a large room looking at a presenter on stage
Landscape Ontario’s Peer to Peer Network Fall Leadership Summit (Deerhurst Resort, Huntsville, Ont.)
a presenter on stage in front of a large video screen
Canadian Society of Association Executives Annual Conference (Ottawa, Ont.)
people seated at tables in a large room looking at a presenter
Landscape Ontario Growers Sector Group Fall Dinner (Oakville, Ont.)
a large group of people on a stage holding awards
Landscape Ontario Georgian Lakelands Chapter Awards of Distinction
a mountain of toys in front a Christmas tree off in the distance
Annual Christmas Toy Drive
five people in yellow high visibility construction vests taking a selfie at a trade show
Congress 2025 move-in
four people standing next to a very large red salt truck in front of a sign for BP Landscaping
Member visits with M.P.P. Sheila Jones (BP Landscaping & Snow Removal in Caledon, Ont.)
a large CAT bulldozer with a group of people in construction vests in the background
CNLA meetings and tour of Caterpillar training centre (Raleigh, N.C.)
a woman and two men standing in a booth at a trade show
Ottawa Chapter’s Green Trade Expo (Ottawa, Ont.)
a man with glasses being interviewed by a reporter in a Home Depot parking lot in winter
One of 15 live TV interviews on the salt shortage (February 2025).
a large group of people in a theater in front of the stage
ISAO Conference (Windsor, Ont.)
people talking in front of a living plant wall
Landscape Ontario Lighting and Irrigation Conference (Milton, Ont.)
a man in a blazer and glasses standing with a woman wearing a blue dress and red jacket
Several visits to Queen’s Park, Minister Andrea Khanjin pictured.
people seated at tables in a large room looking at a presenter
Landscape Ontario Peer to Peer Network Spring Leadership Summit (Milton, Ont.)
a man with a shovel showing a child how to plant a tree
Tree planting event with Trees for Life (Kelso Conversation Area in Milton, Ont.)
a large group of men in suits posing for a photo
Ontario One Call event at Queen’s Park
a panel discussion with five people in chairs
Hosting the Nursery Landscape Association Executives (NALE) Annual Conference (Ottawa, Ont.)
three men with glasses posing for a photo
Celebrating Robert Ellidge’s 30th anniversary working with Landscape Ontario.
a group of men and women posing with an award
Receiving the Environmental Stewardship Award from the Burlington Chamber of Commerce.
five people standing outside a blue sign announcing an upcoming construction project
Kicking off the training centre construction project.
a large yellow tractor
Visiting the Landscape Ontario Touch a Truck events.
a view of a trade show from above
Snowposium 2025 move-in at the International Centre.
people standing outside
Annual staff field trip (Aldershot Landscape Contractors in Burlington, Ont.)
people seated at tables in a large room looking at a presenter on stage
CNLA National Awards of Landscape Excellence (Regina, Sask.)

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