OTTAWA, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Mayors from Canada and the United States are gathering in Toronto Thursday to discuss measures to protect the waterfront areas of the Great Lakes.

    Convening at the annual meeting and conference for the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative, they are expected to sign a Great Lakes pact with the Ontario province to ensure protection for waterfront areas.

    The initiative was established in 2003 to help mayors and other local officials work with federal, state and provincial governments to restore the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence region.

    Toronto Mayor David Miller said Toronto's waterfront is undergoing an "economic renaissance," and urged governments across the border to make waterfront investment a priority.

    Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty acknowledged the manufacturing difficulties faced by the Great Lakes region, but urged future investment to fuel spin-off jobs in both Canada and the United States.