Renfrew is on the verge of being twinned with its namesake town in Canada.

A partnership with Renfrew in Ontario has been on the cards for some time, with reports on the plans having been presented to councillors back in 2019.

Renfrewshire Provost Lorraine Cameron has now revealed she is preparing to sign an agreement to finalise the link-up in the next couple of months.

A new report will be presented to councillors so they can discuss arrangements before she seals the deal.

Usually, an official visit would be arranged to complete the partnership but, as the coronavirus pandemic rumbles on, it is likely this will be done virtually, with both countries still under a variety of travel restrictions.

Provost Cameron said she is delighted Renfrewshire’s third twinning arrangement is now imminent and can’t wait to start sharing ideas.

“I had a meeting with officials in Renfrew, Canada, and we are full steam ahead with this,” she added. “I’m hoping to have the agreement signed within the next couple of months but it will come to board ahead of that.

“This will be something completely unique for Renfrew as every twinning is different, depending on what the towns want from it, but it will allow us to share information and ideas around things like tourism, economic policy, business and education.

“I know they have similar concerns to us with regards to people online shopping and the effect that’s having on the economy. It’s quite incredible that’s a problem right across the world as well as here.”

Canada’s Renfrew is just an hour away from the capital city of Ottawa. It was named after its Scottish counterpart by immigrants around 1848.

Renfrewshire already has partnerships with Gladsaxe, in Denmark, and Furth, in Germany, which are both twinned with Paisley.

Provost Cameron is hoping schoolkids will benefit from the new partnership, with an exchange fund set up specifically for trips to twin towns.

She added: “This is not just about politicians having a jolly and I want people to know that. We shouldn’t be sending councillors anywhere unless there’s a real need.

“This is about a true partnership and I’m hoping young folk will really benefit from it.

“We’ve created a school exchange fund so, if pupils want to go to Germany or Denmark for an exchange, there is money for that, so I suspect young folk will benefit from this more than anything.”