Brought to you by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs

Welcome!

If you're involved in the local economic development process in rural communities across Ontario, you've come to the right place. Whether you're a community leader, an economic development professional or citizen volunteer, this site will help you identify local priorities and carry out strategies that will achieve your community's goals.

Find out more about:

• First Impressions Community Exchange - learn about the program that helps communities gain insight into their home town through the eyes of first-time visitors.
• Business Retention and Expansion (BR+E)  - Learn about the fundamentals of business retention and expansion as an economic development strategy, past projects, the on-line resources and the web-based BR+E application.
• Interactive Tools for Assessing Competitive Advantage to help identify local strengths and weaknesses
• 2001 - Rural Ontario Profiles - data on conditions and trends affecting rural Ontario
• Guides on topics ranging from Community Strategic Planning to Downtown Revitalization 
• Municipal Cultural Planning Forum - Final Report (July 2005)
• COMRIF - Canada and Ontario Making Major Investment in Municipal and Rural Infrastructure
• Rural Economic Development Program
• Ontario's Rural Plan - Working Together for Success and Achieving it - Update 2006

If you're a first time visitor, we suggest you start by clicking on Site Guide in the blue menu at the top of the page, and then choose Site Navigation.