Rural Ontario gets $20M boost for growth

Rural Ontario is getting an infusion of government money to pull from to try and ride out uncertain economic times. CTV London's Scott Miller reports.

Rural Ontario is getting an infusion of government money to pull from to try and ride out uncertain economic times.

“We sometimes feel like we’re under the shadow of the GTA and the bigger cities, and we have a lot of residents, a lot of good businesses, and all these things help just promote those and strengthen them,” said Huron County Warden, Jamie Heffer.

$20 million will be available over the next two years in the newly developed Rural Ontario Development Program. Rural municipalities, along with small businesses, Indigenous communities, and non-profit organizations in Rural Ontario can apply, starting Tuesday. The money can be used for economic development, employee attraction and retention, community infrastructure, and/or business development.

“Whether it’s a medical clinic in a small community or a business centre or a wellness initiative to help people on the streets across Ontario, this type of funding makes a difference. And it builds confidence that there’s so much more opportunity to grow,” said Ontario’s Minister of Rural Affairs, Lisa Thompson, who announced the funding in Clinton this morning.

While $20 million over two years may not sound like a lot of funding, the idea is to help fund a large number of small projects, rather than two or three large ones.

Since 2019, the provincial government has invested $27.5 million in over 473 projects across Ontario, through the predecessor to the Rural Ontario Development Program, called the Rural Economic Development Program.

“The R.E.A.C.H Centre here in Clinton is a perfect example. What started out as a regional equine and agricultural centre, is now home to Fanshawe College. It’s home to a local Montessori school. It’s home to so much more. And they’re looking to grow. That’s exactly what we want to do,” said Thompson, who is also the MPP for Huron-Bruce.

“When we built this arena for just shy of $7 million, we got $500,000 in funding from the province. But over a period of a loan, that’s a lot of money that you could be paying out in interest. So, every little bit helps,” said Municipality of Central Huron Reeve, Jim Ginn.

Rural leaders hope if the government is bombarded with applications, as they expect they will be, it will be a sign that more investments in Rural Ontario are warranted.

“I’m hoping that if uptake is very strong, that perhaps we’ll be seeing, more funds in it in another two years time,” said Rural Ontario Municipal Association Chair, and Mississippi Mills Mayor, Christa Lowry.

“This is extremely important for our small, rural Ontario. The opportunity to just have the government putting this kind of dollars into strengthening our rural communities. It’s just a fantastic program that we’re looking forward to,” said Heffer.

“It’s an incentive and it kickstarts things. We did some public fundraising here for the R.E.A.C.H Centre, and when you know the other levels of government have kicked in some money, that helps people justify putting in some of their own,” said Ginn.

Applications for the Rural Ontario Development Program open today, and close on Sept. 24.