Economic Development

Previously adopted by Council at its Regular Scheduled Meeting on March 11, 2025. Supplemented by a Background Report including Community wide Survey results. Strategic Plan

Background Evidence and Supporting Documents: 

a)   Township of Bonfield Economic Development Strategy - Executive Summary

b)   Township of Bonfield - Final Economic Development Strategy

c)   BR+E Community Survey Report

d)   Community Economic Profile; and

e)   The “What We Heard” Stakeholder & Community Engagement Report

Township of Bonfield Economic Development Strategy (2026-2031)

Building upon the momentum created during the BR+E Initiative, the Township successfully applied for funding under the Rural Ontario Development Program to engage consultants to support the Township in producing an Economic Development Strategy (EDS).

A key driver behind the new Economic Development Strategy has been the need to identify different ways through which the Township of Bonfield can generate revenue beyond the existing residential tax base.  By diversifying the local economy, and strengthening investment readiness, the Township can realize new economic opportunities, at the same time as protecting the small-town character that residents value. 

After a competitive RFP process, Qatalyst Research Group Inc. was selected as the preferred bidder and additional outreach activities commenced. This involved a Community-wide Economic Development survey which garnered 81 unique responses; plus a series of Focus Groups, Informant Interviews, and a Town Hall - all designed to gain meaningful feedback on the key priorities and opportunities available to advance economic development within the community.  

The last time the Township of Bonfield produced its own Economic Development Strategic Plan was in 2003 - so a refreshed EDS, and accompanying Background Research Documents, was long overdue! 

Steps Involved

Community Survey

One of the first steps involved in the preparation of the EDS was the design and launch of a Community Survey - providing another opportunity for local area businesses, households, and other interested stakeholders, to provide feedback to the Township on its current approach to Community Economic Development.

The Survey sought to identify specific needs, sector-based opportunities, and potential solutions, to support the sustainable growth & development of the Township, and its economic base, for years to come.

The Community Survey provided an opportunity to:

1. Meaningfully engage the community - to gain their unique insights and perspectives. 

2. Identify the baseline economic drivers and disruptors.

3. Provide recommendations to support the continued growth and competitive edge of the local economy, while also, identifying under-recognized assets within the community.

4. Produce new demographic and socio-economic data - as evidence to support the development of the Strategy moving forward.

5. Recognize the availability of local talent, plus any clear gaps in training, education and skills that will need to be overcome; and

6. Execute a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) Analysis as a fair and balanced snapshot of the community as it exists today.

Respondents were requested to provide their feedback by July 10, 2026.  

The survey has now closed but it is important to note: No topics were “off limits”. Respondents were able to provide meaningful feedback on a wide range of social, economic, environmental and cultural factors - all of which, could impact the development of the EDS as a whole. The feedback received was generalized and is documented in the ‘What we Heard:  Stakeholder & Community Engagement Report’ for reference.       

Focus Groups

Building upon the success of the Agri-Food Forum and Developers’ Forums held in November 2025, and tying-in with the ongoing Official Plan Review; the Township of Bonfield and Qatalyst organized a series of Focus Groups to gain additional feedback from local area businesses, grouped as follows:

§  Focus Group One: Agriculture & Agri-Businesses

§  Focus Group Two: Larger-scale Businesses, Investors and the Trades

§  Focus Group Three: Tourism, Recreation & Community Life    

§  Focus Group Four: Regional Agencies & Partners 

These forums provided an intimate opportunity for business owners to state their concerns, share ideas, and discuss potential areas for alignment and cooperation.

The forums were designed to foster a greater sense of understanding and consensus among members of the business community; and also, provided the Township - and its consultants - with a unique opportunity to test potential new policy-based approaches for inclusion in the final EDS.

What resulted was a remarkable sense of synergy regarding the preferred way forward - with a real focus on rebuilding the community “from the ground-up”; tapping into local talent, collaborating on shared projects, and filling identified gaps in areas such as the “everyday essentials” (fuel, groceries, and new spaces to dine and congregate).

These conversations also identified the potential for new employment lands which capitalize on the Townships’ existing transportation networks; and potential new ways to foster the development of local business networks - to overcome identified logistical challenges.

Further discussions were had regarding the potential to introduce new light industrial processing capabilities, with a particular focus on the agri-food & forestry sectors; and ways the township can work more collaboratively with the development industry to design and build new, innovative, and diverse forms of housing which meet the evolving needs and preferences of individuals and households throughout the Township.

The feedback received during these focus groups, assisted Qatalyst and the Township in: 

1. Identifying potential new economic and employment-related lands within the Township. Such matters can be further considered in the context of the ongoing Official Plan and Comprehensive Zoning By-law Review. 

2. Evaluating potential partnerships, and supply chain opportunities, within the Township.

3. Ensuring recommendations presented within the EDS align with Council’s strategic pillars contained within the Township of Bonfield Strategic Plan (2025-2030). This includes the recognition that the Township must plan for a more sustainable and resilient future - by adopting strategies and plans that enable the protection of Township area lakes; and promotes green infrastructure as a way to prevent and avoid unsuitable, incompatible, and unmitigated forms of development.

4. Referencing potential new sources of information - including best practice examples from small, rural, and northern townships across the province of Ontario, and beyond.

5. Focusing on the most suitable investment opportunities, including the talent attraction strategies to manage existing gaps in the labour market; and 

6. Ensuring metrics to be contained in the EDS can effectively be tracked through the development of an implementation plan including Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), timelines, and realistic outcomes which reflect Bonfield’s key priorities.

1:1 Informant Interviews

A series of 1:1 Informant Interviews were held with local and regional experts - who provided unique insights on matters including opportunities for the Township of Bonfield to contribute to broader regional, provincial, and national strategic priorities through land use planning and economic development. These conversations also identified potential funding and other financing opportunities to support the Township, plus individual organizations (businesses / non-profits) as the community advances its sustainable growth strategy over time.

Town Hall and Canada Day Celebrations

In addition to the above, to ensure all Township residents had an opportunity to engage in a format suitable to them; the Township of Bonfield and Qatalyst organized a booth as part of the Townships’ Canada Day Celebrations on July 1, 2026; and coordinated a Town Hall Meeting which took place at the Bonfield Community Centre on July 2, 2026.

These engagement activities provided additional opportunities for residents to provide meaningful feedback, and reaffirmed the communities’ desire to: 

1.  Focus on the “everyday essentials” (fuel, groceries, and new spaces to dine and congregate).

2.  Identify new accessible employment lands - suitable for a range of homegrown economic development projects, including light industrial processing capabilities.  

3.  Foster the development of enhanced local business networks and explore ways to overcome identified logistical challenges and barriers.

4.  Evaluate, in greater detail, the potential contribution of the agri-food & forestry sectors on Bonfield’s economic future; and

 5.  Introduce new, innovative, and diverse forms of housing - which meet the needs and preferences of           residents within the Township.

Introduction

The Township of Bonfield launched its Business Retention and Expansion (BR+E) Initiative in the Fall of 2025.

The overall aim of the initiative was to foster sustainable growth, attract new investment, and strengthen existing businesses across diverse sectors.

Ultimately, the project has repositioned the Township of Bonfield as a more forward-looking community, committed to supporting local enterprise, and building enhanced resilience for the future.

The first step taken was to establish a working committee comprised of Mayor Narry Paquette, Councillor Donna Clark, Township staff, and several regional partners representing:

§  The Ministry of Northern Economic Development & Growth

§  The Ministry of Rural Affairs

§  NECO Community Futures Development Corporation

§  The Business Centre Nipissing Parry Sound; and

§  The Labour Market Group

The BR+E initiative followed frameworks that were provided to the Township by our partners at the Ontario Ministry of Rural Affairs, and the Ministry of Northern Economic Development & Growth.

Project Milestones

Preparation

In preparation for the Business Interview Surveys, Township staff and council created a coordinated list of local area businesses.

This was pulled together from a range of different sources including: Township databases, a list of former trade show participants, the Chamber of Commerce’s published list of members, and digital platforms including Facebook and Google. Further to which, a diverse range of large, medium, and small (home-based) businesses were identified.

Letters of invitation, personalized emails, and telephone calls were then sent to identified businesses. Public notices were also circulated throughout the Township including printed flyers (in English and French) in addition to township e-bulletins, website updates, and a Community-wide newsletter - which was circulated to every household in the Township.

Community Business Survey Interviews

The next step involved the launch of the Community Business Survey Interviews which ran from Fall 2025 through to Spring 2026. Follow this link for further details on the survey itself: (Now Closed) 

The survey included a mix of standard and custom-designed survey questions, which were overseen by the Township’s trained volunteer team of regional economic development professionals.

The interviews were conducted in pairs and lasted approximately one hour each. Approximately 100 organizations were identified in total, with 24 in-depth interviews completed - including a mix of private businesses, public institutions, and non-profits.

The interviews provided valuable insights, across different sectors, including each organizations’ structure, their operations, and their perception of the community as “a place to do” business. All discussions, including responses made during the interview process between participating businesses and the Townships’ volunteer interview team were, and remain confidential. 

Council’s role

Neither council members, nor Township staff, engaged directly with the business owners during the initial interview process; however, staff did lead the coordination of the initiative, and subsequently engaged with the interviewers to analyze the results, and report on the projects’ findings.

Council’s role in the initiative was primarily to support community outreach on the initiative, endorse communications, share contacts, and promote various engagement opportunities, so local area businesses could have their say.

Business Interview Survey Results

The results of the Business Interview Surveys were processed using the Ministry’s Qualtrics platform - which is an advanced analytical tool, that helps communities identify key trends, gaps, and sector-specific needs.

And the data was quite revealing - with a higher than provincial average number of businesses identified as being locally owned and operated. Many businesses expressed confidence in the township, and the community as-a-whole.

Broader conversations were also had with individual businesses regarding their future growth & investment plans; and conversations have since continued with several business owners in this regard.

The Final BR+E Summary Report anonymizes and aggregates the data gained during the BR+E Interview process. It can be viewed here for reference.

Summary of Presenters

PDF copy of the Master Presentation

Summary of Presenters

PDF copy of the Master Presentation