Project Summary
The Rural Oxford Downtown Project was designed to gather insights from rural business owners and commercial property owners to identify the specific barriers and opportunities associated with establishing and sustaining storefront businesses in rural communities across Rural Oxford Economic Development Corporation’s (ROEDC) five member municipalities.
While the original intent was only two sessions, business engagement was strong and there was considerable appetite for a session within each of the five member municipalities. As such, five sessions were held between February and May 2026. Whether two or five sessions, the goal of this project is to use these in-person experiences and the discussions that took place to shape the direction of future ROEDC efforts, building off the original Strategic Plan.
These sessions were led by Rural Oxford Economic Development Corporation, in partnership with Tourism Oxford and the Small Business Centre. Facilitations were completed by McSweeney & Associates, to ensure participants were able to be forthright with their answers.
During these forums, community partners and business leaders participated in facilitated discussions to highlight critical needs such as improved marketing, access to grants, downtown beautification, and streamlined municipal processes. The information gathered from these collective responses is compiled into this briefing note.
Themes
Across the five forums, some common themes emerged regarding the challenges and needs of
rural business owners and commercial property owners.
- Marketing and Local Visibility Challenges: A primary theme that emerged across many of the conversations was general visibility, both within their respective community and out to residents of neighbouring municipalities who are often not aware of all that rural Oxford communities have to offer. These conversations included discussions around a centralized business directory (virtual) and the need for better physical signage (whether wayfinding signage or “welcome to the community” signage that promoted local businesses).
- Financial Support. These conversations were different than expected, as businesses often did not volunteer specific asks for funding. That being said, all businesses acknowledged that additional funding supports are always welcome. When businesses were asked for specifics, the most consistent requests focused on façade and beautification improvements (discussed more below) as well as supports to grow their business visibility (see Note 1 above). Another consistent focus was support drawing local consumers to their business, potentially in the form of increased marketing (as above) or a “shop local”/main street gift card program.
- Grant support: The conversation on funding/financial supported above often centered around the difficulties accessing grants. Many business owners are busy (or overwhelmed) running their business, and struggle to find the time to search for grants, difficulty understanding eligibility, and noted they would benefit from assistance with grant writing. They felt that supports on grant writing (or clarity on opportunities) would be immensely beneficial.
- Infrastructure and Space Constraints: Discussions consistently made clear that there is a critical lack of available commercial and storefront space, which is limiting for potential business expansion (or new business start-up). Furthermore, parking and traffic is a major concern, with differing levels of frustration across the different communities. This is an ongoing challenge in many rural communities across Ontario, and businesses did acknowledge that this challenge is in part due to the expectation among rural shoppers that they should not have to walk any length of time at all. That being said, there were discussions noting that traffic could feel chaotic and discourage foot traffic, which their businesses naturally rely on.
- Bureaucracy/Communication Challenges: Many participants expressed frustration with “red tape,” high development charges, and inconsistent communication between municipal staff and council. That being said, this is a concern that is voiced often by businesses across many Canadian communities. The challenges brought forward by certain businesses speaks to the natural challenge in smaller communities, balancing growth with rural planning and municipal structures. At the same time, many businesses (in a roundabout way) noted that they feel they lack a unified voice to advocate for their needs. This would not be the role of a municipality or ROEDC, but there may be increased appetite for the reintroduction of or instituting of a Business Improvement Area. A separate but relevant aspect of this theme is that often businesses just hope to feel “supported” by Council and staff. Business engagement and open (as open as possible) communication can often be a successful way to bridge some of these challenges.
- Desire for Community Identity and Activation: Finally, it was really interesting to hear common discussions around developing “unified themes” or “common identities” for main streets. Businesses felt their main streets could be more of a “destination” by having common beautifications, aligned facades, etc. that might tie the main street together and improve visitor attraction. This sort of effort could also include supporting main street festivals, “shopping nights,” or community events to build local buy-in and attract visitors from outside the county.
Actions
It is not expected that each action presented below will be put into motion by ROEDC, as time,
human, and capital constraints will limit feasibility. However, we present here some potential
actions for consideration by local business groups and community partners.
- Marketing Supports and Growing Awareness:
A. Develop a centralized rural business registry to improve local and regional awareness.
B. Create “welcome wagon” packages for newcomers that highlight local services and businesses.
C. Look for provincial or federal funding to support physical signage, both wayfinding and community billboards.
D. Continue ROEDC’s collaborative marketing initiatives, including “spotlight posts” for rural businesses and coordinated social media efforts. Tie into Tourism Oxford’s excellent ongoing efforts in this regard. - Business Supports:
A. Continue aggressively marketing the ROEDC newsletter, and ask for feedback from businesses about topics they would like to see covered.
B. Work with SBC to create a list of potential private sector service providers that offer technical assistance for grant applications, helping owners navigate eligibility and the writing process.
C. Assess the feasibility of a shop local gift card initiative.
D. Support area municipalities with resources to explore CIP opportunities for façade improvements and other main street infrastructure improvements. - Advocacy Support:
A. Offer support and advice for businesses in communities interested in the establishment or revitalization of business associations.
B. Encourage Councillors to reach out directly to businesses and support businesses bringing forward questions and concerns to Council meetings.
C. Businesses need help with communication during approval processes for development, zoning, business startup, or event permit processes. - Re-Affirming Actions within the Economic Development Strategic Plan:
With respect to business support resources and the need for additional commercial space, these conversations reaffirmed actions identified within the 2026-2030 Strategic Plan.
A. Maintain a comprehensive knowledge base of business support resources and programs (e.g., employment, funding, and marketing).
B. Help preserve and protect the charm of small rural downtowns by promoting commercial real estate opportunities and businesses for sale in Rural Oxford.
If you have any questions about the Rural Downtown Project or the Summary Notes from the 5 Forums hosted, please reach out to Ronda, Economic Development Director, ronda@ruraloxford.ca.