City of Pembroke municipal staff and volunteers recently conducted 32 one-on-one interviews with local businesses, focusing on manufacturers and small employers as part of their recent Business Retention and Expansion project (BR+E). With support from the Ministry of Rural Affairs’ Business Retention and Expansion program and $17,667 in support from the Rural Economic Development (RED) program, now the Rural Ontario Development (ROD) program, they were able to put local businesses at the centre of the conversation. The community used this information and experiences to develop an action plan to improve their local economy.

As Heather Sutherland from the City of Pembroke shared:

“The ministry was great to work with throughout the BR+E process. They were incredibly helpful and supportive, and the guidance we received really helped us make the most of the initiative.”

Some of the key BR+E findings included:

• over 87 per cent of businesses rated Pembroke as a good or excellent place to do business
• over 87 per cent were planning to expand or remain the same over the next 18 months highlighting the positive business environment
• businesses highlighted Pembroke’s quality of life, strong community connections, and supportive municipal environment opportunities were identified to improve workforce attraction and retention, communication and awareness of existing business support programs

Based on BR+E findings, Pembroke developed a series of actions that were grouped into four themes:

• community engagement
• marketing
• business growth support
• community building

Since completing the BR+E, Pembroke has already delivered 25 per cent of its action plan items. The city exceeded its goal of offering two business education opportunities per year within the first quarter of 2026, both of which saw strong participation and positive feedback.

BR+E findings also highlighted the need to better connect businesses with funding opportunities. Pembroke secured access to a funding database that allows staff to create funding profiles for local businesses. Since the launch in March, eleven businesses have received funding reports identifying relevant public and private opportunities.

Pembroke’s experience shows how a BR+E project can help municipalities better understand their local businesses, prioritize actions and deliver results that strengthen the local economy.

Provincial funding gave Pembroke the capacity to invest time and energy into this project, with ongoing support from the Ministry of Rural Affairs’ staff throughout the project

Read the full Pembroke BR+E final report

Interested in learning more about how a Business Retention and Expansion (BR+E) can help you engage with local businesses and take strategic actions to support businesses in your community? Plan to attend the Ministry of Rural Affair’s upcoming BR+E training sessions to learn about best practices for engaging businesses and the steps to start a BR+E project. 

BR+E Training Sessions – Starting May 7, 2026 – ONRegionalEcDev