Western Ontario will retain their rural federal seat count as part of the federal riding redistribution plan. .

In the fall of 2022, the WOWC advocated strongly to the Commission to ensure communities of interest remain whole and the importance of maintaining the current rural seat count for the region.

Under the original proposal, multiple rural communities across the region would not have been kept whole, including but not limited to: Dawn-Euphemia, Zorra, Tillsonburg, Warwick, and Chatham-Kent. 

View the press release

The Western Ontario Wardens' Caucus provided pre-budget submissions to both the federal and provincial governments.

The WOWC requested permanent, annual, and predictable funding for small and rural municipalities, to provide much-needed stability to our partners providing Mobil Crisis Response Team services to our communities. These service providers are stretched thin and have noted that these programs could eventually be expanded to provide more resources – in some cases 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

In addition, the WOWC and the Southwestern Integrated Fibre Technology (SWIFT) team are currently undertaking a due diligence exercise in Southwestern Ontario, to determine the magnitude of the cellular gap in our region. Given the strong support that the government has shown for these improvements across Canada, the WOWC and SWIFT are seeking project funding from both levels of government. The total ask for each level of government is $90 million to $95 million.

View the provincial submission and the federal submission

Dufferin County

• SWIFT is pleased to announce high-speed connectivity is now available to more than 145 homes and businesses in Dufferin County.

• In partnership with SWIFT, Cogeco has completed the construction of a 13 kilometre fibre-to-the-home network in the Township of East Garafraxa to provide high-speed internet access to residents living and working in the communities of Marsville, Orton, Prices Corner and Craigsholme.

Perth County

• SWIFT today announced high-speed internet service is now available to an additional 475 homes and businesses in Perth County.
• As part of SWIFT’s Southwestern Ontario broadband expansion plan, Mornington Communications has successfully completed the construction of two high-speed fibre-optic projects to bring greater connectivity to the municipalities of North Perth and Perth East.

View the press releases

Joseph A. Montgomery Economic Development Achievement Award: Meredith Forget, Perth County

President’s Award: Heather Lalonde, Strathroy Caradoc

Inclusive Community Based Initiative & Programming (Rural - population under 100,000): “The Shoppability Project”, Municipality of Central Huron and “Supporting 2SLGBTQ+ People in the Workplace”, Municipality of Chatham-Kent

Community Economic Development (Urban- population over 100,000): “Supporting Entrepreneurs with the In-Market Support Special Project Fund”, County of Simcoe

Investment Attraction (Urban- population over 100,000): “Oxford Connection Fam Tour Re-launch”, The Oxford Connection

Workforce Development & Resident Attraction (Rural - population under 100,000): “Move to Minto”, Town of Minto

Workforce Development & Resident Attraction (Urban - population over 100,000): "Sarnia-Lambton Apprentice Job Match", Sarnia-Lambton Economic Partnership

Innovation in Community Resiliency Award (Rural - population under 100,000): “Collingwood Craft Beverage Tour”, Town of Collingwood

Innovation in Community Resiliency Award (Urban - population over 100,000): "Local Workforce Development - LTC Collaboration", Grey County

Rural Excellence (Rural - population under 10,000): “Small but Mighty Huron-Kinloss”, Huron-Kinloss

Building Initiatives (Rural - population under 100,000):“Harrow Streetscape Project”, Town of Essex 

The Ontario Small Urban Municipalities (OSUM) Executive is pleased to announce the 2023 Annual General Meeting and Conference will be hosted by the County of Brant. Please join us to celebrate Springtime in Paris from April 26 - 28, 2023. 

Last held in 2019, the OSUM Conference draws close to 250 municipal leaders from across Ontario to examine and address issues of the day facing small urban municipalities.

OSUM represents the official voice on small urban issues for the Province of Ontario and is an integral part of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO), with a number of OSUM members serving on the AMO Board of Directors. 

This years’ Conference includes an OSUM Executive Committee election.

OSUM is excited to hold its first in-person event since the onset of COVID-19. A number of important policy changes and issues are facing Ontario’s small urban communities and the OSUM Conference is a critical opportunity to collectively address them.

This year's event also includes a golf tournament. Information coming soon.

Register here

The Rural Development Network (RDN) and the Rural Ontario Institute (ROI) are co-hosting the third Canadian Rural and Remote Housing and Homelessness (CRRHH) Symposium. The hybrid event is happening June 6th-8th in Brantford, Ontario; anyone can join in person or virtually. Join us for a variety of sessions related to housing and homelessness in the context of rural, remote, and Indigenous settings and the unique challenges that exist there.

This event is designed to give community leaders, agencies, front line workers, non-profit groups, community-based organizations, people with lived experience, funding agencies, researchers, policy makers, and many more the opportunity to connect at a national level and share tools, best practices, and insights to better understand and address rural, remote, and Indigenous housing and homelessness.

Get involved! Register to become one of many presenters.

We are currently seeking presentations for the upcoming 2023 CRRHH symposium. Does your work relate to rural, remote or Indigenous housing and homelessness?

Then we want to hear from you!

Topics are a wide range, including (but not limited to): homelessness and housing insecurity, ways to support rural, remote, and Indigenous communities, tactics on how to connect with funders and governments, and so much more.

For more information and to submit a proposal, please visit https://www.crrhh.ca/call-for-presentations.