Five municipalities and organizations in the Peterborough region are receiving a share of $260,305.50 in provincial funding to support the rural economy and promote innovation through Ontario’s Rural Ontario Development (ROD) program.
“Our rural communities are the backbone of Ontario’s economy, and this investment ensures that Peterborough-Kawartha has the resources to thrive for generations to come,” said Peterborough-Kawartha MPP Dave Smith in a media release following a funding announcement on Monday (June 15) at the Innovation Cluster’s office in the Venture North building in downtown Peterborough.
MPP Smith was joined at the announcement by Ontario’s rural affairs minister Lisa Thompson along with representatives of the five municipalities and organizations receiving the funding: City of Peterborough mayor Jeff Leal, Peterborough County warden Bonnie Clark, Innovation Cluster board chair Nicole Stephenson, Community Care Peterborough operations director Catherine Pink, and Farms at Work community farm planner Andrea Hicks.
Province provides cost-shared funding for projects that help rural communities
The ROD program, which replaced the Rural Economic Development Fund, was developed as part of the government’s rural economic development strategy in 2025. The program operates under three pillars — economic diversification, workforce development, and community infrastructure — and provides cost-shared funding for projects that help rural communities.
The total funding package will be $20 million, which Thompson said is double the funding available in the past two years. A total of 116 projects have been funded through the first intake, representing $5.5 million in support provided.
Thompson said the ROD program will provide over $2 million across the eastern Ontario region to support 41 unique projects, including five projects in Peterborough-Kawartha totalling $260,305.50.
The Innovation Cluster is receiving $145,000 for its Rural Innovation Centre Project, the City of Peterborough $50,000 for its Future Ready Peterborough: Economic Development Strategy, Community Care Peterborough $30,000 for the Rural Peterborough County Transportation Feasibility Study, Peterborough County $20,000 for its Trade-Ready: Equipping Rural Entrepreneurs to Compete Beyond the Region project, and Farms at Work $15,308.50 for its Peterborough Community Farm Business Plan.
Thompson said that through public consultation, the Ministry for Rural Affairs has found that rural organizations often struggle to secure funding to conduct strategic and pre-project feasibility studies and plans.
As such, she said, the ROD program is designed to provide a “hand up” to businesses, non-profits, and municipalities to help them “turn conversations into actions” through strategic operational funding.
Thompson said she sees significant potential for growth and development within eastern Ontario and intends to take an “all-of-government approach” to rural development.
“Big things can happen in small towns,” Thompson said.
Funding to support economic development, farm-based businesses, and rural transportation
The City of Peterborough, which assumed responsibility for economic development in January 2025 from the now-defunct Peterborough and the Kawarthas Economic Development organization, will use its ROD program funding to help develop its economic development strategy, while Peterborough County will use its funding to develop a strategy to help rural entrepreneurs expand trade.
Farms at Work, which was formed in 2010 to support new farmers, keep farmland in production, and promote on-farm environmental stewardship in east central Ontario, will offer agricultural entrepreneurs innovation and business development support through the charitable organization’s community farm initiative, which will provide shared infrastructure and informational resources to farm-based businesses in the region.
“We’re launching an exciting new program called a community farm and we’re going to be providing a suite of educational resources, everything from business planning, to hiring farm employees, to health and safety on the farm,” said Hicks.
Community Care Peterborough will be using its ROD funding to conduct a transportation feasibility study in collaboration with Peterborough County to assess the needs of their rural clients.
“Transportation is about much more than getting from one place to another,” said Community Care Peterborough chief executive officer Danielle Belair in the media release. “In rural communities, it helps people stay connected to health care, services, work, family, and community life
Innovation Cluster funding will support rural entrepreneurs
Meanwhile, the Innovation Cluster — which is receiving the largest portion of the local ROD program funding — will use it to support ongoing programming and new opportunities for rural entrepreneurs.
In an interview with kawarthaNOW following the announcement, Innovation Cluster board vice-chair Christine Crandell said the organization has seen a great deal of innovation and many unique ideas from rural business people, especially in the agriculture sector.
“Eastern Ontario is ripe for innovation,” Crandall said. “It’s ripe for bringing in programs that enable companies to stay where they are and not have to go someplace else in order to access the resources that they need in order to grow.”
Crandell, who has worked in venture capital across North America, said that in highly developed urban areas there is a level of homogeneity in business development, whereas eastern Ontario has a far more diverse entrepreneurial and business market.
“Maybe it’s a new way of treating soil or raising fish — that level of ingenuity and that level of true innovation is extremely exciting,” she said.
Crandell said the ROD funding will support the non-profit organization’s ability to continue providing the LevelUP Business Accelerator program, which is designed for growth-stage companies and offered to entrepreneurs free of charge.
“We’re very much focused on bringing it under the umbrella of LevelUP,” Crandell said. “That includes coordinated programs that can last six to eight weeks.”
Support recognizes unique challenges faced by rural entrepreneurs
A key aspect of the LevelUP program is the opportunity for early-career entrepreneurs to engage directly with the Innovation Cluster’s experts-in-residence who are experienced industry leaders.
Crandell explained that the Innovation Cluster often works with local and rural leaders as they have a better understanding of the rural economy and market, and the unique challenges faced by rural entrepreneurs.
“Having local experts in a rural environment means that, when we’re having a conversation with those rural entrepreneurs, we get it,” she said.
Crandell identified two primary reasons that rural businesses and entrepreneurs are disadvantaged, with the first being a lack of access to business and funder networks and the second being a lack of funding opportunities for small and new businesses.
In terms of networking opportunities, rural businesses also face challenges accessing major groups and events due to the disconnect and distance from urban economic centres, she added. She also spoke to the assumptions made by urban networking groups about the opportunities available in rural communities.
“We’re teaching these entrepreneurs the skills that they need to survive and make those connections, so that they have an even footing with somebody who’s sitting in the middle of Ottawa, Kingston, or Toronto,” Crandell said.
