On February 3, 2026, the Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade announced nearly $2 million in funding to establish Succession Ontario, described as Ontario’s first business succession planning services hub. Delivered by the Kingston Economic Development Corporation, the program offers tools and resources to help business owners understand and plan ownership transitions, whether that means selling, buying, or transferring a business.
The province’s plan is explicitly local. Ontario’s Small Business Enterprise Centre (SBEC) network will receive training and resources so that centres like the Huron Business Centre (our local SBEC) can expand one-on-one advisory support in their communities.
“The Huron County Business Centre provides local support for all kinds of businesses,” said Huron Business Centre Manager Brittany Wise. “As part of Ontario’s SBEC network, we provide support for every stage of operation, including purchase, growth, transition, and succession.”
Wise went on to say, “This provincial announcement aligns with our current strategic direction and means that we will have greater opportunities to improve services locally, ensuring businesses in Huron can continue to thrive.”
The Huron Chamber of Commerce participates in that ongoing work alongside the Huron Business Centre and other partners.
“Succession planning is not about ending a business. It is about protecting the jobs, services, and local investment that make Huron County work. When owners plan early, they create real choices, for families, for employees, and for buyers, and they give the next leader the best chance to step in with confidence and keep the business rooted in our communities.”
Colin Carmichael
Huron Chamber of Commerce
Succession Is An Economic Development Issue
Succession planning is often framed as a private business decision. In rural communities, it is also economic development infrastructure. When ownership transitions go well, good businesses remain open, jobs stay local, and essential services continue to anchor Main Streets. When transitions are rushed or unplanned, closures can happen even when demand is strong and the business is viable.
That is why succession planning belongs in the same conversation as business retention, entrepreneurship supports, and community resilience. By framing transition planning as a key part of wider regional business retention efforts, and by emphasizing coordinated supports that serve both owners and prospective buyers, local businesses and services can be sustained through change. The Chamber’s role fits squarely in that ecosystem. The Huron Chamber of Commerce is an independent, member-based, non-profit organization, and part of our economic development contribution is practical and hands-on. We coach members, make warm referrals to the right programs and professional supports, and connect the right people in the right room at the right time. We also carry a rural business voice into provincial and national conversations through the broader chamber network, ensuring that programs and policy reflect the realities of communities like ours, where one ownership transition can determine whether a cornerstone business remains in town.
Research consistently points to a readiness gap that should be taken seriously in rural Ontario:
- In its announcement, the province notes that only about one in 10 small business owners in Canada have a formal succession plan.
- The Canadian Federation of Independent Business reports that 76% of small business owners plan to exit their business over the next decade, representing over $2 trillion in business assets that could change hands, while formal succession planning remains uncommon.
- The Rural Ontario Institute highlights in a recent report that in rural areas, close to half of businesses do not have a formal business plan or succession plan, which can make ownership transitions much more difficult.
- Northern Policy Institute, in partnership with the Ontario Chamber of Commerce and Société Économique de l’Ontario, concludes that many employers will experience ownership or leadership changes in the coming years, and a concerning share remain inadequately prepared.
For Huron County, these trends land in a very specific context. Owner-operated businesses are foundational to local employment, local services, Main Street vitality, and sponsorship and volunteer leadership in our towns and villages. When transitions are unplanned or rushed, the risk is not only a business closure. It can be the loss of services residents rely on, the loss of stable jobs, and the weakening of supply chains that keep other local businesses operating.
According to the Huron County Community Profile (2025), Huron County’s median age is 46.8 years, a reminder that a large share of our workforce and many business owners are already in later-career stages. That same profile notes that of the almost 3,000 businesses in Huron County, 90% have fewer than 10 employees. In these very small businesses, ownership transitions can have a much larger impact on employees.
The broader regional picture points in the same direction. The Four County Labour Market Planning Board’s Local Labour Market Report 2025-2026 shows that in the Stratford-Bruce Peninsula Economic Region, 73.4% of businesses report no employees and another 14.4% are micro businesses with 1 to 4 employees. In other words, nearly nine in ten businesses in our broader region have fewer than five employees. When the business is that small, owner-dependency is not a risk factor at the margins, it is often the entire operating model.
The Rural “Succession Gap” Is Real
Rural Ontario faces an added challenge beyond readiness: finding and financing the next owner, especially when the next generation has moved away, when sector skills are scarce, or when the current owner hopes to keep the business rooted locally. This is why buyer readiness matters just as much as seller readiness, and why local supports must be designed to help both sides navigate valuation, financing, timing, and operational continuity.
From a workforce perspective, succession is also a youth retention and attraction issue. The Four County Labour Market Planning Board’s Youth on the Move report emphasizes the importance of education, training and career pathways, and also housing, transportation and affordability, in whether young people choose to live and work in the region. One underused career pathway is business acquisition. When local supports make it easier for younger professionals to buy into viable firms, succession becomes not only a risk management tool for today’s owners, but also an entrepreneurship and settlement strategy for the next generation.
Succession is also not just a Main Street issue. In Huron County, agriculture and agri-business transitions are part of the same story. Generational transitions in farming are an important part of larger business retention efforts, and strong local supports can help ensure farms and agri-businesses are successfully passed on to the next generation as owners move toward retirement. That shared goal, continuity through transition, is the same whether the business is a farm, a manufacturer, a contractor, a retailer, or a professional practice.
What Good Succession Planning Looks Like In Practice
Succession planning does not need to start with a decision to sell. It starts with creating options. Strong transitions usually have four things in common:
- Clarity on the desired outcome and timeline
Whether the goal is a sale, a family transfer, a management transition, an employee pathway, or a staged exit, the best outcomes come from early clarity and realistic timing. - Business readiness work that reduces owner-dependency
Many small businesses are built around the owner’s relationships, knowledge, and decision-making. Preparing for transition often includes documenting processes, strengthening financial reporting, reducing concentration risks, building management capacity, and creating continuity plans for key customers and suppliers. - A successor strategy that matches local realities
Internal successors (family, managers, employees) and external successors (buyers, entrepreneurs, newcomers) each bring different needs around training, financing, and governance. Planning early expands the pool of viable options. - Professional advice early enough to avoid forced decisions
Tax, legal, and financing considerations can define the success or failure of a transition. Early planning reduces risk and preserves value.
Local Starting Points In Huron County
For business owners thinking about succession, the most practical first step is local.
The Huron Business Centre provides advisory services that include transition and succession support, and it is positioned to connect local business owners and prospective buyers to the right tools, training, and one-on-one guidance. With Succession Ontario strengthening the training and resources available across the SBEC network, that local starting point becomes even more important.
These new resources are being complemented by other local partners. Community Futures Huron is set to launch a new business buyer/seller platform called BizLink. Working alongside the Huron Business Centre and Huron Chamber of Commerce, this new online tool will help guide both buyers and sellers through the transition process, while promoting business acquisition opportunities in the area.
What The Chamber Is Focused On
The Chamber’s interest is simple: keeping viable businesses viable through transition, keeping jobs in our communities, and helping ensure that ownership changes strengthen Huron County rather than hollow it out. Succession planning is one of those issues where small, early steps have outsized returns. A plan does not need to be perfect. It needs to exist early enough to create choices.
Wherever you are in your entrepreneurial journey, succession should be on your radar. If you’re not sure where to start, the Huron Chamber of Commerce can get you on the right path. Contact us today!