Business Resources & Support Programs

Business Resources and Support Programs

There are several ways for our local business community to access business support opportunities offered by Perth County and/or local partners. Explore available business resources and support programs below.    

Prosper in Perth County

Perth County's Economic Development team is dedicated to fostering the growth of local businesses. By understanding the unique challenges and aspirations of business owners, our department offers a wealth of resources and support completely free of charge! Please click HERE to access our handy program and resource guide.

Local Support

Stratford Perth Centre for Business offers business advisory services, training, networking opportunities and assistance with funding applications. Contact for more information: 519-305-5055 or info@stratfordperthbusiness.ca

Perth CFDC (Community Futures Development Corporation) provides business support through customized loan programs. Contact for more information: 519-814-7570 or admin@perthcfdc.ca

Provincial & Federal Resources

If you are unsure about what benefits or programs you are eligible for, the Government of Canada has developed the Business Benefit Finder to assist businesses in finding information specific to their own circumstance.

Tourism Programming

CLICK HERE to sign up for Perth County's Discover More Adventures program using a simple online form. This program helps Perth County businesses expertly enhance and market their offerings. Participating businesses will receive a product enhancement and marketing package including expert guidance, professional photography/videography, paid advertising, marketing materials, and more. To see examples of experiences this program has supported to date, please click here. Please note, participation in this program is FREE.  

Do you operate a local farm store or farm gate business? CLICK HERE to register to join Perth County's Discover More Flavour Farm Gate Map program to join a community of local farm operators who receive promotion and marketing investment from Perth County Tourism.

Business Training 

Serving Perth and Huron Counties, the Technical Training Group (TTG) offers high-quality, in-demand skilled trades and technical training designed to support local workforce development and industry growth. Through strong community partnerships with local school boards and Employment Ontario agencies, TTG delivers hands-on training using industry-standard facilities and experienced instructors.

Programs include welding and metal fabrication apprenticeships, Red Seal prep, pre-apprenticeship exposure to multiple trades, Working at Heights certification, customized employer training, and more. TTG also runs youth outreach programs to inspire the next generation of skilled trades professionals.

Whether you're entering the workforce, upskilling, or seeking custom training for your business, TTG provides accessible, practical training solutions close to home.

Learn more: www.technicaltraininggroup.org/ 

Perth County Tourism has partnered with The Tourism Café to offer all Perth County businesses FREE access to their collection of award-winning e-learning courses. Gain a competitive edge by equipping yourself with leading edge, short e-courses designed to help you get ahead. Courses range from 15 minutes to 2.5 hours and include topics such as:

  • Costing and Pricing Visitor Experiences
  • Identifying Your Ideal Guest
  • Testing Your Visitor Experience
  • Introduction to Sustainable/Regenerative Tourism
  • Designing Memorable Travel
  • & more! 

To Register in the Learning Portal:

  1. Visit www.tourism-connects.com/perth-county-e-course-subscription
  2. Complete the registration form and click ‘Register’ at the bottom of the page.
  3. After registering using the link above, all courses will be available to you FREE of charge. *Please note, the price for each course will still appear, but will adjust to $0.00 at checkout for businesses who register through the Perth County link*  

If you need any assistance with the learning portal, connect with Jolene Lammers, Learning Support Coordinator, at support@tourism-connects.com. 

We are excited to be able to offer this unique FREE training opportunity to Perth County employers. Together with our partners at Fanshawe's Corporate Training Solutions and Intercultural Competency Advantage Program, we look forward to ensuring the online learning experience is as easy to access and meaningful as possible. The goal of this training is to help our local businesses and service providers to become welcoming to all newcomers to the region.

Registration in the program includes 3 course modules, each taking between 90-120 minutes to complete:

  • The Essentials of Intercultural Competency
  • Effective Intercultural Communication
  • Power Dynamics and Systematic Discrimination

To request access for yourself and your team, send a registration request email the Economic Development and Tourism Division with the subject line “Online Training - Welcoming Communities” including the following:

  • Company Name
  • Number of Attendees/Licenses  you require
  • Names, position titles and email addresses of each participant

Please note that there are a limited number of training licenses available and priority will be given to employers located within Perth County.

Free Resources and Training for Small Businesses

Video Resources and Training Modules available online anytime by clicking here.

Digital Main Street Logo

Digital Main Street Workshop and Webinar Series

FREE digital skills workshops for Ontario's small main street businesses, from Ontario BIA Association, Digital Main Street, and Camp Tech. Topics include:

  • Facebook and Instagram Advertising on a Small Budget
  • Small Business Websites 101
  • SEO Fundamentals
  • Small Business Data Privacy and the Law
  • Social Media for Small Business
  • Maximizing Your Online Advertising & Digital Marketing Budget
  • Ecomerce Options for Small Business
  • Google Analytics for Small Business

Register for FREE on Eventbrite Here

The Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) and the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) have coordinated a free, online network to bring together economic development and planning professionals across Ontario interested in agricultural issues. The quarterly meeting topics will be based on relevant municipal policies, procedures and programming impacting the agricultural sector. 

For the latest information and to view resources and past webinars visit the OFA website by clicking here. 

Startup Canada is the national rallying community and voice for Canada’s 3.5 million entrepreneurs. Since launching in 2012, Startup Canada has grown to represent more than 250,000 entrepreneurs and 50 grassroots communities from coast to coast to coast. Through digital programs and flagship events, Startup Canada is the network promoting, inspiring, educating, connecting and giving a voice to Canada’s entrepreneurs; supporting them to start, operate and scale businesses that build a better Canada for the world today and for future generations.

Click here to visit the Startup Canada website for a variety of FREE webinars for entrepreneurs.

The Foodpreneur Advantage Program is suitable for anyone looking to start their food venture, or ready to expand and scale their operation.  Through a partnership between the Stratford Perth Centre for Business and Perth County, the program is now available to area businesses.  Under the umbrella of Foodpreneur Advantage, the Stratford Perth Centre for Business and Perth County have come together to offer a collection of entrepreneurial food related programming. The exciting new program is designed specifically for early growth food and beverage manufacturing ventures that produce consumer packaged goods and provides ten weeks of training, mentoring, and coaching.  The Foodpreneur Advantage Program offers free mentorship, coaching and online training seminars over a 10-week period. Seminar topics include:

  • Starting a Food Business & Regulatory Compliance
  • How to Sell your Food Product
  • Costing & Pricing to Make Profits
  • Marketing & Branding your Food Product
  • Selling to Food Retailers
  • Labelling & Packaging your Food Product

 

To register for the program visit: https://foodpreneuradvantage.ca/ 

For more information on the program launch, view the News Release. 

Recruitment & Employment Resources

Perth County and investStratford have created a brand new resource toolkit for employers.  The Workforce Attraction and Retention Employer Toolkit (WARET) is your one-stop shop for guides, templates, policies, forms and more to help you implement innovative retention and attraction practices that have helped businesses across Canada become employers of choice.  CLICK HERE to register and access WARET.

This aggregator tool scrapes 25 local, regional, provincial and national job banks every hour and places them in one spot for jobseekers. Employers posting their jobs on popular free job boards including the Government of Canada's Job Bank and Indeed will have their open positions appear online.

They provide job search assistance, career advice, job postings and education and training information to to the public.

Partners in Employment works with job seekers and employers to match talents and skills to employers recruitment needs. 


Contact Partners in Employment by phone, email, or in office: 

  • 75 Waterloo Street, Stratford: 519-272-1946
  • 26 Wellington Street, St Marys: 519-284-0112                 
  • 210 Main Street, Listowel: 519-291-272

Employment Services - Digital Service Delivery Platform

Locally-focused employment services for job seekers and employers in Bruce County, Grey County, Huron County, and Perth County.

Teachers: Engage your students in this important lesson plan exploring careers in manufacturing & agriculture and their impact on local communities. As educators, you play a vital role in inspiring young people to think critically about their future and how their choices can positively shape their communities.

 

Career Information Cards:

Tariff Support for Perth County Businesses

Canada's robust system of economic support programs is available to help businesses and workers directly impacted by U.S. tariffs. This includes financing and advisory supports for businesses through financial Crown corporations and supports for workers. Some of the supports that are already available include: 

The Trade Commissioner Service helps Canadian businesses grow with confidence by connecting them with its funding and support programs, international opportunities, and its network of trade commissioners in over 160 cities worldwide.

Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) provides financing solutions and advice to small and medium-sized businesses in all industries and at every stage of growth.

Export Development Canada (EDC) helps Canadian companies of all sizes succeed in global markets with trade knowledge, financial solutions, insurance, equity and connections.

Farm Credit Canada (FCC) is a dedicated lender for the agriculture and agri-food sectors and provides a range of financial products and services to support Canadian farmers and business related to farming.

The Canada Small Business Financing Program (CSBFP) makes it easier for small businesses to get loans from financial institutions by sharing the risk with lenders.

The Work-Sharing Program helps employers and employees avoid layoffs, when there is a temporary decrease in the normal level of business activity that is beyond the control of the employer.
The government will closely monitor impacts across sectors and the economy, and will bring forward additional measures to support workers and businesses as needed. 
 
The government is also taking steps to mitigate the impact of its tariff countermeasures on Canadian workers and businesses by establishing a remission process to consider requests for exceptional relief from the tariffs imposed as part of Canada's immediate response, as well as any future tariff actions.

The Canada Tariff Finder provides up-to-date custom tariff information for countries with which Canada has a Free Trade Agreement (FTA). It gives the current tariff rate for the specific good being searched as well as for subsequent years, when available.

The tool also allows you to compare tariffs between different products or countries to identify your best options. 

The Stratford Perth Tariff Taskforce is a regional initiative that serves as a resource hub and advocacy group, providing businesses and citizens with information on support programs given the trade landscape. Information on the Taskforce is being hosted by investStratford and can be found at investstratford.com/taskforce


Take our 'Tariffs & Perth County Business Impact' survey. Click HERE to direct you to the survey.

Contact Us

Perth County
1 Huron Street, Stratford
ON N5A 5S4

Phone: 519-271-0531

Toll Free: 800-463-8275

Fax: 519-271-6265

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