2025-26 Investment Attraction Highlights

by Sara Currier | March 30, 2026

Investment Attraction and Economic Development activities continue to grow and adapt as the sector undergoes radical shifts in operations following the global pandemic and international unrest. Over the past five years, the investment attraction pillar has grown into a collaborative hub focused on support and relationship-building between the public and private sectors. It plays a key role in connecting municipalities, non-profits, and community-led organizations with third-party investors, government funding bodies, and local angel investors to help advance projects.

2025-26 Highlights

•    Joint incorporation program with Northern Ontario CFDCs continues to see growth and uptake. We are looking forward to continuing this program and helping the region’s businesses build their capacity, as well as developing new joint programming.

•    We have never been stronger at engaging the private sector to help build new accommodation and tourism-adjacent businesses in our most unserved/underserved communities.

•    We are engaged with stakeholders in all sectors: from municipalities and EDOs, to private investors and community champions - we are always looking for new ways to bring knowledge and skills to the table.

2026-27 Focus

•    2025 was a very good year for Investment Attraction in Northern Ontario. We have maintained our communities and travel receipts to all sub-regions are growing despite increased international and global uncertainties, and the loss of some large-scale resource-based employers – supporting these regional communities is a key focus moving forward.

•    DNO is committed to understanding how new technologies are shaping our region and the impact they will have on the sector. A focus on electric vehicles and secondary pleasure-crafts, as well as changes in highway infrastructure and transportation - in the face of large-scale industry growth, are key to being able to being investment-ready, rather than investment-reactive.

•    We are working on the early stages of partnering on hosting multiple Teeny Tiny Summits throughout Northern Ontario in 2027. We are also working towards an industry-wide gap analysis/BR&E project, and several exciting research projects meant to give stakeholders tools to develop their communities.

•    A third season of the Destination: Northern Ontario podcast will launch, as well as improved stakeholder tools.

Learn More
Interested in learning more about these initiatives? Reach out to Gord Knowles, Senior Coordinator, Investment Attraction and Economic Development at g.knowles@destinationnorthernontario.ca