Ontario Puts Nearly $2 Million Behind First Business Succession Hub

Ontario is investing nearly $2 million to launch the province's first-ever business succession planning hub, betting that structured exit planning can save jobs at a time when only one in 10 Canadian small business owners has a formal succession plan.

The new online platform, Succession Ontario, is delivered by the Kingston Economic Development Corporation (KEDCO). It gives business owners tools and resources to understand what selling or exiting a business actually requires. The stakes are large: Ontario counts more than 500,000 small businesses, roughly 98 percent of all companies in the province, employing nearly 2.5 million people.

"Whether it's a family farm in Prince Edward County or a local convenience store in Sarnia, a small business can leave a lasting positive impact in their community when smoothly bought, sold or passed to the next generation," said Nina Tangri, Associate Minister of Small Business. "As many business owners prepare to retire over the next decade, our government is helping them plan for the future, so their business can continue to thrive under new leadership."

A delivery network of 54 centres

The hub does not stop at a website. Small Business Enterprise Centres (SBECs) across Ontario will receive training and resources so their staff can deliver one-on-one advisory services in their local communities. That network is substantial. Ontario's 54 SBEC locations helped start over 8,000 businesses, expand 2,700 and create more than 15,800 jobs in 2024-25, according to the province.

KEDCO won the mandate through a competitive process. After an August 2025 call for proposals from SBECs, the Kingston agency scored highest for its track record and experience in delivering effective succession planning services.

"Ensuring that businesses and the jobs that they create stay in our local communities is a top economic priority," said Donna Gillespie, CEO of KEDCO. "We're proud to partner with the province and our network of 54 Small Business Enterprise Centres to deliver the training and tools entrepreneurs need to plan for the future and protect Ontario's economy."

Budget commitment, tariff backdrop

The province first announced the initiative in its 2025 Budget, A Plan to Protect Ontario. The government frames the hub as part of a broader push to strengthen local economies, create jobs and keep the province competitive.

The policy context matters. With U.S. tariffs hitting workers and businesses across key sectors, the Ontario government says it is responding by lowering taxes, cutting red tape and duplicative processes, and making strategic investments. By helping small businesses succeed, the province aims to make its economy what it calls the most competitive place in the G7 to invest, create jobs and do business.

Why succession planning now

The demographic pressure behind the program is straightforward. A large share of Ontario's business owners will retire over the next decade, and without formal plans, many firms risk closure or fire-sale exits rather than transfers to buyers or the next generation. A family farm or a corner store sold smoothly keeps payroll in the community; one shut down does not.

The one-in-ten succession planning figure underscores the gap. If even a fraction of Ontario's 500,000-plus small businesses face unplanned transitions in the coming years, the effect on employment — spread across the nearly 2.5 million people who work at small firms in the province — could be significant.

SBECs, which already provide advisory services, training and programs to help entrepreneurs launch and grow businesses, will now carry the succession mandate into their communities. The model pairs a centralized digital hub with local, face-to-face advice.

For business owners weighing an exit, the practical takeaway is that free, government-backed advisory capacity is arriving through a network that already has a measurable delivery record. How effectively KEDCO and the 54 SBECs convert that capacity into formal succession plans will determine whether the $2 million investment moves the needle on Ontario's retirement-driven ownership transition wave.