Welcome to the Partners with Rural Ontario (PRO) website. 

Please take some time to share the concerns that are closest to home for you. Partners with Rural Ontario is an initiative by the Ontario Progressive Conservative Caucus to give the people of Rural Ontario the voice they have lacked during these past five years. The PRO team is embarking an aggressive schedule to hear how we can restore Rural Ontario.

Rural Ontario laid the foundations, fed the masses, and has supported the urban landscape of this province. Today, however, our values, culture, heritage, and way of life are in jeopardy. We have watched with great concern as the current government's polices have hurt our rural economy, institutions and rural heritage.

The recent years have been some of the most devastating for rural Ontario. Thousands of manufacturing jobs have been lost, tourism is at a record low, and with the youth out-migration that robs our communities of their vitality and skilled labour, the lifestyle we all love and cherish is in danger.

With great pride we stand as advocates for, and citizens of, Rural Ontario. The current government has neglected the economy, culture, and institutions of Rural Ontario but we will not stand idly by. By listening to the people directly affected by government neglect, we will develop a well thought out, ambitious plan for restoring Rural Ontario's prosperity.

Our team will address four major themes and their impact on Rural Ontario:

  • Mending the provincial government's relationship with municipal governments, lessening intrusion into municipal governance, and sensible planning and financing in areas of shared responsibility;
  • Improving the delivery of provincial-government services to people and businesses in rural Ontario, including sensitivity to unique rural concerns;
  • Identifying and removing the economic and regulatory obstacles standing in the way of rural Ontario's prosperity; and
  • Developing innovative ways to boost economic development in Rural Ontario.

In the weeks and months ahead I hope that you join us for clear and open discussions on preserving the Ontario we know and love. If you are unable to join us in person, I welcome you to make a submission through our website (www.ruralpartners.ca) and check back with us regularly to see the progress the PRO team is making.

Thank you for your interest, your contributions to the discussion, and for sharing our desire to restore Ontario's heartland.

Randy Hillier MPP

Chair, PRO