Situated in northern Wellington County, the Town of Minto covers 300 km2 and is home to just over 9000 residents within its settlement areas of Harriston, Palmerston, Clifford and rural areas. Noted as being the town “Where Your Family Belongs”, Minto endures the draw to the many larger urban centres within an hour’s drive. None the less, it has dramatically transformed its communities through a series of community improvement initiatives including streetscapes, commemorative spaces, parks, gateway signage, and façade programs for its downtown areas.

At a time where economic development was in its infancy for most Ontario rural communities, Minto became a trailblazer, embracing potential and opportunity for the physical appearance and promotion of its communities. Following in the footsteps of OMAFRA’s early Main Street pilots, Minto retained SKA (now pl.ural) to facilitate community engagement and “game plan” preparation for each of its communities. Fifteen years later, the Town of Minto has emerged as an example of how to engage, plan, pace, and leverage funding support (and community support) for strategic improvements to its “place” – as a result, it’s physical appearance, user experience, and desirability have all increased.