South Bruce supports a total of 21.4% of the agriculture sector within Bruce County. Larger farm operations continue to grow in our area, which brings in new partnerships and opportunities for South Bruce.
Economic Development Strategy
The Municipality of South Bruce has developed an Economic Development Strategy to help us grow our community to benefit all residents, businesses, and visitors.
Community-based vision
South Bruce is a growing, dynamic, agriculturally-rooted community that provides accessible and affordable amenities for residents and businesses, creating an environment supportive of growth, vibrant downtowns that foster small business, and a unique, year-round destination experience.
Key Sector Profiles
Our strategy identifies five key sectors that are essential economic drivers for the South Bruce community.
Food and beverage manufacturing
South Bruce makes up 50% of Bruce County’s dairy product manufacturing, product manufacturing and beverage manufacturing.
We support a variety of tourism and hospitality services within South Bruce including:
- Hunting and trapping
- Beverage manufacturing
- Gift stores
- Consumer goods rentals
- Tourism agencies
- Restaurants
South Bruce supports cement and concrete product manufacturing, making up one third of the sector within Bruce County.
We provide 25% of the furniture and kitchen manufacturing within Bruce County, on top of 2.8% in other wood product manufacturing.
Where We Are Now
We studied our community characteristics to help us learn about our talents, skills, and future growth opportunities. We gathered the information from extensive research and stakeholder engagement sessions.
We have recognized the following municipal demographics for South Bruce when comparing our community to Bruce County and Ontario statistics. Our demographics include:
- 5,639 residents
- Median age of 41.5 years
- Larger portion of people between the ages 5-19 than Ontario
- Larger families with an average of three people per household
- Largest growth rate in median household income at 32% (averaging $67,189 for total household income)
- Largest growth rate for average value of dwelling at 28%
- A labour force in apprenticeships, trades, business, management, and public administration
More development in single detached homes due to low population density.
Our leading sources of employment within South Bruce include:
- Agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting
- Manufacturing
Sectors with the largest growth in workers within South Bruce include:
- Manufacturing
- Health care and social assistance
- Construction
Retail trade
Overall, South Bruce is home to many successful small companies and enterprises. Their focus is in the agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting sector and the construction sectors.