Northern Ontario’s Bilingual Powerhouse

How One Northern Ontario Municipality Leverages Bilingual Services, Strategic Location, and Collaborative Leadership to Defy Small-Town Decline

Halfway between North Bay and Sudbury on Highway 17, West Nipissing occupies a prime position in Northern Ontario’s economic corridor. With 14,500 residents, the municipality ranks as the region’s seventh largest, a fact that surprises many southern Ontarians accustomed to denser populations. The community’s strategic location provides access to two major markets while maintaining the character of a close-knit northern town.

“Fifteen thousand doesn’t seem like a lot in terms of southern Ontario municipalities, but it does put us as one of the larger centers in the north,” says Mayor Kathleen Thorne Rochon, who has led the municipality since 2022. The amalgamated community, formed in 1999 from seventeen and a half former townships and villages, has emerged as the most bilingual municipality in Ontario, with 73.4% of residents fluent in both official languages.

Language and culture define West Nipissing’s identity. Over 60% of residents claim French as their first language, while approximately 19% identify as Indigenous, including members of the nearby Nipissing First Nation whose ancestors, the N’Biissing people, were the area’s original inhabitants. This cultural mix creates what Mayor Rochon describes as “a mix of people and cultures that really add a kind of interest and spark to what we do here.” Many families and retirees are drawn to West Nipissing for its lively Francophone culture, strong sense of community, and access to year-round outdoor lifestyle.

Healthcare Excellence in Two Languages

West Nipissing’s healthcare infrastructure supports Northern Ontario’s medical services. The West Nipissing General Hospital, community health center, and 160-bed municipally owned long-term care home anchor the municipality’s position as a regional service center. All three facilities operate in French and English, addressing a critical gap in francophone healthcare accessibility across the province.

“We’re also very fortunate that we have some excellent public infrastructure,” Mayor Rochon notes. “All of our services, our hospitals, our health centers, and our long-term care home offer services in French, which is really important in this region where you have such a high number of francophone residents.”

Recruitment remains an ongoing challenge, particularly given the municipality’s focus on bilingual staffing. The Northern Ontario School of Medicine in Sudbury provides a pipeline of potential physicians, many of whom grew up in the north and want to practice there. “We find that the students that are attending medical training there a lot of times are from the north and therefore interested in staying in the north,” Mayor Rochon explains. The municipality works closely with its physician recruitment committee to attract healthcare professionals across the spectrum, from personal support workers to specialists.

Housing availability compounds recruitment difficulties. “You can bring people into the community, but you need to have somewhere for them to live,” the mayor acknowledges. “We all know that housing has become a challenge across the country as well.” The municipality addresses this through planned senior housing developments and infrastructure improvements designed to support residential growth.

Downtown Where Art Meets Commerce

West Nipissing’s downtown core defies the narrative of dying main streets plaguing many small Canadian municipalities. “We’ve been fortunate to keep a lot of good local retailers in our downtown core that offer a variety of services,” Mayor Rochon says. “We have an independent dollar store, we have a beautiful florist and gift shop, a couple of boutiques, a consignment store, pharmacies. So, we still do have a very vibrant and active commercial sector.” Banks, the post office, and other essential services remain downtown rather than migrating to strip malls, ensuring regular foot traffic that benefits all businesses.

A volunteer beautification committee led by Gayle Primeau has transformed the streetscape through strategic investments and creative placemaking. Over twenty murals now adorn building walls throughout downtown, each created by local artists over the past six years. “She’s done an excellent job of really making downtown something to look at, advocating for investments in benches and garbage cans, but also planting flowers,” the mayor notes of Primeau’s leadership.

The aesthetic improvements serve a deeper purpose. “There’s probably something on that street that serves almost every resident in the community,” Mayor Rochon observes. “Keeping those core key services in the downtown ensures that we have consistent traffic as far as our residents needing to visit for certain services. And of course that helps support the businesses that serve the wants instead of the needs like the boutiques and the retail stores.”

Economic Development Without Barriers

West Nipissing has never charged development fees, a policy that sets it apart from most Ontario municipalities and recently aligned with provincial directives eliminating such charges. The municipality’s industrial park outside town offers available land for businesses seeking Northern Ontario locations with access to both Sudbury and North Bay markets.

“We’ve always been very open to people approaching us with opportunities and understand the value to the community of that economic development,” Mayor Rochon explains. “We don’t necessarily need to make money on development charges because it is about increasing the tax base, increasing employment opportunities.” This approach has attracted new restaurants and shops to the highway commercial zone while maintaining space for industrial growth.

An economic development advisory committee brings together representatives from agriculture, tourism, resource development, downtown businesses, and commercial sectors. The diverse membership provides the council with expertise across West Nipissing’s economic spectrum. “It’s really quite a diverse group of people with a lot of different experiences that do assist the council in assessing those types of opportunities,” the mayor notes.

Additionally, the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation offers funding streams for public and private sector projects, while the Community Futures Development Corporation provides startup loans through Economic Partners Sudbury East West Nipissing.

“They’re an agency funded by the government that is focused on community development, economic development,” Mayor Rochon says. “There is additional support within the community for those that are looking to start or expand businesses.” The municipality is home to one of the region’s few independent primary sawmills – Goulard Lumber, demonstrating its continued involvement in resource industries while actively diversifying its economic base.

Agricultural Innovation and Climate Opportunity

Agriculture drives West Nipissing’s economy through sophisticated operations that rival any in southern Ontario. “We have operations that are right on the cutting edge of technology, and it’s really great to see,” Mayor Rochon says. “Parsons Farm does dairy and they have fully automated smartphone tags on their cows and the milking machines that are unbelievable what they do as far as collecting data and making the operations more efficient.”

The cooperative model amplifies individual farm capabilities. “The cooperative now, which serves many members, has a large location based out of Verner with grain silos and fuel operations,” the mayor explains. “It is the farmers getting together to be more efficient in their business and they offer all kinds of support and benefits for their members that really help to strengthen and create a solid foundation for agricultural business.”

Climate change presents unexpected opportunities for northern agriculture. Rising temperatures and increased heat units enable crops previously impossible at this latitude. “We’re seeing the production capacity of our land increase as we experience warmer climate,” Mayor Rochon notes. “Our district is really ripe for investment in agriculture. Again, we’re located between two large markets with easy access to the US.” The combination of expanding growing possibilities, strategic location, and established agricultural infrastructure positions West Nipissing to capitalize on shifting agricultural patterns affecting Canadian farming.

Major Infrastructure Projects

Four major infrastructure projects define West Nipissing’s capital agenda, each addressing decades-long community needs. “The Champlain Bridge is the bridge that goes over Highway 17 just outside of our downtown core,” Mayor Rochon explains. “It is scheduled for full replacement. It’s going to be a big project worth around $25-30 million, unfortunately, it’s going to be a little disruptive. That is the main way from one side of the Sturgeon River to the other, which runs through town.” The municipality continues negotiations with the Ministry of Transportation regarding the connecting link designation that complicates funding arrangements.

Water infrastructure expansion from Sturgeon Falls to Verner represents another critical priority. The project would replace Verner’s aging water treatment plant, which currently draws from the Veuve River. “The project to run the pipe from Cache Bay into Verner stands at about $15 million total cost,” the mayor notes. “We’re ready to go as far as having a plan for it, we’re just working again with the provincial government to access some funding.”

Beyond bridges and water systems, the municipality pursues landfill expansion and affordable housing development. A planned 45-unit senior housing complex would join existing buildings at th Au Château, Home for the Aged, adding to West Nipissing’s not-for-profit housing stock. “We are shovel ready to build a fifth building and add to our affordable seniors housing stock,” Mayor Rochon confirms. Each project requires provincial funding support, keeping the municipality in constant advocacy mode with Queen’s Park.

Leadership Philosophy and Future Vision

Mayor Rochon operates by two guiding principles that shape her approach to municipal leadership. Her philosophy encompasses personal conviction and political pragmatism as she leads West Nipissing through infrastructure challenges and growth opportunities. The mayor, who previously served as Northern Development Advisor for the Ontario Ministry of Northern Development and Mines, brings provincial experience to local governance.

“If you’re not changing it, you’re choosing it,” she states, explaining her first principle. “If you see things around you that need to get fixed or want to get fixed, you can choose to make changes. You can absolutely choose the status quo if that works for you. But if you are not actively working at changing something, if you’re not actively working at improving it, then you’re choosing to remain the same.”

Her second principle drives her advocacy efforts with senior governments. “If you don’t ask, you don’t get. I just keep asking. I try to put myself out there every opportunity I have to speak about both the opportunities within the community and the challenges. I am not shy to ask for the things that we need and to make it known where our priorities are.”

One of the Municipality’s most exciting initiatives is the redevelopment of the former pulp and paper mill site. This municipally owned land, located along Highway 17 near the downtown core, is being transformed with a long-term vision for mixed-use development. The Municipal Economic Development team is actively advancing the project, which aims to integrate housing, greenspace, retail, and highway-commercial business. As part of this effort, the property is undergoing an environmental assessment to support sustainable and strategic planning. “This site was vital to the establishment of the municipality, and I look forward to seeing it once again become a meaningful and central part of our community,” Mayor Rochon reflects.

As West Nipissing balances growth with community character, infrastructure renewal with fiscal responsibility, and economic diversification with cultural preservation, its strategic location and collaborative leadership position the municipality to thrive as Northern Ontario evolves.

AT A GLANCE

Who: Municipality of West Nipissing

What: A bilingual Northern Ontario community of 14,500 residents serving as a regional healthcare, agricultural, commercial and outdoor recreation hub between two major markets.

Where: Ontario, Canada

Website: www.westnipissing.ca