Main Street Canada

For leaders, policy makers, community voices, and others who are taking action on their main street, Main Street Canada serves as a hub for solutions – all in one place.

Who Is Main Street Canada?

About Main Street Canada

Revitalizing communities from the ground up.

Main Street Canada is a national platform of the Canadian Urban Institute that delivers data-driven tools and community-building services to municipalities, BIAs, economic development organizations, and others working to build resilient, prosperous, and vibrant main streets—from small towns to city districts.

The platform equips local leaders with the insights, tools, and support they need to strengthen the economic, civic, and social heart of their communities through proven, practical, scalable, and cost-effective solutions.

We believe that when main streets are strong, communities are more resilient, inclusive, and vibrant. Main Street Canada helps local leaders turn that vision into action and reality.

What We Do

Main Street Canada delivers a suite of integrated services that equip communities to plan, invest, and collaborate for main street renewal—supporting long-term resilience, economic vitality, and community success:

Main Street Metrics – Real-time dashboards and data tools that track performance, guide decision-making, and empower advocacy

Main Street Advisory – Strategy development, economic analysis, policy alignment, and implementation support

Main Street Exchange – A national peer learning network that shares best practices, benchmarks success, and builds connections

We work with municipalities, BIAs, Indigenous communities, economic development offices, and regional agencies across Canada.

Our Approach

Our approach is collaborative, practical, and place-based. We meet communities where they are - offering scalable solutions built on local insight, national data, proven best practices, and 35+ years of experience from the Canadian Urban Institute. We believe in building capacity locally while connecting communities nationally.

The Main Street
Advantage

What happens when main streets - their people, infrastructure, businesses and beyond - are well cared for and invested in?

Main Streets Drive Local Economies

Main streets support independent businesses, create jobs, and keep wealth circulating locally. When small businesses thrive, so do the communities around them. A strong main street means a resilient local economy.

Main Streets Build Community & Culture

Main streets are gathering places where people connect. They reflect local history, culture, and identity, providing spaces for public life, events, and shared experiences that make communities unique.

Main Streets Are Key to Sustainable Growth

Walkable, mixed-use main streets reduce reliance on cars, encourage active transportation, and support public transit. Investing in main streets means investing in a more sustainable, climate-ready future.

Main Streets Strengthen Social Resilience

During crises—whether economic downturns, pandemics, or climate events—main streets serve as stabilizing forces. They provide essential services, foster mutual support, and help communities adapt and recover.

Main Streets Are a Barometer of Community Health

When a main street is thriving, it signals a healthy community. When it struggles, it’s often an early warning sign of broader economic and social challenges. Investing in main streets is investing in the well-being of people and places.

Why It Matters

Main streets are where small businesses grow, neighbours meet, and public life comes alive. But they’re under pressure from shifting economies, construction disruption, climate change, policy gaps, and rising socio-economic and mental health challenges. Main Street Canada exists to help communities respond with better data, stronger strategies, and a growing network of peers working toward shared goals.

Main Streets Are Vital
Yet Vulnerable

Main streets are the backbone of local economies, but they operate within a larger system of national and global forces that can make them particularly fragile.

Unlike big-box retailers, online giants, or corporate chains that can absorb shocks across multiple locations, main street businesses often operate on razor-thin margins and are deeply tied to the economic health of their immediate community. Here’s why they are especially vulnerable:

Exposure to Global Economic Shifts

Main streets feel the impact of macroeconomic changes—such as inflation, interest rate hikes, and trade policies—much more acutely than larger corporations. Supply chain disruptions, import tariffs, and fluctuating consumer confidence can have immediate and severe consequences for independent businesses that lack financial buffers.

Rising Costs & Limited Pricing Power

Local businesses on main streets often face rising commercial rents, property taxes, and operational costs while struggling to compete with large chains that can afford to keep prices low through economies of scale. Unlike national retailers, main street businesses can’t always pass these costs onto consumers without losing customers.

Changing Consumer Behaviors & E-commerce Competition

The rise of online shopping and big-box convenience means that fewer people rely on main street businesses for their daily needs. While some businesses have adapted by expanding digital offerings, many independent retailers and service providers struggle to compete with the convenience, pricing, and reach of major e-commerce platforms.

Local Economic Downturns Hit Harder

Main streets depend on local spending, meaning economic downturns in a particular town or region can be devastating. When major employers close, when population shifts occur, or when household incomes decline, main street businesses lose customers directly unlike national retailers that can absorb losses in one location through revenue from others.

Disruptions Have a Direct & Immediate Impact

Weather events, infrastructure failures, or construction projects can have an outsized impact on main street businesses. A single road closure, flood, or extreme weather event can be the difference between survival and closure for a small business that doesn’t have backup revenue streams.

Dependence on Public Policy & Support

Unlike large corporations with lobbying power, main streets are often at the mercy of municipal, provincial, and federal policies on zoning, taxation, minimum wage, and infrastructure investment. A lack of supportive policies can further strain their ability to adapt and thrive.

Led by the Canadian Urban Institute

CUI is Canada’s Urban Institute, the national platform that houses the best in Canadian city building — where policymakers, urban professionals, civic and business leaders, community activists and academics can learn, share and collaborate with one another from coast to coast to coast.

Over the last decade, the Canadian Urban Institute has successfully developed, managed, and distributed $100M+ in funding programs for Main Streets successfully and has brought together 40,000+ top city-building leaders and national networks to quickly get that support to Main Streets across Canada.

Why Main Streets Matter More Than Ever

Main streets are the backbone of Canadian communities. They are where local businesses fuel the economy, where people connect, and where culture comes to life. Yet, main streets face mounting pressures - from rising costs and global market shifts to changing consumer behaviors and climate challenges. Investing in their resilience isn’t just about preserving the past; it’s about securing the future.