Every August, the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) Conference brings together municipal leaders, Cabinet Ministers, and senior provincial staff from across Ontario for arguably the most important week on the province’s municipal calendar. For OBIAA, AMO is a unique opportunity to sit across the table from Ministers and make the case for Ontario’s Main Streets, our 300+ BIAs, and the 140,000+ small businesses we represent – face-to-face, on the issues that matter most to our members.
This document outlines the delegation requests OBIAA is bringing to 14 Ministers at AMO 2026. The issues span the full range of what we hear from you: Municipal Act modernization, second-floor housing, retail crime and CPTED, supportive housing and mental health, tourism funding, MTO red tape, capital works mitigation, energy affordability, vacant unit activation, rural and Northern main street investment, and more. Some are full delegation requests; others will be sent as supporting letters or paired with our white paper Turning the Lights On. All of them are grounded in what’s happening on your Main Streets.
How you can help – three quick asks:
- Read the issues that resonate with your BIA. Each issue card has a short discussion-points summary and a fuller overview – written to be useful in conversations with your board, your members, and your municipal council.
- Send us your stories and examples. A real example from your Main Street – a vacancy you can’t fill, a visitor who couldn’t find your district from the highway, a heritage building you can’t afford to retrofit, a successful festival now at risk – is worth more than any statistic we could cite. Please send them to [email protected]
- Share this document with your municipality. Pass it to your CAO, council, and economic development lead. The more municipal voices reinforcing these asks – at AMO, with your MPP, and in your own backyard – the stronger our collective impact.
OBIAA’s advocacy is your advocacy. Thank you for being part of it.
