ConnectON

Data engine for economic growth

ConnectON is an economic development tool that provides geo-mapped data and dashboards to support investment, business retention and growth across Ontario.

Municipalities, cities, regions and districts across Ontario, led by the Golden Horseshoe Food and Farming Alliance, have built ConnectON - an asset mapping platform for the agri-food and manufacturing sectors; and for Northern Ontario users, a third sector, tourism. Using the platform, they have the ability to upload, update, select, sort and map their own data, as well as data provided through project partners, users and other sources. Data can be viewed regionally, encouraging collaboration with neighbouring areas. As the platform evolves, additional sectors such as forestry, mining or technology may be added and other geographies may join ConnectON.
To promote collaboration with users and the public across Ontario, ConnectON has expanded its resources to include publicly available dashboards for the agri-food and manufacturing sectors. ConnectON users and the public have access to dashboards that visualize data locally, regionally and provincially such as number of businesses, employment data, trends, and much more!

Explore the Public Dashboard


Led by
Powered by
Industry 2021   
Agriculture

Farms

Farm operators People employed by farm operators

Acres of agricultural land Gross farm receipts
Sales & Trade

Number of farms that sell directly to consumers Number of farms that use on-site farm stores, stands, U-pick and gate sales Number of farms that deliver direct to consumers

Number of farms that sell to farmers' markets Number of farms operating CSA Number of farms that sell by other methods
Economic Impact

Total farm operating revenue Total Manufacturing Sales
Manufacturing

Manufacturing Operations Manufacturers

People employed by manufacturers Gross manufacturing receipts
Introduction
Welcome to the ConnectON Dashboard. Ontario's agri-food sector is a cornerstone of our thriving economy. Farmers, food processors, grocers, and all the other businesses along the agri-food supply chain generate $47 billion in provincial gross domestic product (GDP) and employ about 1 in 10 Ontarians. The dashboard provides curated, aggregated business and employment data from various sources, for municipalities, cities and regions across the province.
Sources
Graph Source Collection Date
Sales & Trade Data County profiles: agriculture, food and business | ontario.ca Dec 31 2021
Farming Density County profiles: agriculture, food and business | ontario.ca Dec 31 2021
Farm Employment data Ontario business, agri-food, and farm data profiles - Dataset - Ontario Data Catalogue Dec 31 2022
Top 10 Employers by Farm Type Workforce planning Data Dec 31 2022
Farm Land Data County profiles: agriculture, food and business | ontario.ca Dec 31 2021
Farm by Industry Ontario business, agri-food, and farm data profiles - Dataset - Ontario Data Catalogue Dec 31 2022
Top Crops Ontario business, agri-food, and farm data profiles - Dataset - Ontario Data Catalogue Dec 31 2021
Number of Farms by NAICS Code Data Aggregated from ConnectON Oct 13 2023
Additional Links
  1. Rural Ontario Data and Information Resources - ON Regional Economic Development (onregionalecdev.com)
  2. Statistics Canada Data Centre: https://www23.statcan.gc.ca/imdb/p3VD.pl?Function=getVD&TVD=1369825&HPA=1
  3. OMAFRA Agriculture Systems Portal: https://agriculture-systems-portal-ontarioca11.hub.arcgis.com
  4. NAICS Code Information: North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Canada 2022 Version 1.0 (statcan.gc.ca)
NAICS Code
AGRICULTURE
1111 Oilseed and grain farming
1112 Vegetable and melon farming
1113 Fruit and tree nut farming
1114 Greenhouse, nursery and floriculture production
1119 Other crop farming
1121 Cattle ranching and farming
1122 Hog and pig farming
1123 Poultry and egg production
1124 Sheep and goat farming
1125 Aquaculture
1129 Other animal production
1132 Forest nurseries and gathering of forest products
1151 Support activities for crop production
1152 Support activities for animal production
1153 Support activities for forestry
FARM PRODUCT MERCHANT WHOLESALERS
4111 Farm product merchant wholesalers
4183 Agricultural supplies merchant wholesalers
FOOD AND BEVERAGE RETAIL
4131 Food merchant wholesalers
4132 Beverage merchant wholesalers
4133 Cigarette and tobacco product merchant wholesalers
FOOD, BEVERAGE AND TOBACCO MERCHANT WHOLESALERS
4452 Speciality food stores
4453 Beer, wine and liquor stores
Glossary
Agricultural Land Agricultural land refers to both 'dependable agricultural land' and to 'agricultural land with limitations', as defined by the Canada Land Inventory.
Community Supported Agriculture CSA is a partnership between agricultural producers and consumers. "Members", "subscribers", or "shareholders" pay a fee at the beginning of the growing season to meet all or part of a farm's operating expenses for the upcoming season.
Direct Sales Products sold directly to consumers by farms includes on-site farm stores, stands, kiosks, U-pick, CSAs or farm gate sales.
Employees Employees are divided into Permanent full-time, Permenant part-time and Seasonal/Temporary workers.
Employees - Full-time Employees paid on a year-round full-time basis (30 or more hours per week) in the calendar year prior to the census.
Employees - Part-time Employees paid on a year-round part-time basis (less than 30 hours per week) in the calendar year prior to the census.
Employees - Seasonal/Temporary Employees paid on a seasonal or temporary basis in the calendar year prior to the census.
Farm Census farms that produces agricultural products and reports revenues or expenses for tax purposes to the Canada Revenue Agency.
Farm Operators Are people responsible for the management decisions of an agricultural operation. Includes owners, tenants or hired managers, etc.
Farm Type The "farm type" of a census farm indicates the predominant type of production of the operation (often limited to 4 digits NAICS code).
Industry Group Industry Group refers to a generally homogeneous group of economic producing units, primarily engaged in a specific set of activities. An activity is a particular method of combining goods and services inputs, labour and capital to produce one or more goods and/or services (products). In most cases, the activities that define an industry are homogeneous with respect to the production processes used (4 digits NAICS code).
NAICS Code NAICS stands for the North American Industry Classification System. NAICS is a classification system that assigns a 6-digits numerical code to businesses based on their main economic activity. 2, 3, 4, and 5-digits NAICS codes can also be used to identify and categorize industry groups. This system is used by Canada, Mexico, and the USA for various classification and statistical purposes.
Revenue Includes, before deducting expenses: agricultural products sold, program payments and custom work revenue (Gross Farm Receipts is used to interpret farm revenue).
Tenure of Farm Land Rented or Leased includes: Leased from government, crop-shared from others.
Top Employers by Farm Type Numbers used for this data set only include permanent employees (this includes full-time and part-time employees).
Top Farms by NAICS Code Data is sorted based on a single primary NAICS code reported by farm operators through Census Canada.
Total Farm Receipts Total amount of money that farmers receive from selling their agricultural products and services, include both market receipts and program payments.
Regional Areas as defined by Census Data
Central Ontario Durham, Haliburton, Hasting, Kawartha Lakes, Muskoka, Northumberland, Parry Sound, Peterborough, Prince Edward, Toronto, York
Eastern Ontario Frontenac, Lanark, Leeds and Grenville, Lennox and Addington, Ottawa, Prescott and Russell, Renfrew, Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry
Northern Ontario Algoma, Cochrane, Greater Sudbury, Kenora, Manitoulin, Nipissing, Rainy River, Sudbury, Thunder Bay, Timiskaming
Southern Ontario Brant, Chatham-Kent, Elgin, Essex, Haldimand, Hamilton, Lambton, Middlesex, Niagara, Norfolk, Oxford
Western Ontario Bruce, Dufferin, Grey, Halton, Huron, Peel, Perth, Simcoe, Waterloo, Wellington
Farming Map

PEOPLE EMPLOYED BY FARM OPERATORS
Top 10 Employers by Farm Type

Farms Over Time
Tenure of Farm Land in Acres
Number of Farms by Size
Percentage of Farms by Industry Group
Top Crops by Acreage
Top Farms by NAICS Code
Agri Farm Revenue
Introduction
Welcome to the ConnectON Dashboard. Ontario's manufacturing sector is a key economic driver representing 11% of the province's GDP and employing about 800,000 workers. The dashboard provides curated, aggregated business and employment data from various sources, for municipalities, cities and regions across the province.
Sources
Graph Source Collection Date
Total Manufacturing Sales Lightcast Q3 2023 Data Set for Regional, jobs, wages and sales Nov 01 2023
Economic Impact Statistics Canada - Principal Statistics for Manufacturing Industries by NAICS Feb 14 2023
Manufacturing Density County profiles: agriculture, food and business Dec 31 2021
Manufacturing Employment Data Ontario business, employment and labour data profiles - Dataset - Ontario Data Catalogue Dec 31 2022
Top 10 Employers by Manufacturing Type Workforce planning Data Dec 31 2020
Agri-Food Manufacturer Data County profiles: agriculture, food and business | ontario.ca Dec 31 2022
Agri-Food Employment Ranges Ontario business, agri-food, and farm data profiles - Dataset - Ontario Data Catalogue Dec 31 2021
Advanced Manufacturing Ontario business, Community profiles - Dataset - Ontario Data Catalogue Dec 31 2021
Additional Links
  1. Rural Ontario Data and Information Resources - ON Regional Economic Development (onregionalecdev.com)
  2. Statistics Canada Data Centre: https://www23.statcan.gc.ca/imdb/p3VD.pl?Function=getVD&TVD=1369825&HPA=1
  3. OMAFRA Agriculture Systems Portal: https://agriculture-systems-portal-ontarioca11.hub.arcgis.com
  4. NAICS Code Information: North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Canada 2022 Version 1.0 (statcan.gc.ca)
NAICS Code
ADVANCED MANUFACTURING
313 Textile mills
314 Textile product mills
315 Clothing manufacturing
316 Leather and allied product manufacturing
321 Wood product manufacturing
322 Paper manufacturing
323 Printing and related support activities
324 Petroleum and coal product manufacturing
325 Chemical manufacturing
326 Plastics and rubber products manufacturing
327 Non-metallic mineral product manufacturing
331 Primary metal manufacturing
332 Fabricated metal product manufacturing
333 Machinery manufacturing
334 Computer and electronic product manufacturing
335 Electrical equipment, appliance and component manufacturing
336 Transportation equipment manufacturing
337 Furniture and related product manufacturing
339 Miscellaneous manufacturing
FOOD MANUFACTURING
3112 Grain and oilseed milling
3113 Sugar and confectionery product manufacturing
3114 Fruit and vegetable preserving and specialty food manufacturing
3115 Dairy product manufacturing
3116 Meat product manufacturing
3117 Seafood product preparation and packaging
3118 Bakeries and tortilla manufacturing
3119 Other food manufacturing
BEVERAGE AND TOBACCO PRODUCT MANUFACTURING
3121 Beverage manufacturing
3122 Tobacco manufacturing
3123 Cannabis product manufacturing
Glossary
Total Manufacturing Sales Sales are an industry's total annual sales (gross receipts), inclusive of sales to other industries and to consumers as well. Total Manufacturing Sales is representative of all businesses within the following NAICS Codes: 31, 32 and 33.
Advanced Manufacturing This sector comprises establishments primarily engaged in the chemical, mechanical or physical transformation of materials or substances into new products through the use of innovative technologies in products and processes.
Agri-Food Retail This includes establishments involved in selling products related to primary agriculture, food and beverage such as grocery stores, supermarkets, resturants, etc.
Beverage Manufacturing Beverage manufacturing industry group includes businesses such as wineries, distilleries, breweries, and soft drink and ice manufacturing.
Food and Beverage Manufacturing Operations engaged in the process of converting raw ingredients into finished products that are suitable for consumption by humans. Operations include ingredient preparation, mixing and blending, cooking, cooling, packaging, and storage.
Manufacturer Type Manufacturer type indicates the predominant type of production of the operation (recorded at a 3 digits NAICS code).
Manufacturers Are people responsible for the management decisions of a manufacturing operation. Includes owners, tenants or hired managers, etc.
Manufacturing Operation A consolidated structure and system that produces a product that can be sold to a customer.
NAICS Code NAICS stands for the North American Industry Classification System. NAICS is a classification system that assigns a 6-digits numerical code to businesses based on their main economic activity. 2, 3, 4, and 5-digits NAICS codes can also be used to identify and categorize industry groups. This system is used by Canada, Mexico, and the USA for various classification and statistical purposes.
Revenue Includes, before deducting expenses: manufacturing products sold, program payments, repair and custom work revenue.
Top Employment by Manufacturing Numbers used for this data set only include permanent employees (this includes full-time and part-time employees).
Regional Areas as defined by Census Data
Central Ontario Durham, Haliburton, Hasting, Kawartha Lakes, Muskoka, Northumberland, Parry Sound, Peterborough, Prince Edward, Toronto, York
Eastern Ontario Frontenac, Lanark, Leeds and Grenville, Lennox and Addington, Ottawa, Prescott and Russell, Renfrew, Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry
Northern Ontario Algoma, Cochrane, Greater Sudbury, Kenora, Manitoulin, Nipissing, Rainy River, Sudbury, Thunder Bay, Timiskaming
Southern Ontario Brant, Chatham-Kent, Elgin, Essex, Haldimand, Hamilton, Lambton, Middlesex, Niagara, Norfolk, Oxford
Western Ontario Bruce, Dufferin, Grey, Halton, Huron, Peel, Perth, Simcoe, Waterloo, Wellington
Manufacturing Map

PEOPLE EMPLOYED BY MANUFACTURERS
>
Manufacturers by Employment Range
Top Agri-Food Manufacturers by NAICS Code
Agri-Food Retail Businesses
Agri-Food Manufacturers by Employment Range
Top Employment by Manufacturing Type
Top Operations by Manufacturing Type
Manu Revenue

About

ConnectON is a tool that has been built by economic development staff at the municipal level. Municipal business data is supplemented with provincial and other data sources to provide a comprehensive local and regional view of the agricultural and manufacturing, (and tourism for Northern Ontario) sectors. ConnectON gives staff in economic development, planning and policy access to accurate and current business data that can be used to guide investment, identify trends and emerging opportunities, as well as understand the impact of investments on a regional basis. The ability to see a regional view strengthens collaboration for large investments in a sector.
Standardizing the way that data is collected has been one of the key accomplishments of ConnectON. With staff and steering committee input, value chains are identified and businesses are allocated a Canadian NAICS code. In this way, data can be compared and analyzed with confidence. Through a common data sharing agreement, users have password access to their data, regional data and data provided through partnerships with key regional and provincial organizations.

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Newsletters & Resources

"The ConnectON Tool provides valuable insights to the Western Ontario Wardens Caucus and our member Economic Developers, adding another tool to the box for increasing investment attraction to the region. By mapping the sector assets, we are able to have insight as to where food processing and manufacturing occurs, and where there are gaps. In turn, this will lead to targeted investment attraction, to fill gaps within the value chain and offer existing business the ability to grow within the Province."

- Kate Burns Gallagher, Executive Director Economic Development, Western Ontario Wardens' Caucus

Get in touch

Want your municipality to get involved?

With over seventy participating areas across Ontario, your region may already be taking advantage of this great system. If so, we can help get you set up and using the system in no time. If your organization isn't involved yet we'd be happy to discuss opportunities and how ConnectON can help you succeed. Either way, send us an email below and we'll be in touch!

Please contact us at support@connecton.ca

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