Can public investment revive Canada’s ailing main streets?

In the aftermath of the pandemic, small businesses along Canada’s main streets are still reporting below-normal revenues and business owner confidence is falling, studies by the Canadian Urban Institute are finding.

But greater public investment in infrastructure, incentives and changes in regulations can be effective in fostering growth and prosperity, experts said in a CityTalk webinar in March organized by the Canadian Urban Institute (CUI), a not-for-profit organization focused on urban issues.