The Nation Municipality’s 2025–2031 Strategic Plan lays the foundation for a thriving, sustainable, and united community. Guided by our vision of a future where rural and urban landscapes work together to drive progress, the plan focuses on: providing core services, communicating and informing our community and strengthening our organization. Together, we’re building a resilient municipality that embraces innovation, supports economic development, and enhances quality of life for all. Learn more by exploring our full Strategic Plan.
2025-2031 STRATEGIC PLAN
THE CORPORATION OF THE NATION MUNICIPALITY
May 2025
Resolution Number: RES-CM-95-2025
Adoption Date: May 26, 2025
Note regarding bilingual documentation: In the event of a discrepancy between the English and French versions of a text, the English version prevails.
Vision
A sustainable and united community where rural and urban landscapes work together to drive progress, embrace innovation and create a thriving future for all.
Mission
Forward-thinking, sustainable services provided through meaningful partnerships and strategic growth to empower current and future generations
Values
Dedicated: We are a team driven by a strong work ethic, always striving to serve our community with excellence.
Collaboration: We foster unity and teamwork across communities, neighbouring municipalities, and within our organization to optimize opportunities and develop creative solutions.
Adaptability: We embrace a growth mindset, remaining flexible to navigate evolving challenges.
Sustainability: We prioritize fiscal responsibility and efficiency, leveraging every opportunity to drive meaningful progress that benefits our residents today and in the future.
Transparency: We deliver services and communicate with honesty, ensuring accountability, and fostering a culture where fearless advice is shared openly and respectfully between staff, Council, and residents.
Our Current Context
The Nation Municipality is a dynamic and evolving community, deeply proud of our bilingual heritage and strong agricultural roots. Ideally located along Highway 417 between Ottawa and Montreal, we have five exits along our 45 km southern border.
Our business sector is as diverse as it is vibrant, thriving in an environment rich with opportunity. Starting at the western point, our municipality is a hub for tourism and recreation. Moving eastward, the landscape transforms into a fertile agricultural heartland, supporting over 250 farms and hosting innovative enterprises.
As we continue to grow, we embrace both the challenges and opportunities that come with expansion. Financial constraints, infrastructure demands, and the need for enhanced services require creative solutions and strategic planning.
Yet, with growth comes the chance to shape a brighter future. This period of transformation is an opportunity to strengthen our local economy, enhance the quality of life for our residents, and build a more resilient, united, and forward-looking municipality. Together, we are laying the foundation for a future where The Nation thrives.
Our Path Forward: 2025 to 2031
Over the next seven years, we will be proactive in our approach to build a solid foundation that prepares us for growth, opening up new possibilities while reinforcing our infrastructure for the future.
Creative collaboration will be crucial for achieving our strategic goals. We will work with municipal and regional partners in efficient shared service delivery strategies.
A. PROVIDE CORE SERVICES
Introduction
Council, in collaboration with staff, will undertake strategic discussions to establish achievable levels of service.
To meet complex community needs, we will conduct a detailed community profile study providing a snapshot of our current residential and business landscape. This will serve as a stepping stone toward an intentional approach to land use planning.
Asset and Financial Management
As provincially mandated, we will implement and continuously maintain our ever-evolving 20-year asset management plan to ensure responsible investments in infrastructure and services. Our objective is to reduce the current funding gap in core areas, particularly roads and bridges, water and sewer systems, as well as facilities.
We will prioritize data-driven approaches, continuing to leverage our own workforce and expertise to undertake public works’ projects; we will additionally explore opportunities with other local governments to enhance shared service delivery.
We will prioritize multi-year budgeting, emphasizing sustainable asset management and responsible fiscal decisions. Long-term financial planning will include policies that enhance revenue management efficiency, mitigating budget fluctuations and maximizing funds.
Supporting the Community and Economic Development
To ensure community safety, we will develop and implement a transportation master plan to facilitate various transportation methods. This includes exploring traffic calming measures as well as expanding our active transportation networks.
We will strengthen our fire services, by-law enforcement, and emergency preparedness by advancing collaborative opportunities with other municipalities.
We will foster economic development through future oriented planning and strategic partnerships to expand our commercial and industrial tax base, attracting private sector investment and diversifying retail opportunities.
Where suitable opportunities arise, we will take the lead in land development for commercial and industrial zones. This includes proceeding with the expansion of Innovation Park into Phase 2, following the success of Phase 1.
Recreation and Culture
In recreation, culture and heritage, we aim to assess and deliver programming and services, as well as core facilities to promote well-being and active living. We will prioritize collaboration with our residents, Boards, and committees to deliver sustainable services. We believe the most meaningful initiatives are those created by the community, for the community.
B. COMMUNICATE AND INFORM OUR COMMUNITY
External Communications
Municipal communications rely on mutual understanding. We will develop a comprehensive external communications plan to ensure residents stay informed and are connected.
Our priority is to provide clear, timely, and accessible information to further promote transparency. We will continue implementing effective solutions and communication tools to streamline information sharing.
We recognize the growing need for dedicated resources to strengthen communication, meet evolving legislative requirements and support municipal growth. By investing strategically, we will ensure the public has access to the information they need to stay informed about key municipal decisions and services.
Internal Communications
We will enhance internal communications amongst staff and Council by streamlining real-time information sharing through digital tools. This also includes building stronger interdepartmental connectivity, integration and communication.
C. STRENGTHEN OUR ORGANIZATION
Strategic Human Resources
The Nation’s staff members and Council are the cornerstone of the organization, dedicated to delivering exceptional services. Our municipality is committed to sustaining its positive and collaborative culture. We will continue investing in our workforce and Council members by prioritizing recruitment, engagement, professional development training, retention, recognition, and succession planning.
In alignment with the municipality’s Human Resources Plan, continuous investments within financial realities will be made to meet service level expectations. A formal organizational review will be undertaken to ensure our structure is most effective and efficient.
Modernizing Systems
The Nation will invest in modernizing its systems to streamline services, enhance the customer experience, formalize processes and take advantage of new technologies. Our goal is to optimize efficiencies and create long-term financial savings.
Reporting Process
Once levels of service have been formally approved by Council, staff will develop milestones and metrics along with a structured reporting framework tied to the strategic plan.
This will enable the municipality to evaluate success and identify opportunities for continuous improvement. Wherever feasible, decision-making processes will be informed by comprehensive data analysis, ensuring clarity, accountability, and effectiveness.
STRATEGIC PRIORITIES AND STRATEGIES
A. Provide Core Services
B. Communicate and Inform our Community
C. Strengthen our Organization
Read more on the Economic & Tourism Development Strategic Plan 2021-2024
This strategic plan is the result of a collaborative effort between Champ libre stratégies, the members of the steering committee, the members of the economic and tourism development committee, as well as the guests and residents who attended the viewing sessions held in fall 2019.
Read more on the Parks and Recreation Master Plan
The Parks and Recreation Master Plan sets out a vision, strategic objectives and key initiatives for the period 2020-2034. The master plan will serve as a policy framework to manage and sustain parks, recreation programs and facilities. It will also be a guide to decision-making for future capital and operational initiatives.
Read more on the Asset Management Policy
The purpose of this policy is to detail the Asset Management program principles with the aim of delivering services at approved levels of service; improve decision-making, accountability and transparency; reduce life cycle costs while maintaining acceptable levels of service; and linking infrastructure investment decisions to service outcomes.
