MHBC

Urban Planning Servicesmhbcplan.com

MHBC is a privately held Ontario professional planning firm founded in 1973, providing urban planning, urban design, landscape architecture, cultural heritage, resource management, and municipal planning services to municipalities, private developers, and aggregate producers across four Ontario offices.

Company typePrivate
Founded1973
HeadquartersBarrie, Canada
Headcount51–100
GTM typeB2B
OfferingServices

What MHBC does

MHBC Planning Urban Design & Landscape Architecture is a privately held Canadian professional services firm founded in 1973 by Ian MacNaughton in Barrie, Ontario. The firm provides integrated planning, urban design, landscape architecture, cultural heritage, resource management, and municipal planning services through six practice areas. It serves Ontario municipalities, private developers and landowners, and aggregate resource producers, working on land use policy, development applications, official plans, zoning by-laws, heritage conservation, and Aggregate Resources Act compliance. The firm is self-described as one of the largest and most successful planning firms in Ontario, with four regional offices (Barrie, Hamilton, Kitchener, Woodbridge/Vaughan) and 51–100 employees, the majority of whom are credentialed planners (RPP/MCIP), urban designers, and landscape architects.

MHBC's business model is project-based professional services: fees are quoted per engagement for consulting, design, regulatory submissions, expert witness testimony, and policy work. Go-to-market is sales-led and relationship-driven, relying on professional reputation, referrals, direct solicitation, industry events, and content/web presence rather than intermediaries or channels. The firm's core competitive position rests on its long-tenured partner bench, its niche dominance in Ontario mineral aggregate planning under the Aggregate Resources Act (with Partner James Parkin certified by the Minister of Natural Resources), tribunal-qualified expert witnesses, and over five decades of precedent-setting work across municipal and private sector mandates.

The firm is partner-owned, with no external parent, private equity, or venture capital involvement indicated. Current leadership includes Oz Kemal (President) and Brent Clarkson (President), supported by Vice-Presidents David Aston and Emily Elliott, plus partners across planning, urban design, landscape architecture, and cultural heritage. Recent years have been marked by the deaths of founder Ian MacNaughton (October 2023) and Legacy Partner Carol Wiebe (June 2025), signaling a generational succession underway within the partnership.

MHBC firmographics

Firmographics

Name: MHBC
Legal name: MHBC Planning Urban Design & Landscape Architecture
Website: https://mhbcplan.com
Company type: Private
Founded year: 1973
Operating status: Operating
Headcount range: 51–100 employees
Short description: MHBC is a privately held Ontario professional planning firm founded in 1973, providing urban planning, urban design, landscape architecture, cultural heritage, resource management, and municipal planning services to municipalities, private developers, and aggregate producers across four Ontario offices.
Ownership category
akta.pro rank

MHBC industry classification

Industry

Product category: Urban Planning Services
NAICS: Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services (5413), Landscape Architectural Services (54132), Architectural Services (541310)
SIC: Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)
akta.pro primary industry: Civil & Structural Engineering Consulting (BPAHAIAA)
akta.pro secondary industry: Infrastructure Planning, Capital Programs & Project Delivery Offices (PMOs) (BPAIALAJ)

Keywords

Urban planning services
Landscape architecture
Municipal consulting
Urban design
Resource management

Where MHBC is headquartered

Location

Headquarters

HQ city: Barrie
HQ country: Canada
HQ region: North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

MHBC business model

Business model

GTM type: B2B
Offering type: Services
Cost components: Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

Planning and Consulting Services: Professional consulting services for land use planning, urban design, landscape architecture, cultural heritage, resource management, and municipal planning. Revenue generated through project-based fees for development applications, policy work, master plans, and regulatory compliance services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

MHBC product offering

Product offering

Core offering

MHBC is a professional consulting firm delivering integrated urban planning, urban design, landscape architecture, cultural heritage, resource management, and municipal planning services across Ontario. The firm supports municipalities, private developers, landowners, and aggregate producers with development applications, policy work, master plans, official plans, zoning by-laws, Aggregate Resources Act compliance, and urban design guidelines. Services are quoted on a project-by-project basis and delivered through four Ontario offices.

Product overview

MHBC offers a comprehensive suite of integrated professional planning services through six core practice areas: Planning, Urban Design, Landscape Architecture, Cultural Heritage, Resource Management, and Municipal Planning. These services work together to provide holistic solutions for land development and community planning projects across Ontario, serving both public and private sector clients with expertise in regulatory compliance, design, and policy development.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

Planning Services
Urban Design
Landscape Architecture
Cultural Heritage
Resource Management
Municipal Planning

Companies that use MHBC

Customer profile

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

MHBC technology and API

Technology

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API: No
API docs
API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

MHBC partnerships and signals

Strategic signal

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

MHBC competitors and assessment

Company assessment

Broad incumbents

AECOM: Global infrastructure consultancy with planning, urban design, and landscape architecture capabilities serving Canadian municipalities and developers — broader portfolio player with significant Ontario presence.
WSP Global: Global professional services firm with a large Canadian planning, urban design, and landscape architecture practice serving municipalities across Ontario — comparable capability but operates at vastly greater scale with a broader service portfolio.
Stantec: Global design and engineering consultancy with a significant Canadian planning and urban design practice serving municipalities and developers — overlaps with MHBC but competes as a much larger incumbent.
Perkins&Will: International architecture and urban design firm with a Toronto studio practicing planning and urban design for municipalities and developers — comparable in urban design but operates at much larger scale.

Direct peers

Hemson Consulting: Ontario-focused planning consulting firm providing land use planning, growth management, and municipal policy services to municipalities and developers — comparable practice mix and geographic focus to MHBC.
Urban Strategies Inc. Toronto-based planning and urban design consultancy serving public and private sector clients on municipal policy, development approvals, and urban design — comparable in scope and Ontario client base.
Brook McIlroy: Canadian planning, urban design, and landscape architecture firm with offices across Ontario, focused on municipalities and developers — directly comparable practice mix and Ontario-centric geographic footprint.
IBI Group (now part of Arcadis): Toronto-headquartered architecture, planning, and urban design consultancy serving Ontario municipalities and private developers with integrated multi-disciplinary services — directly comparable offering to MHBC across planning, urban design, and landscape architecture.
N. Barry Lyon Consultants Limited: Canadian planning consultancy specializing in land use planning, development approvals, and municipal policy work for Ontario municipalities and private developers — comparable client base and service offering.
Dillon Consulting: Canadian employee-owned consulting firm providing planning, engineering, and environmental services with strong Ontario municipal government relationships across planning, urban design, and aggregate/resource management — directly comparable to MHBC's practice mix and client base.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

MHBC financial estimates

Financial estimate

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

MHBC leadership team

Management profile

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

MHBC funding detail

Funding detail

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

MHBC M&A and investment

M&A and investment

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about MHBC

What does MHBC do?

Is MHBC a public or private company?

MHBC is a private company. It is classified as management employee owned and is currently operating.

When was MHBC founded?

MHBC was founded in 1973. It employs 51 to 100 people.

Where is MHBC based?

MHBC is headquartered in Barrie, Canada, in the North America region.

How does MHBC make money?

One revenue line is on record: planning and Consulting Services.

Who are MHBC's main competitors?

Broad incumbents on record are AECOM, WSP Global, Stantec and Perkins&Will. Direct peers are Hemson Consulting, Urban Strategies Inc., Brook McIlroy, IBI Group (now part of Arcadis), N. Barry Lyon Consultants Limited and Dillon Consulting.

Does MHBC have an API?

No public API is recorded for MHBC.

What industry is MHBC in?

MHBC's product category is Urban Planning Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAHAIAA, Civil & Structural Engineering Consulting, with a secondary code of BPAIALAJ, Infrastructure Planning, Capital Programs & Project Delivery Offices (PMOs). Its NAICS code is 5413 and its SIC code is 8700.