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Home : Publications : Departmental Publications : Working with the West
A stronger West. A stronger Canada
The West's abundant natural resources have long provided energy to keep the western Canadian economy strong. But it is the region's other invaluable resources – the skills, determination and ingenuity of western Canadians – that will allow the western economy to gear up, accelerating with confidence into the future.
Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD) is proud to work with, and for, western Canadians to ensure we can compete within the global marketplace. By targeting three inter-related priorities – Sustainable Communities, Innovation and Entrepreneurship – we are contributing to a new western economy that will play an even larger role in Canada's future success.
In the years ahead, WD will build on the achievements of initiatives such as the Winnipeg Partnership Agreement and the Vancouver Agreement by pursuing new partnerships for community action. Our goal is to address the unique challenges of western communities, urban and rural, and to improve quality of life for Aboriginal Canadians and others who suffer from economic and social hardship in inner-city neighbourhoods.
Building more sustainable communities is our vision for the future. This goes beyond basic infrastructure to considering how economic, social, cultural and environmental factors can combine to provide broader and more long lasting benefits for people and their communities. Canada – particularly Western Canada – is rapidly becoming a world leader in sustainability, and two major events will soon move that leadership into the global spotlight.
The 2006 United Nations World Urban Forum in Vancouver will be an opportunity to demonstrate how our urbanization models can provide workable solutions for cities around the world. Four years later, the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, also in Vancouver, will incorporate environmentally sustainable principles into all aspects of planning and operations. From green buildings to renewable energy, protection of natural landscapes to the engagement of the social economy, these Games will showcase Canada's deep commitment to sustainable development – a commitment WD is proud to champion in the West.
In the area of Innovation, WD brings partners together to stimulate innovative thinking and create centres of excellence for ideas and opportunity. This enables us to invest strategically in the development and commercialization of pivotal new technologies. Over the past 17 years, WD has demonstrated its ability to facilitate critical major projects – such as the Petroleum Technology Research Centre in Regina and the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg – that advance innovative ideas from mind to marketplace, transforming not only the economy, but also the way we live. Nowhere is the transformative power of innovation more evident than in the field of environmental technologies, and strengthening Western Canada's leadership in this area will continue to be a key priority for WD.
The Honourable Stephen Owen Minister of Western Economic Diversification and Minister of State (Sport) Our ongoing commitment to Entrepreneurship is focused on working with partners and industry leaders to help create a competitive and expanded business sector in the West. Direct services for small businesses are delivered through WD's Western Canada Business Service Network. The Network's over 100 points of service provide strategic economic planning, technical and advisory services, loans and self-employment programs to help this essential sector flourish in every corner of the West.
WD's priorities also include a growing emphasis on international trade, investment and tourism. The dynamic growth of the economies of China, India, South Korea and others represent a particularly significant opportunity. We are working to strengthen the West's cultural and business ties with Asia and establish the region as Canada's natural Asia-Pacific Gateway.
I invite you to read on to discover how we're working hand in hand with westerners to build a stronger West and a stronger Canada.
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