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Community Economic Development: Economically Viable Western Canadian Communities with a High Quality of Life
What is community economic development?
Community economic development (CED) is action by people within a specific geographic community or group of communities to create local economic opportunities and improve quality of life. CED recognizes that local challenges and opportunities are as varied as the individual communities themselves. By using knowledge and resources resident in the community, CED identifies and capitalizes on local opportunities to stimulate economic growth and employment. This can include developing entirely new businesses or industries, adding value to existing sectors, strengthening capacity, and improving local infrastructure to help communities achieve their full economic potential.
What's the WD Connection?
WD contributes to community economic development in urban centres and rural areas with initiatives that capitalize on opportunities for growth and development, and enable communities to adjust to challenges that hinder competitiveness and quality of life. A significant proportion of the community economic development funding WD delivers is through its role as the delivery agent in western Canada of national programs offered by the federal government, including the Canada Infrastructure Programs, Community Futures Development Program, and Urban Aboriginal Program. Our priorities in support of community economic development include:
- Encouraging regional approaches to economic development through partnerships with communities and non-profit organizations,
- Revitalizing urban communities by supporting initiatives that undertake inner city renewal, build community capacity, enhance knowledge and skills, and foster economic development,
- Helping rural communities identify and capitalize on new sources of economic growth and employment,
- Designing and delivering regional and community development programs to help western Canadian communities make a successful transition into the 21st century economy, and
- Investing in infrastructure to sustain rural and urban communities.
What's been accomplished?
WD helps increase the viability and diversification of local economies in Western Canada through a variety of programs and services, tailored to the region's own particular strengths, challenges and opportunities.
- Western Diversification Program (WDP) (eligibility criteria) is the main program through which WD invests in projects that support our strategic priorities of innovation, entrepreneurship and community economic development.
- Western Economic Partnership Agreements (WEPAs) (eligibility criteria) are multi-year funding commitments to strengthen economic activity and improve quality of life in western communities. WEPAs are cost-shared equally with each of the four western provinces, with a total of $200 million allocated to initiatives identified as federal and provincial priorities. Specific priorities in some regions include tourism revitalization, development and promotion of environmental technologies, and ground-breaking health technology research and development.
- Urban Development Agreements are partnerships of federal, provincial and municipal governments working in collaboration on broad issues such as inner city revitalization, strengthened innovation or sustainable economic development. To date, UDAs have been signed in Winnipeg, Regina, Saskatoon and Vancouver.
- Canada-Saskatchewan Northern Development Agreement (eligibility criteria) is a five-year $20 million agreement that will help northern Canadians improve regional economic infrastructure, employment prospects, educational and business expertise. It will also increase research and industry innovation, and improve the region's ability to attract business investment.
- The Urban Aboriginal Strategy, funded by Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, aims to reduce the level of disparity that urban Aboriginal people currently face by tailoring government programs to address the local needs and priorities of Aboriginal people living in cities. WD is responsible for implementation of Urban Aboriginal Strategy projects in British Columbia, Alberta and Manitoba. Service Canada delivers this initiative in Saskatchewan.
- Western Canada Business Service Network is a group of several independent organizations that receive funding from WD to provide a range of services to help create and build small businesses across the West. One of the Network partners, Community Futures Development Corporations, also undertakes broad-based community economic development initiatives in rural western communities.
- The Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund will invest $278 million in the West to improve and increase the stock of core public infrastructure in areas such as water, wastewater, culture and recreation. Delivered by WD in the West, the source of funding for this program is Transport, Infrastructure and Communities.
- The Infrastructure Canada Program is a six-year program that has invested over $543 million in more than 1,600 projects that are improving the environment, supporting long-term economic growth and enhancing community infrastructure across the West. Although no new applications are being accepted, program funds are still being disbursed.
What's on the horizon?
Through its own programs and services and the delivery of national programs, WD has invested millions of dollars on behalf of the federal government in support of community economic development in the West. The department will continue to work in partnership with governments, the private sector, local residents and organizations to ensure that programs and services are delivered in an efficient and accountable manner, and its investments maximize the economic benefits to individual communities and to the economic development of western Canada as a whole. Click on the program links in the section above for more detailed information on what's been accomplished and what's ahead.