Business Attraction

Economic Developers Alberta (EDA)  

EDA has been committed to advancing the economic development profession by providing resources, professional development and networking opportunities. Their membership includes: municipalities, towns, regions, tourism groups, financial institutions, Crown Corporations, businesses and Regional Economic Development Authorities and Community Futures Development Corporations.   

Investment Readiness Toolkit 

This toolkit provides frameworks and practices to manage familiarization tours and other aspects of investment attraction. The Toolkit will assist communities to identify investment readiness gaps, develop new or improved economic development processes, and expand capacity for communities to attract, receive and successfully explore investment opportunities. This document has been developed by EDA in partnership with the Government of Alberta and the Government of Canada. The Toolkit contains information on the following topics: 

• Understand investment: How does investment attraction work?  
• What areas of your community are investment-ready; what areas are not? 
• Identify investment trends 

• Familiarization tours: How to identify your best chances for success 
• Aftercare: Best ways to stay engaged with your investors 

Community Economic Development Training Program (CEDTP) 

The CEDTP course series has been designed to: 

• Broaden and deepen the awareness and knowledge of economic development. 
• Provide knowledge, tools, resources, and support systems for those practicing economic development. 

• Define the function and applications of economic development, as well as make links to sustainable and balanced growth. 
• Deliver educational opportunities to those interested in certification and professional development in the field of economic development. 
• Provide skill development for those practicing economic development. 

The following courses are available both in person and online: 

• Economic development – Learn the principles, theories, and fundamentals of economic development that form the basic foundation of every community.  
• Business retention and expansion-Integrate effective assessment and planning tools in order to help you build and retain a strong business community. 
• Business and investment attraction-Discover the important role business and investment attraction plays in advancing your economic development strategy. 

More information is available here.

Northern Alberta Development Council (NADC)

NADC’s mandate is to help northern communities with their economic needs.  NADC is made up of a dedicated group of provincial and local leaders and staff tasked with producing quality regional development information, supporting education and skills enhancement programs and building strategic partnerships. 

Alberta Community and Co-operative Association (ACCA)  

Rural Community Leadership/CED Project Toolkit

This Community Economic Development toolkit was developed by ACCA for use by Alberta Community Economic Development Network Cooperative members and other practitioners in the CED sector. This toolkit provides practitioners engaged in CED with a set of resources, tools, and strategies to help facilitate effective best practices and sustainable initiatives within communities. 

Invest Alberta

A Crown Corporation, Invest Alberta works directly with investors globally to start up or scale up in Alberta. The corporation connects industry, government and economic development organizations to facilitate investment into the province.

Export Alberta

An interactive export data tool to help businesses find opportunities in new market.

Export Readiness – Micro Vouchers

A program to support small and medium sized enterprises with grants of up to $20,000 to help develop a strategic approach to expanding their international plans and building global export opportunities.

Regional Economic Development Resources

Resources are available for Alberta communities and regions to support local efforts to diversify and grow their economies, attract investment, and maintain a positive and competitive business environment.

Alberta Export Expansion Program

The Alberta Export Expansion Program provides funding support to Alberta small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), municipalities, industry associations, Indigenous communities and economic development organizations promoting Alberta exports through outbound international business travel and bringing international buyers to Alberta

Economic Corridor Development

An overview of the economic corridors in Alberta that provide links to external markets.

Renewable Energy Toolkit for Economic Development

This toolkit is designed to assist communities and especially community leaders in assessing possible projects. The province has developed the Renewable Energy Toolkit for Economic Development. The toolkit is a policy neutral document, designed to facilitate a better understanding of the basics of renewable energy to assist communities in beginning the due diligence process, and provide basic guidance for screening various projects. 

Turning Strategies into Action: A Community Economic Development Guide 

Many small communities have taken steps to broaden their economic development base through identifying opportunities and developing strategic planning processes. This guide provides advice to communities that wish to move previously commissioned strategic plans and other documents into clearly articulated community economic development initiatives. 

Self Help Guide for Economic Development and Non-Profit Organizations

This guide was developed by Alberta Treasury Board and Enterprise to help establish and develop non-profit organizations and community economic development organizations. In it, you will find information on how to incorporate as a non-profit organization, how to develop appropriate strategic and operational plans, how to hire, monitor and evaluate staff, and more. 

Rural Alberta: Attracting and Retaining People

Small communities can attract and retain people by promoting the benefits of living and working in smaller communities (e.g. employment opportunities, lower living expenses, safe neighborhoods, and access to community health and recreation services). This document was developed as a resource to assist rural communities in Alberta wishing to attract and retain population to address their long-term economic needs. The document includes information and links to web based resources, initiatives, and programs. The document contains information on some best practices that have been developed by other countries. The document also reviews the literature on benefits, challenges, and strategic options to attract and retain population in rural communities. 

Alberta Small Business Resources

Alberta Small Business Resources is a directory of business resources for new and established entrepreneurs. 

Municipal Internship Program

The Ministry of Municipal Affairs offers an internship service, allowing municipalities to provide experience to a young student while also benefitting from increased labour resources. 

Regional Economic Development Alliances (REDAs)  

Alberta's REDAs developed out of a need to stimulate long-term economic development and growth strategies in Alberta's rural and urban communities. REDAs in Alberta are autonomous grassroots-based, non-profit organizations comprised of member communities and regional stakeholders that work together to foster business development and prosperity in a defined geographic area. This collaboration and cooperation enables members and stakeholders to undertake projects that they could not necessarily do on their own. REDAs enable regions to compete more effectively in a global marketplace and improve investment attraction, resulting in greater prosperity locally, regionally, and provincially. 

Each of the following pages contains links to REDA profile documents, websites, contact information and more: 

• Alberta Southwest Regional Alliance
• Battle River Alliance for Economic Development
• Central Alberta Economic Partnership
• Grizzly Regional Economic Alliance Society
• Northeast Alberta Information Hub
• Palliser Economic Partnership
• Peace Region Economic Development Alliance
• Regional Economic Development Initiative for Northwest Alberta
• SouthGrow Regional Initiative

Economic recovery and resilience Guide

This guide is for elected officials and staff of First Nations and municipalities who want to work together on emergency preparedness and economic recovery in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Building Community Prosperity Through Local Economic Development: An Introduction to LED Principles and Practices

This guide helps local authorities and their partners in the private, public, and not-for-profit sectors move forward in their efforts to foster a more stable and sustainable future for their communities. 

Community Branding and Marketing

This Local Economic Development (LED) learning module and toolkit focuses on community branding and marketing—an important part of any LED strategy.

The Evolution of Local Economic Development in Canada - Policy Brief

Learn about the evolution of local economic development in Canada with an emphasis on what lessons this evolution might offer to emerging economies worldwide. 

Promoting equitable and sustainable local economic development: Tools for Local Governments

This toolkit provides local government officials with practical strategies for incorporating sustainability and equitability into all aspects of a local economic development project, from initial planning to final evaluation.  

Municipal role in private sector development

In many developing countries, local governments are working to create sustainable economic growth through foreign direct investment attraction and support of small and medium-sized enterprises. This document outlines how local governments in Canada created policies and programs to support economic development in their communities. 

The Role of Elected Mayors in Creating a Business-Friendly Environment in Carmona

Local government leadership mobilizes key stakeholders to create a business-friendly environment that embraces both social and economic development priorities. 

Alberta Chambers of Commerce (ACC) 

Encouraging an active, engaged local Chamber is a useful way to enhance local economic development and ensure long-term sustainability. The Alberta Chamber is an umbrella organization that offers benefits for membership and useful tools and guidebooks. 

Canadian Chamber of Commerce (CCC) 

Like the ACC, the CCC offers member benefits and helpful publications. Both Chambers have the benefit of being able to advocate for and represent their members with a louder voice than an individual local Chamber possibly could.

Walk Among Us was a historic walking tour of Bashaw, Alberta, conducted in 2012. 

The tour was guided by a local woman portraying the wife of the founder of the town. During the tour, she introduced participants to several other historical figures portrayed by local people, including a farmer, a teacher, and a minister, all of whom entertained, engaged, and educated the participants. 

“As the group arrived at the local legion, a war bride, Stella McIntyre, called out to the group and shared stories of her time in England during WWII where she met her Canadian husband. Stella provided an honest account of life as a young woman coming to Canada and starting a new life in Alberta.” (from Walk Among Us: The Bashaw Story, by Tourism Café, cited below) 

The organizers hired a professional writer to create the scripts for the actors. 

During the tour, the guide pointed out various attractions in town and encouraged the visitors to later wander and visit the farmers market, antique show and sale, art show and sale, car show, gospel choir performance, theatre performance, and museum. In each case, there was the opportunity to interact and get involved. 

In other words, during the structured part of the experience (the walking tour) the guide gave the visitors cues about other things they could do during free time after the tour.  

The guided walk included a refreshment break with pies baked by local women and a chance for visitors to interact with them. 

Although the walking tour was the signature experience, the other activities were designed to attract visitors for many more hours, thereby increasing the chances they would shop, stay the night, or tell their friends about the experience.  

The streets were closed to cars, to create the atmosphere of a quieter time with a slower pace of life. Walk Among Us was marketed to urbanites seeking a respite from their busy lives. 

Walk Among Us was a community effort, with about 20 businesses and organizations involved in planning and production, and many volunteers including public works employees who volunteered to help with road barriers and parking. 

The project included an extensive food experience including farmers markets and discussions with farmers. A local chef created special meals from local ingredients and a tea shop created a special blend of tea for the event. Many restaurants created new menus, leaving a legacy of better menus for future events. Walk Among Us inspired local merchants and restaurants to outdo themselves to come up with new products. 

 Bashaw: Walk Among Us 

• Issues and impetus  
  • The Boomtown Trail’s (see below) character program was already in place, and Bashaw was identified as a town that could fit into it. 
• Challenges overcome
  • Lack of funding and staffing was compensated for by a generous volunteer component and significant community involvement. 
• Success factors 
  • Focus on the visitor experience.  
  • Visitors could connect with the people of the town. 
  • Supporting activities were added. 
  • Twenty businesses and community groups were involved. 
  • The department of public works volunteered. 
  • Free parking. 
  • Food was a major ingredient in the experience. 
  • A mix of components: history, culture, entertainment, food, lifestyle. 
  • The streets were closed to traffic. 
• Replicability 
  • The project has been replicated once in two other  towns, but not in Bashaw. Continued replicability would require a larger base of volunteers and/or greater support from outside funding sources.  
• Innovations
  • See Success Factors above. The success factors can all be considered innovations. 
• Lesson learned 
  • The project took such a huge volunteer effort that it seemed unfeasible to make it a repeated project. 
  • Focusing on visitor experience rather than sightseeing was very effective. 
• What might they do differently
  • Secure more funding to reduce dependency on volunteers. 

Walk Among Us was a part of a larger tourism project, the Boomtown Trail, which encompasses several driving routes in Eastern Alberta. Boomtown is an itinerary of tourism experiences related to the history of the area, with dramatizations of local characters and history, and with several golf courses added to the mix. Walk Among Us, therefore, did not stand alone, but benefited from, and contributed to, a broader tourism experience of the region.   

Walk Among Us shared many of the characteristics of an effective tourism experiential tourism enterprise:   

• The experience was based on local history, culture, nature, art, customs, cuisine, or people that are already there, not imported.  
• The experience was interactive, multi-faceted, and experiential, and it appealed to many of the senses, rather than just being a photo opportunity. 
• There was a clear target market demographic.  
• The project was not dependent on major capital investment for infrastructure. 
• It was a result of partnerships within the community and engagement of the citizens. 
• It involved collaboration between neighbouring communities 
• The event contributed to community economic development by creating new business opportunities. 

The information presented here was derived from an interview with two of the organizers and from Walk Among Us: The Bashaw Story, produced by Tourism Café and available here. 

In the early 2000s the three villages of Irma, Chauvin, and Edgerton banded together under the acronym ICE to accomplish mutually beneficial goals. ICE’s primary purpose is to facilitate the sharing of resources, best practices and to submit joint grant applications. To a large degree ICE is coordinated by the respective village CAOs, but often with elected official involvement.  

There are quantifiable success indicators for the ICE initiative. These include shared public works projects and resources, shared property, bulk purchases and an agreed upon high degree of satisfaction. ICE’s success extends beyond tangible benefits. It is also notable as an example of three small municipalities, largely overshadowed by the largest regional municipality of Wainwright (which lies between Irma and Edgerton, with Chauvin to the extreme east), reaching the decision to collaborate amongst themselves to achieve goals otherwise out of a single village’s scope. This collaboration has led to lower costs and combined purchasing power, shared grant applications that meet population and need requirements and overall closer communication between the respective parties.  

Another success indicator of ICE is its high degree of replicability: any grouping of small municipalities can band together on certain projects to address mutual interests and needs, and collaborate to achieve common goals. ICE shows that mutual interest and mutual need can drive communication and lead to greater collaboration. This localized approach to regionalization can begin with a simple, single project –and extend into other projects as the needs and ease of collaboration develop. 

More about ICE - Irma, Chauvin, Edgerton 

• Issues and impetus 
  • Early 2000s, the three villages joined together to pool resources and develop local best practices.  
  • The three hoped to optimize their purchasing power for large projects and submit joint grant submissions, with the ultimate goal of saving taxpayers’ money. 
• Challenges overcome 
  • Geographic distance and schedule issues restricting opportunities to meet. 
• Success factors  
  • Shared water operator and shared public works projects 
  • Information sharing and communication between public works departments 
  • Shared property, such as a sewer camera 
  • Bulk water purchase supplies 
  • High degree of satisfaction with shared costs and communication channels being open 
• Replicability     
  • The ICE initiative is highly replicable: any group of small, like minded and geographically close communities can join together to pursue cost saving measures and promote regional cooperation 
• Innovations     
  • See Success Factors above. The success factors can all be considered innovations. 
• Lesson  
  • Effective planning and open communication are crucial. 
  • Finding ways to capitalize on the respective strengths of group members. 

Marilyn MacArthur is Vulcan’s Business Development Society’s (VBDS) Manager of Business Development. Working alongside Marilyn are a resident grant writer and an assistant/social media coordinator. VBDS represents and serves the County and Town of Vulcan and five villages, providing business counselling, business retention and expansion strategies, and grant writing services. MacArthur is eager to recognize the enthusiasm and foresight of the VBDS and the municipalities it represents, who were “overwhelmingly supportive at the thought of myself working on an international level, sharing my expertise of 20 years, and raising the profile of not only our organization, VBDS, but the entire county.”  

Marilyn highlights the VBDS’s success as a technological innovator in the region and its goal of remaining the “most technology advanced rural community in Canada.” This long-term focus includes the town of Vulcan having just completed a Solar Park and the installation of an EVC electric vehicle charging station. The Solar Park, the first of its kind in Canada, will produce electricity while avoiding the often unappealing aesthetic associated with solar installations by acting as part of a larger community park and building community capacity for shared spaces. Initial funding was provided by the Alberta Energy Innovation Fund.  

VBDS is also home to three business incubator offices and is currently working on a new business retention and expansion project and a privately funded Connected Communities initiative that will align all municipal websites within Vulcan County.