EDA News Centre

Edmonton... A partnership of government and business leaders has identified 18 priority actions to make Alberta’s economy more competitive, including steps to address Alberta’s looming labour shortage.

In its report, Moving Alberta Forward, the Alberta Competitiveness Council recommends 13 sector-specific actions, as well as five general actions to improve Alberta’s overall competitiveness:  

1. Increase participation and employment of groups under-represented in Alberta’s economy.
2. Remove barriers to employing workers from other parts of Canada and abroad.
3. Leverage and promote productivity networks like Productivity Alberta, so employers know where to go to find out what tools, services and programs are available to them.
4. Assess the ability to increase weight limits to allow transportation of higher density components and heavier loads of equipment to Alberta’s oil sands projects.
5. Establish measures to regularly assess Alberta’s regulatory performance.

Economic Development Lethbridge is pleased to present the

2011 Economic Trends & Forecast Luncheon - June 1, 2011

To register, please visit www.chooselethbridge.ca/etfl

Is your business seeking international growth, collaborators for R&D projects, technology licensing or strategic alliances?

You’ll discover these opportunities and more on a technology partnering mission to

Leaders from

• Micro- and nano-scale research & fabrication
• Life sciences
• Agri-business and Ag-biotech

Potential visits and meetings include:

The Center for Nanoscience at

Kereos – targeted therapeutics and molecular imaging

Mediomics – biosensors & biomarkers

Monsanto – multi-national ag-biotech corporation

Itinerary:

Sunday, May 15^th          Arrive St. Louis, welcome reception & overview presentations

Monday, May 16^th        

Travel to

Tuesday, May 17^th       

Travel to KC for late afternoon meeting, networking dinner

Wednesday, May 18^th  

Costs:

For more information or to register for the mission, please contact:

David Freeman, Trade Commissioner Service Edmonton Regional Office

Expressions of interest by March 15th

Extend your international business experience in

Futurallia 2011 is a business match-making forum that will bring more than 800 small to medium sized businesses from more than 30 countries to

Gary Slipp, Delegation leader for Calgary and Southern Alberta

Erin Gates, Delegation leader for

If you are interested in learning more about business-to-business partnering at Futurallia 2011, please visit www.futuralliakc2011.com.

** Registration in Futurallia is not required to participate in the mission to

Choose one or the other, or leverage your business travel dollars by attending both!

Alberta’s Competitiveness Council has released a new benchmarking report that shows the province has a competitive edge over its closest competitors but also identifies areas for improvement to ensure Alberta remains attractive to investors and business. Report on Competitiveness – Alberta 2010 provides quantifiable evidence of the province’s ability to compete in a world market by looking at a variety of factors crucial to success, including productivity, innovation, taxes and fiscal policy, regulation, transportation and infrastructure, labour force development and access to capital markets. Overall, the report indicates Alberta is performing well in comparison to 14 other provincial and international jurisdictions. Of the 60 measures, Alberta ranks first or second in 24 of them. Altogether, Alberta rates either above average or average in 45 measures. Areas of provincial strength include living standards, economic well-being, labour productivity, investment in machinery and equipment, and taxes and fiscal policy. According to the report, Alberta has room for improvement in productivity growth, innovation investments, non-resource exports, high-tech employment, and venture capital investment.This report provides solid information to guide the council in its work, including the development of recommendations for action expected next summer. It also provides government with the ability to better track trends and changes in Alberta’s competitiveness over time. A copy of the report, as well as a "highlights" version, is available on Alberta Finance and Enterprise’s website at www.finance.alberta.ca/competitiveness. (Source: www.financealberta.ca).

Prime Minister Stephen Harper today launched economic consultations to seek Canadians' views on the next phase of Canada's Economic Action Plan. He was accompanied by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance, Ted Menzies. The Prime Minister made the announcement in Winnipeg during a meeting with small business owners and hard working families to discuss economic opportunities and ways to build Canada's economic future. "The economic recovery remains fragile and Canadians remain concerned about the economy, jobs and their household budgets," the Prime Minister noted. “That is why our government’s number one priority remains the economy and we continue to be focused on creating jobs and supporting families." Launched in 2009, the Economic Action Plan has so far contributed to creating over 420,000 new jobs since July 2009 and helped the country emerge from the global economic crisis faster and stronger than most other major industrial countries around the world. The Prime Minister noted that both the International Monetary Fund and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development had projected that Canada will lead the G-7 in growth over the next two years. "We will continue delivering the stability needed for the economic well being of hard working families, small business owners and entrepreneurs by controlling spending, cutting the deficit, eliminating waste and keeping taxes low,” said Prime Minister Harper. “That’s why were here today. We want to hear from Canadians on the next phase of our Economic Action Plan. Our Government shares your values and belief in hard work to get the job done – your priorities are our priorities and our Government is listening to you.” Over the coming months, the Prime Minister, his Cabinet and caucus will travel to small towns, communities and cities across the country to listen to and seek the views of Canadians on our long term Economic Action Plan. "Turning our fragile economic recovery into an enduring and robust performance over the longer term will also mean taking further steps to hone our competitive edge. This means building on our efforts to attract foreign investment, opening up new markets and opportunities for Canadian businesses and laying the foundation for long-term sustainable jobs," the Prime Minister added. (Source: The Prime Minister's Officc- Communications)

EDA presents cheque to John Wood, Founder & CEO of Room to Read. At the 2010 EDA conference, delegates received a presentation from Erin Ganju and Samantha Terry of Room to Read. They spoke about how they are changing the world one child at a time through education. Leann Hackman-Carty presented John with a cheque representing 1/2 proceeds of the 2010 Silent Auction, which was a donation from conference delegates. This cheque completed Samantha's goal to build a school in Nepal, and that work is now underway. Congratulations EDA! not only are you making a difference locally and regionally, but you are impacting lives throughout the world!

Michael Lynn (Calgary Chapter Room to Read), Leann Hackman-Carty (EDA) and John Wood (Room to Read) 

Mrs. Terry, Leann Hackman-Carty, Samantha Terry

SDTC is a not-for-profit corporation created by the Government of Canada to finance and support the late-stage development and pre-commercial demonstration of clean technologies. SDTC helps companies through the critical juncture when capital and scaling costs become formidable challenges and the risk profile deters many other investors. 

SDTC has released a series of SD Business Case™ reports which identify additional priority investment areas. These reports are available in the Knowledge Centre section of the SDTC website at www.sdtc.ca.

SDTC is accepting applications until October 21, 2009.  Potential applicants are requested to first review the application process and funding requirements at www.sdtc.ca/en/SOIinfo.htm and then schedule an initial call with an Applications Manager by emailing applications@sdtc.ca.