Regional Development Agency (Canada)

The Atlantic Innovation Fund (AIF) is a funding program run by the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency to help Canadian organizations in Atlantic Canada to develop innovative products and services. This program is highly competitive. Project proposals go through an extensive external review process.

To be eligible for this program, the project must be based in Atlantic Canada, have a potential commercial value and include a large R&D component. The average funding level is about $2 million per project. Average project duration is about two years.

ACOA encompasses the provinces of New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island.[1] Its head office is located at the Blue Cross Centre in Moncton, NB, along with a liaison office in Ottawa.

Other offices of ACOA are located in:[10]

• New Brunswick
  • Fredericton (regional office)
  • Edmundston
  • Miramichi
  • Grand Falls (northwest office)
  • Tracadie-Sheila
  • Campbellton
  • Saint John (Fundy region office)
  • Bathurst (northeast office)
  • Moncton (southeast office)

• Newfoundland and Labrador
  • St. John's (regional office)
  • Clarenville
  • Gander
  • Grand Falls-Windsor
  • Corner Brook
  • Happy Valley-Goose Bay (Labrador office)
  • Marystown

• Nova Scotia
  • Halifax (regional office)
  • Church Point (Annapolis/Digby office)
  • Antigonish (Antigonish/Guysborough/Pictou office)
  • Truro (Colchester office)
  • Amherst (Cumberland office)
  • Windsor (Hants/Kings office)
  • Bridgewater (Lunenburg office)
  • Port Hawkesbury
  • Shelburne (Shelburne/Queens office)
  • Sydney
  • Yarmouth

• Prince Edward Island
  • Charlottetown (regional office)

Under prior minister Andy Mitchell, FedNor's service area was expanded to include many rural areas in Southern Ontario, including much of the Central Ontario region. In 2007, a group of politicians from Northern Ontario, including Tony Martin, Claude Gravelle and France Gélinas, called for the program to be refocused exclusively on the Northern Ontario administrative region.[18]

Additionally there had been many calls from politicians and organizations to make FedNor an agency, separate from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, like the other regional development agencies across Canada.[19] In 2021, FedNor and the other RDAs were removed from ISED and placed under the control of dedicated cabinet ministers.

FedNor supports regional economic development, which it does through the delivery of three programs:

• Northern Ontario Development Program (NODP) — NODP was put in place to help promote economic development and diversification throughout Northern Ontario. NODP provides repayable and non-repayable contributions to not-for-profit organizations and small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) for projects focussed on the following three areas: Innovation; Community Economic Development; and Business Growth and Competitiveness.
• Community Futures Program — This program helps to support 24 Community Futures Development Corporations (CFDCs), throughout Northern Ontario. CFDCs provide an assortment of different programs and services which are for assisting in the community economic development and small business growth. These programs are able to provide help in: Strategic community planning and socio-economic development; Business information and planning services; and Access to capital for small and medium-sized businesses and social enterprises. These community-based, not-for-profit organizations are staffed by professionals and are each governed by local volunteer boards of directors familiar with their communities' needs, concerns and future development priorities.
• Economic Development Initiative (EDI) — As Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada’s main point of presence in Northern Ontario, FedNor delivers national initiatives and expanded program delivery opportunities across the region. In 2009, FedNor launched the Economic Development Initiative of the Federal Strategy for Official Languages called the Roadmap for Canada’s Linguistic Duality 2008—2013: Acting for the Future!

Pacific Economic Development Canada

Agency overview
Formed	2021
Jurisdiction	Government of Canada
Minister responsible	Harjit Sajjan, Minister responsible for the Pacific Economic Development Agency of Canada
Website	canada.ca/pacific-economic-development

Pacific Economic Development Canada (PacifiCan) is the federal economic development agency of the province of British Columbia.[23]

Canada's Minister of International Development, currently Harjit Sajjan, holds the title of Minister responsible for the Pacific Economic Development Agency of Canada.[24]

The agency has offices in Vancouver, and is set to establish headquarters in Surrey with additional service locations in Victoria, Kelowna, Prince George, Cranbrook, Fort St. John, Prince Rupert, and Campbell River, as well as an office in Ottawa, Ontario.[24]

It was created in August 2021 from splitting the Western Economic Diversification Canada into two separate agencies, the other encompassing the Canadian Prairies.[4][25]

Prairies Economic Development Canada

Agency overview
Formed	2021
Jurisdiction	Government of Canada
Minister responsible	Dan Vandal, Minister responsible for the Prairies Economic Development Agency of Canada
Website	canada.ca/prairies-economic-development

Prairies Economic Development Canada (PrairiesCan) is the federal economic development agency of the Canadian Prairies, which encompasses Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan.[26][27][25] Its main priorities focus on community economic development, trade and investment, innovation, and business development.[25]

It is headquartered in Edmonton, Alberta, with offices in Saskatoon and Winnipeg, a regional satellite office in Calgary, and a liaison office in Ottawa at the Thomas D'Arcy McGee Building.[25][28] It will also be establishing new service locations in Lethbridge, Fort McMurray, and Grande Prairie, Alberta; Regina and Prince Albert, Saskatchewan; and Brandon and Thompson, Manitoba.[4]

Canada's Minister of Northern Affairs, currently Daniel Vandal, holds the title of , Minister responsible for Prairies Economic Development Canada along with Minister responsible for the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency.[29]

PrairiesCan was created in August 2021 from splitting the Western Economic Diversification Canada into two separate agencies, the other encompassing British Columbia.[4][25]

The Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD; legal title: Department of Western Economic Diversification)[30] was a Canadian federal ministerial department concerned with the economy and economic development of Western Canada, which encompasses Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan.[27][25]

On 5 August 2021, the Government of Canada announced that WD would be divided into two new agencies—PacifiCan for BC; and PrairiesCan for Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan.[3][4]

WD operated under the provision of the Western Economic Diversification Act, which came into force on 28 June 1988. [25] Formerly, WD was led by the Minister of Western Economic Diversification.

WD was headquartered in Edmonton, AB, and had regional offices in each of the other western provinces: Winnipeg, MB; Saskatoon, SK; and Vancouver, BC.[25][28] The Edmonton office has now become the headquarters of PrairiesCan.

The Western Canada Business Service Network (WCBSN) is a group of independent organizations that receive funding from WD in order to help people in Western Canada start, grow, and expand their businesses.[31]

The agency also released a quarterly economic publication called West at a Glance (ISSN 2561-3863).[32][33]