By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

30+ municipalities to benefit

CAEP gets $50,000 grant to expand business attraction strategy

May 31, 2022 | 2:04 PM

The Central Alberta Economic Partnership (CAEP) is receiving a $50,000 grant to expand its Municipal Investment Attraction Readiness Program.

The grant, from CanExport Community Investment, will help upwards of 30 central Alberta municipalities attract business, industry and investment,” says James Carpenter, CAEP chair.

“We have been working extremely hard to attract investors, entrepreneurs and new business through a variety of international activities,” says Carpenter, currently on a trade mission to India.

Specifically, the funding will enable CAEP to hire expert consultants who’ll conduct opportunity analysis of the region, and then develop community and regional overviews and sector specific profiles, usable by any municipality.

Consultants for this project will be from McSweeney and Associates, whom CAEP notes have extensive experience in the Yellowhead, Slave Lake, Cochrane, Strathcona, and MD of Opportunity #17 regions.

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They were instrumental, CAEP notes, in the organization’s launch of its Municipal Investment Attraction Readiness Program in 2016.

“The community and sector profiles help guide our regional marketing activities. A lot has changed in Alberta since 2018 when these sector profiles were last updated,” says Kimberley Worthington, CAEP executive director.

“The timing of this research and material coincides with CAEP’s recently completed Regional Economic Growth Strategy. We’re excited to put these pieces together and start engaging alongside our communities to source new opportunities.”

Adds Trochu Mayor Barry Kletke: “As a small community, we can’t do this kind of work alone, but with CAEP leading the project, we can benefit from the final output without having to invest our limited financial and human resources. This collaboration is the only way we participate in foreign investment attraction. We’re keenly interested in the opportunity and utilizing the materials.”

The project is to be completed by Dec. 31, 2022.

More information is at caepalberta.com.