Red Deer and District Chamber of Commerce hosts first ever Central Alberta Business Summit

From the Alberta Business Council, Chief Executive Officer Adam Legge shared their 10-year vision for the province, titled, “Defining the Decade”, launched last year.

He says the economic development plan, made by Albertans for Albertans, focuses around three ‘prosperity missions’: feeding everyone healthy and sustainable food; energy solutions like low carbon materials and minerals; and healthy living with medical and wellness advancements.

Legge says these are areas the province can compete in and win globally, with Red Deer having deep-rooted history and potential particularly in the agricultural and energy priorities.

Adam Legge, CEO of the Alberta Business Council, speaks at the Central Alberta Business Summit on Tuesday. (rdnewsNOW/Alessia Proietti)

He says Red Deer’s main struggle is similar to that of other communities: “Thinking big and thinking boldly but also then staying very focused on your strengths.”

He explained that many communities are questioning whether they should stray away from certain sectors with uncertain futures, like the oil and gas sector for example.

“We argue differently; continue to focus on the oil and gas sector but expand into a broader notion of energy. Expand into increasing emissions reductions. Don’t discard your strengths,” he said. “We encourage Red Deer to think big, think boldly about their place globally but also to leverage their strengths.”

He explained that these traditional sectors are evolving and expanding and the city needs to look for new opportunities within the industries such as improving environmental performance, explore new energy sources like hydrogen, and research into new crops and production.

He encouraged Red Deerians to question how they can position themselves in a broader way with new technologies, meeting global demands for different foods, and how to transform traditional pulse farming into protein, oils and starches in manufacturing.

Other speakers touched upon integrating communities through digital engagement and regional innovations in emissions reductions. Matthew Holmes, Senior Vice President of Policy & Government Relations at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce was the keynote speaker.

Robinson says he hopes to bring the event back each year and grow in size.

“We know in Red Deer we have fantastic opportunities and resources in front of us but we really got to work harder at working together. We also got to really define that vision that we need to have for our region in terms of what we’re going to be about in the future. We’ve been about oil and gas and some of those industries in the past, and we always will be, but we want to try and strengthen our position because we know we can attract great businesses,” he said.

by Alessia Proietti

Red Deer and District Chamber of Commerce hosts first ever Central Alberta Business Summit

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