October 30, 2018 - Lethbridge, Alberta

Date: October 30, 2018
Location: Lethbridge, Alberta

Q1) What does a stronger western Canadian economy look like 10 years from now?

Diversification and value-add:

• We need to move away from cyclical resource commodities like oil, and look at other industries where we have strengths, such as agri-food. This will help create stable growth by reducing reliance on an up and down commodity-based economy. Investment is driven by stability, while uncertainty causes progress to slow down.
• We can build on our base of resource extraction and primary agriculture, but we need to be adding value, not just selling commodity products. We are growing valuable products (like plant proteins), but right now the processing happens elsewhere.
• The value-added industry is moving forward, but needs federal and provincial policy support to continue making it competitive and attractive for local companies to grow, and for foreign companies to set up shop here.
• Oil and gas, agriculture, agri-food processing and the environmental sectors are all strong in southern Alberta and we should play to these strengths. But we also need more diversified industries such as ecotourism, cultural tourism, and high tech industries.
• We need to see growth in non-traditional work, such as innovations in artificial intelligence and robotics. Smart technologies will continue to add value to traditional industries.
• There are also opportunities in tourism development. Western Canada has a lot to offer in terms of tourism experiences, and we can capitalize on that.

Support rural regions:

• Most assets and investment are going to big urban centers, but the return on investment for rural regions is much higher. We need to foster a more distributed economy.
• People need to have access to the same training and funding (business training, skills development) within their own locale.
• Businesses in small communities are critical to those local economies, and they require access to resources and assistance in order to grow.
• Grow and support rural communities where much of the resource sector is located. This includes continuous improvement of high speed internet, transportation links, and public transportation.

Infrastructure:

• The information technology sector needs to be improved. Particularly, we need to get broadband right. Right now, we are competing at a disadvantage compared to other countries which have higher populations in a smaller area.
  • If you can make the claim of having fast telecom connections (through fiber optic cable), this will help to draw high-tech firms.
  • Europe has passed legislation that mandates shared access to broadband infrastructure. Canada does not have this, which means we are competing at a disadvantage. We need to have shared telecommunications infrastructure.
• As a large country with a small population, we need efficient transportation infrastructure. This would help strengthen supply chains and provide better access to market, making it easier for local businesses to move product out of Alberta.
• Access to markets through transportation, through exploring new markets, and within our own country, making it easier to transport goods and people across provinces.

Technology:

• Western Canada needs to be a technology hub. While not everything can be done locally, people should look to western Canada for expertise.
• We need to invest in smart technologies that help us adapt to changing environments.
• Focus on clean and green technologies.
• Technologies will be used in Alberta and sold to other countries who want a sustainable life.
• We also need to adopt technologies that have been developed elsewhere.

Knowledge-based economy:

• We need to secure a knowledge-based economy, tapping into the research and applied research potential of our post-secondary institutions. The Supercluster initiative is a good example of supporting collaboration between industry and post-secondary institutions.
• Use knowledge as a key driver of our competitiveness, going beyond traditional measurements like GDP.

Skills:

• New immigrants will have a significant impact on our economy, and we need to focus our attention on this.
• There will always be jobs and services that we want filled, which cannot necessarily be filled by the people we have here.

Other:

• While some companies take advantage of government supports for things like trade shows, others do not. There may be a need to ‘hand hold’ companies that have potential through the process of exporting. It takes time and investment to develop new markets. Without someone to help or the opportunity to be in a group, people might stay in their comfort zones.
• Stability is important – we need stable policies that survive turnover in governments, to enable a competitive environment with global partners.
• We need to move beyond traditional measures like GDP, and take into consideration societal and environmental well-being.

Q2) What are the best ways to spur new growth in western Canada

Sharing information and experiences:

• Businesses need connections and information to help them understand that they could benefit from export and other opportunities.
• The sharing of good news stories and examples can be just as good as information by learning about others’ experiences.
• Setting up groups or mentoring relationships would provide more in-depth knowledge to companies, rather than just basic program information. Learning from what has worked for other people. The sharing of stories and interaction is a better approach than just information download, but it takes resources and trust. It takes leadership and a culture that is willing and prepared to give.
• Joining people to share success stories helps entrepreneurs connect with businesses that have been around longer to help move them forward.
• We should also work to connect businesses with education and research assets, not just other businesses.
• This works both ways – sometimes existing businesses need to hear the stories of entrepreneurs to help them refresh themselves and trigger new ideas.

Access to resources:

• Businesses in rural communities face somewhat different challenges in that they are small and have difficulty accessing resources to help them grow, but are still doing creative and innovative things.
• New immigrants are very entrepreneurial, but there is a need for supports for new Canadians to start and grow their own businesses.
• Issues with access to capital are not that there is a lack of resources, as long as businesses are willing to do the work and take advantage of the supports (at least for startups). There may be an education gap to build awareness of the programs that are there.
• Many companies in Alberta die in the valley of death, especially compared to other places. It is not well understood why this is.
• Businesses grow until they hit the vision that they have. We need to help businesses see what the next step could be, and get them to step out of their comfort zones.
• Make it easier to do business.

Skills:

• We need to integrate 21st century skills to into everyday tasks, such as foundational literacies (cultural, financial, numeracy, etc.), competencies like creativity, communication and collaboration, and character qualities like agility, curiosity, and initiative.
• A national competency framework would help address a shortage of skilled and unskilled labour, not in terms of a lack of workers, but in terms of a skills mismatch. Skills development and training programs are being worked on to address this, but a national competency framework would establish competencies according to national benchmarks which would enable people to move around geographically and across industries.
• A competency framework would also support immigration, making it easier for new immigrants to find work if they can qualify on a competency basis rather than a credential-based system.
• Currently there is a lack of acknowledgement of training credentials, which will start to impact our economy when we are reliant on new Canadians to drive the economy.
• There is also a need for training to better develop English language skills in order for new entrants to be able to perform their jobs well and safely.
• Some companies are being forced to outsource work that they would rather keep local, simply because they cannot find the people with the right skills locally. Despite recent growth, a lack of technology companies in Lethbridge means people do not always stay in the city to find work. Local people are being lost because they can’t find the type of work they are looking for.

Research and innovation ecosystem:

• We do not have the enabling infrastructure required to enable growth and keep people from leaving.
• We do not have the collaboration and coordination, or the policy instruments that will allow the province’s post-secondary institutions to work together to produce talent and research.
• We need to invest with purpose in order to be locally relevant and meet businesses’ needs.
• A proper innovation enabling ecosystem would help create receptor capacity, where people establish companies that can then absorb the talent we have here.

Commercialization:

• In order to see the value of research (particularly applied research), it needs to be commercialized and have an impact on our economy.

Branding:

• We need to create an environment that is attractive for people to stay. Work on making places more welcoming. We need to support the arts, public transit, health care, and sustainable and affordable housing to attract young families to a better lifestyle than in major centers.
• We need a brand, something like ‘Prairie Proud’ that will make us stand out. We need to showcase our culture of being go-getters.
• We need to boast more.
• If you can get people excited about coming here, it would help solve many of our issues.
• The idea of us being innovative and growth oriented is great to aspire to, but we need to be realistic about whether or not we are actually there yet. Maybe there are other reasons people and opportunities leave, such as businesses not offering high enough wages or businesses not being ready to grasp opportunities. We need to work on these things.

Q3) What will help the Indigenous economy continue to grow?

Access to resources:

• Transportation is a challenge for many students. Bringing (hands on) training to communities has had great success.
• As business and community members, we can be willing to support Indigenous communities through things like integrating business people, having basic respect and considering what they are bringing to offer.
• Fill infrastructure gaps to even the playing field.
• Work to help connect Indigenous businesses with mentors, service providers, workshops, etc.
• Provide clean water, decent housing, quality public schooling and health-care, on-reserve options for post-secondary attendance (with in-person opportunities).

Pride:

• Efforts to foster pride in Indigenous culture and build confidence. This requires both outreach and openness. We should all be proud of Indigenous culture.
• There has been some of this, but perhaps we have lost track of recognizing it.

Addressing barriers:

• Difficulty in engaging with Indigenous businesses due to challenges in identifying the businesses or who to reach out to.
• Previously, banks were unable to lend to reserves because there was no collateral. Unsure if this is still the case.
• There is a need for better understanding of the Indigenous perspective.
• In the spirit of reconciliation, we need to recognize the legacy of our country and the institutionalized racism that still exists. We need to work on our attitudes.
• We need to find ways to create a comfortable environment for Indigenous students to come and learn, such as by not imposing a way of learning, but by finding ways to interact and learn using techniques that are relevant to them. It will take generations before we start seeing changes relative to what is happening now.
• Provide incentives for equal partnership investments and development between Indigenous and settler communities, based on Indigenous needs and aspirations.
• Increase integration between work and learning.

Leadership:

• Leadership needs to be built from within Indigenous communities in order to drive change.

Q4) How can we improve economic participation in the west of underrepresented groups, including women, youth, and new immigrants

Funding:

• The new fund for women entrepreneurs has very specific criteria related to exports capacity. This criteria is a barrier as it is set too high as to not encourage women to apply and have an opportunity to receive that funding.
• Sometimes funding programs geared specifically towards women as an ‘underrepresented group’ make you feel more marginalized. Women do not require government funding and resources because they are women, but because they are business owners. Targeted programs make you feel less capable.
• Perhaps we need to explore youth employment programs further to provide experience to youth. Businesses often do not realize how capable students are – there isn’t a recognition of the value that students and graduates have.
• Offer incentives and target groups specifically; offer grants that start small and ladder up; coupled with education and support.

Education:

• These are deeply social issues. We have made progress, but more needs to happen especially on the educational side, not necessarily the economic. We won’t progress until we address the social issues.
  • Instill values in school early on.
• More women are being educated at the post-secondary level than men, but this changes as you start to look at more senior roles within universities. What are the social norms that prevent women from participating?
• There is a need for education that provides entrepreneurial skills to youth, not just the core subjects.

Examples:

• Perhaps there is an opportunity to give women entrepreneurs the chance to meet and learn from others that have been successful to inspire them and provide advice.
• Consider balance in terms of gender when putting together conferences and panels.
• Set up a mentorship program that pairs successful industry leaders with those who would like to break into those sectors.

Policy:

• Immigration policy allows new entrants to become employees, but there is a limited ability to come in as an immigrant entrepreneurs.
• Impose rewards for partnerships with marginalized groups to businesses and institutes, and enforce a meaningful set of standards for real engagement, not just tokenism.

Remove barriers:

• There is a need for more affordable quality daycare. Sometimes women do not progress because they have children. It is likely that a lot of hiring happens with biases against women even without anyone knowing they are biased.
• We need to create an environment for women to feel as if they can really participate.

Q5) How can governments, industry, and western Canadians work together to grow the regional economy?

Collaborative approaches:

• We need to go beyond shallow levels of business collaboration, and understand that the community businesses operate in is important.
• ‘Team Lethbridge’ approach has derived so much value from working with community partners to achieve shared goals and having the opportunity to meet with other partners.
  • Initiatives like this take time to plan and organize and be strategic. This will not happen organically.
• There need to be policy instruments that force collaboration, otherwise universities will compete with each other.
• The Lethbridge region is working together well and will continue to.
• We are competing on an international scale – the more partners you can get to work together, the stronger your ability to compete will be.
• Provincial and federal grants are starting to require partnering, which is a positive development. This is a policy tool that can encourage the mindset of collaboration. Once you demand collaboration over enough time, you start to instill the mindset of collaboration.

Anything further to add?  Anything missed?

• There is significant frustration in rural regions around federal policy on broadband. The recent rollback of minimum benchmarks was very discouraging. This needs to be addressed.

Themes heard:

• Infrastructure – particularly broadband
• Access to markets – for agricultural products, but also more than that
• Additional challenges faced by smaller communities due to distance
• People – immigration, skills, competencies, entrepreneurial skills and attitudes, mentoring
• Women and youth
• Challenges in the Indigenous community