About two dozen officials from economic development and investment attraction agencies in government and the private sector took part in a tour of the city Thursday as local officials hope to woo greater investment to the local economy.--News Photo Collin Gallant
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Hosting two dozen officials from business development agencies could eventually bring more investment to the Medicine Hat region, according to city economic developers who organized a one-day symposium Thursday highlighted by an address by Premier Danielle Smith.
The “OpporTOURnity Medicine Hat” event provided a tour of the city and related business sectors that are now the focus of the city’s economic development strategy.
Those include aerospace development and agri-food processing.
“We’re leveraging the relationships we have with investment agencies across the province so they can, in essence, sell Medicine Hat for us,” said Selena McLean-Moore, who became manager of the Medicine Hat Economic Development office at city hall that was rejuvenated last fall with new funding and additional staff.
This week’s gathering was put in motion six weeks ago by recently hired manager of investment attraction Al Sharma.
“There’s some excitement,” said McLean-Moore, stating that 70 per cent of manufacturing and aerospace businesses surveyed recently said they were likely to expand over the next year.
On Wednesday, 25 registered delegates from economic development agencies in Canada attended a local mixer with city land and utilities staffers as well as local businesses and entrepreneurs.
The group took a tour of the city on Medicine Hat Tourism’s Sunshine Trolley on Thursday morning, before a luncheon with Smith at the Esplanade, then planned visits to Methanex and Redcliff-based aerospace defence contractor, UVAD, in the afternoon.
In her lunch-hour address, Smith said the southeast is set to create an “aerospace triangle” in Alberta, with larger centres of Calgary and Edmonton, activity at major centre airports and university and testing in the Hat and at CFB Suffield to the Foremost unmanned vehicle testing range.
“This is a community filled with promise, strategically positioned to help businesses and investors prosper,” said Smith, who focused on Medicine Hat’s location as a hub of transportation logistics in Western Canada and Northeast U.S., with highway and rail access, close to the U.S. border and airport service.
“It’s a competitive advantage for companies looking to expand their reach,” she said of the location, while also touting utility services. “The strongest advantage though is the low-cost business environment, it’s one of Western Canada’s most affordable business communities with competitive tax and utility rates … That lowers your bottom line.”
A question and answer period centred on provincial government actions on water availability, rail planning throughout the province and social services, especially health services as a potential hurdle for smaller centres.
Attendees represented business development groups and government agencies, including the Export Development Bank of Canada, Global Affairs Canada, Prairies Can (formerly Western Economic Diversification), manufacturers associations, TD Bank and even the U.S. Department of Commerce.
They were joined by local and regional elected officials from Medicine Hat, Redcliff, Cypress County, Bow Island, Foremost and Oyen for a round-table discussion on Wednesday.
As well, taking part were officials from the Alberta ministries of Agriculture and Irrigation, plus Jobs, Economy and Trade.
