Economic Development officials plan to jumpstart business retention and attraction with a strategy of sector-specific focus. The City of Medicine Hat skyline is pictured Friday from the lookout at Jeffries Park.--NEWS PHOTO BRENDAN MILLER
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Economic developers are preparing to rejuvenate a business retention and attraction strategy with sector-specific work.
Aerospace, manufacturing and warehousing will be the initial focus areas when Medicine Hat Economic Development begins meetings with firms next month, it was announced Friday.
That first phase will lay the ground work for developing a strategy to support investment along with other municipalities in the region, according to officials.
“(It) provides us with an opportunity to dive deep into the challenges, needs and opportunities of individual sectors,” said Selena McLean-Moore, director of Medicine Hat Economic Development. The department’s work will help “better understand how our department, and the work of our regional economic development partners, can support these industries to capitalize on identified opportunities.”
After the initial sectors are evaluated, study of additional sectors, such as agriculture and agri-food processing, would follow.
The announcement comes as the city, Town of Redcliff and Cypress County are separately developing a regional economic development strategy with the help of provincial grants.
Last week, Premier Danielle Smith said the city should capitalize on its electricity franchise to pursue sectors that require large amounts and a stable supplier of power.
She specifically highlighted cryptocurrency, data-processing centres and high-tech development firms, but also aero-space and defence sector activity that are already operating in the city, as well as provincial transportation projects, such as the twinning of Highway 3.
Later this month, the Department of National Defence is inviting contractors to use airspace at the weapons testing range at CFB Suffield in a drone and unmanned aerial vehicle “sandbox” where industry showcases prototypes and takes notes from buyers in the Canadian and international market.
Cypress-Medicine Hat MLA Justin Wright told the News this winter the province is working to expand transportation networks in the region and is closely watching aero-space interest, petrochemical and helium production.
“I am really excited about it … and it’s really great to see some things come to fruition,” Wright told reporters following Smith’s chamber of commerce presentation.
“These are highly educated roles – engineers, scientists – and more coming into the region really promotes Medicine Hat as a destination for young families. It could be the start of a boom.”
Five years ago municipal economic developers first began looking at business retention and development, but new work goes more in-depth than general work done in a wide-reaching business survey done in 2019.
“(Industry Specific) will gather data and compile reports focusing on one industry per study, rather than taking a broad approach typically used in regional business retention and expansion assessments,” according to a statement.
The BREWD program, asking for industry input into Business Retention and Expansion Workforce Development, was presented in 2020 but largely paused Coronavirus pandemic.
In 2022 the project was expanded to an “Invest Southeast Alberta” model to the larger region, while Mayor Linnsie Clark and others successful in the 2021 election pointed to acting on the report as a key strategy.
Redcliff, Cypress County the Southeast Alberta Chamber of Commerce and Medicine Hat College’s centre for innovation are partners in the newly announced work.
