Agriculture and Irrigation Minister Nate Horner and Jobs, Economy and Northern Development Minister Brian Jean.
The Alberta government has a plan to boost economic development in rural areas of the province.
Agriculture and Irrigation Minister Nate Horner announced the five-year plan during a news conference last week.
“Many of the economic barriers and challenges in rural Alberta are unique, and different from the challenges that other areas of the province face,” Horner said.
The plan includes work on broadband Internet service, capital projects, investment in the film and TV industry and money to support Indigenous entrepreneurs.
New Democrat agriculture and forestry critic Heather Sweet panned the government’s plan.
“The UCP have left rural Alberta at a disadvantage due to years of neglect and a continued lack of rural broadband access, despite repeated promises to act,” Sweet said. “Under the UCP, rural health care is in turmoil, with dozens of rural hospitals partially closed due to the UCP’s war on health care workers.”
Horner said stakeholders told government during two years of consultation that supporting rural diversification required a different approach.
That led to development of the five-year economic development in rural Alberta plan unveiled last week.
“The five-year plan includes key strategies and measurable actions to ensure rural Albertans have economic opportunities where they live,” Horner said.
Brian Jean, minister of jobs, economy and northern development said the plan will help rural communities reach their full potential.
“That’s what’s important, that’s what government is here for,” Jean said. “This is a vision to build a stronger and more prosperous rural Alberta.”
Horner said the plan focuses on economic development-enabling infrastructure, rural business supports and entrepreneurship, support for labour force and skills development, marketing and promoting rural tourism, and rural economic development capacity building.
“A number of new initiatives will support this work,” Horner said.
The government committed $125,000 to each of the eight regional economic development alliances to support long-term economic prosperity in their respective regions.
The government hosted 23 virtual engagement sessions with more than 370 rural Albertans, businesses and communities, receiving 3,500 comments.
An on-line survey received an additional 919 responses.
The plan will complement a number of initiatives including:
- Up to $390-million over four years as part of the Alberta Broadband Strategy to eliminate the digital divide for all Albertans.
- Nearly $933-million for irrigation infrastructure in partnership with nine irrigation districts to expand and modernize Alberta’s irrigation infrastructure.
- $78-million to fund 133 active capital maintenance and renewal projects in rural Alberta communities.
- A $59-million investment to expand veterinary medicine at the University of Calgary, doubling the number of seats in the program to address a critical shortage of large animal veterinarians in rural Alberta.
- $70-million for the Film and Television Tax Credit that will attract major productions to the province, diversifying the economy and creating thousands of new jobs.
- More than $8-million through the Indigenous Opportunities Corporation to support Indigenous communities’ participation in commercially viable resource projects to support rural economic growth.
