Business Attraction

Business Attraction: are you ready to attract a new enterprise or industry to your municipality, or looking to retain existing businesses?  

Economic Developers Alberta (EDA)  
EDA has been committed to advancing the economic development profession by providing resources, professional development and networking opportunities. Their membership includes: municipalities, towns, regions, tourism groups, financial institutions, Crown Corporations, businesses and Regional Economic Development Authorities and Community Futures Development Corporations.   

Investment Readiness Toolkit 
This toolkit provides frameworks and practices to manage familiarization tours and other aspects of investment attraction. The Toolkit will assist communities to identify investment readiness gaps, develop new or improved economic development processes, and expand capacity for communities to attract, receive and successfully explore investment opportunities. This document has been developed by EDA in partnership with the Government of Alberta and the Government of Canada. The Toolkit contains information on the following topics: 

  • Understand investment: How does investment attraction work?  
  • What areas of your community are investment-ready; what areas are not? 
  • Identify investment trends 
  • Familiarization tours: How to identify your best chances for success 
  • Aftercare: Best ways to stay engaged with your investors 

Community Economic Development Training Program (CEDTP) 
The CEDTP course series has been designed to: 

  • Broaden and deepen the awareness and knowledge of economic development. 
  • Provide knowledge, tools, resources, and support systems for those practicing economic development. 
  • Define the function and applications of economic development, as well as make links to sustainable and balanced growth. 
  • Deliver educational opportunities to those interested in certification and professional development in the field of economic development. 
  • Provide skill development for those practicing economic development. 

The following courses are available both in person and online: 

  • Economic development – Learn the principles, theories, and fundamentals of economic development that form the basic foundation of every community.  
  • Business retention and expansion-Integrate effective assessment and planning tools in order to help you build and retain a strong business community. 
  • Business and investment attraction-Discover the important role business and investment attraction plays in advancing your economic development strategy. 

More information is available here.

Northern Alberta Development Council (NADC)
NADC’s mandate is to help northern communities with their economic needs.  NADC is made up of a dedicated group of provincial and local leaders and staff tasked with producing quality regional development information, supporting education and skills enhancement programs and building strategic partnerships. 

Alberta Community and Co-operative Association (ACCA)  
Rural Community Leadership/CED Project Toolkit
This Community Economic Development toolkit was developed by ACCA for use by Alberta Community Economic Development Network Cooperative members and other practitioners in the CED sector. This toolkit provides practitioners engaged in CED with a set of resources, tools, and strategies to help facilitate effective best practices and sustainable initiatives within communities. 

Invest Alberta
A Crown Corporation, Invest Alberta works directly with investors globally to start up or scale up in Alberta. The corporation connects industry, government and economic development organizations to facilitate investment into the province.

Export Alberta
An interactive export data tool to help businesses find opportunities in new market.

Export Readiness – Micro Vouchers
A program to support small and medium sized enterprises with grants of up to $20,000 to help develop a strategic approach to expanding their international plans and building global export opportunities.

Regional Economic Development Resources
Resources are available for Alberta communities and regions to support local efforts to diversify and grow their economies, attract investment, and maintain a positive and competitive business environment.

Alberta Export Expansion Program
The Alberta Export Expansion Program provides funding support to Alberta small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), municipalities, industry associations, Indigenous communities and economic development organizations promoting Alberta exports through outbound international business travel and bringing international buyers to Alberta

Economic Corridor Development
An overview of the economic corridors in Alberta that provide links to external markets.

Renewable Energy Toolkit for Economic Development
This toolkit is designed to assist communities and especially community leaders in assessing possible projects. The province has developed the Renewable Energy Toolkit for Economic Development. The toolkit is a policy neutral document, designed to facilitate a better understanding of the basics of renewable energy to assist communities in beginning the due diligence process, and provide basic guidance for screening various projects. 

Turning Strategies into Action: A Community Economic Development Guide 
Many small communities have taken steps to broaden their economic development base through identifying opportunities and developing strategic planning processes. This guide provides advice to communities that wish to move previously commissioned strategic plans and other documents into clearly articulated community economic development initiatives. 

Self Help Guide for Economic Development and Non-Profit Organizations
This guide was developed by Alberta Treasury Board and Enterprise to help establish and develop non-profit organizations and community economic development organizations. In it, you will find information on how to incorporate as a non-profit organization, how to develop appropriate strategic and operational plans, how to hire, monitor and evaluate staff, and more. 

Rural Alberta: Attracting and Retaining People
Small communities can attract and retain people by promoting the benefits of living and working in smaller communities (e.g. employment opportunities, lower living expenses, safe neighborhoods, and access to community health and recreation services). This document was developed as a resource to assist rural communities in Alberta wishing to attract and retain population to address their long-term economic needs. The document includes information and links to web based resources, initiatives, and programs. The document contains information on some best practices that have been developed by other countries. The document also reviews the literature on benefits, challenges, and strategic options to attract and retain population in rural communities. 

Alberta Small Business Resources
Alberta Small Business Resources is a directory of business resources for new and established entrepreneurs. 

Municipal Internship Program
The Ministry of Municipal Affairs offers an internship service, allowing municipalities to provide experience to a young student while also benefitting from increased labour resources. 

Regional Economic Development Alliances (REDAs)  
Alberta's REDAs developed out of a need to stimulate long-term economic development and growth strategies in Alberta's rural and urban communities. REDAs in Alberta are autonomous grassroots-based, non-profit organizations comprised of member communities and regional stakeholders that work together to foster business development and prosperity in a defined geographic area. This collaboration and cooperation enables members and stakeholders to undertake projects that they could not necessarily do on their own. REDAs enable regions to compete more effectively in a global marketplace and improve investment attraction, resulting in greater prosperity locally, regionally, and provincially. 

Each of the following pages contains links to REDA profile documents, websites, contact information and more: 

Economic recovery and resilience Guide
This guide is for elected officials and staff of First Nations and municipalities who want to work together on emergency preparedness and economic recovery in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Building Community Prosperity Through Local Economic Development: An Introduction to LED Principles and Practices
This guide helps local authorities and their partners in the private, public, and not-for-profit sectors move forward in their efforts to foster a more stable and sustainable future for their communities. 

Community Branding and Marketing
This Local Economic Development (LED) learning module and toolkit focuses on community branding and marketing—an important part of any LED strategy.

The Evolution of Local Economic Development in Canada - Policy Brief
Learn about the evolution of local economic development in Canada with an emphasis on what lessons this evolution might offer to emerging economies worldwide. 

Promoting equitable and sustainable local economic development: Tools for Local Governments
This toolkit provides local government officials with practical strategies for incorporating sustainability and equitability into all aspects of a local economic development project, from initial planning to final evaluation.  

Municipal role in private sector development
In many developing countries, local governments are working to create sustainable economic growth through foreign direct investment attraction and support of small and medium-sized enterprises. This document outlines how local governments in Canada created policies and programs to support economic development in their communities. 

The Role of Elected Mayors in Creating a Business-Friendly Environment in Carmona
Local government leadership mobilizes key stakeholders to create a business-friendly environment that embraces both social and economic development priorities. 

Alberta Chambers of Commerce (ACC) 
Encouraging an active, engaged local Chamber is a useful way to enhance local economic development and ensure long-term sustainability. The Alberta Chamber is an umbrella organization that offers benefits for membership and useful tools and guidebooks. 

Canadian Chamber of Commerce (CCC) 
Like the ACC, the CCC offers member benefits and helpful publications. Both Chambers have the benefit of being able to advocate for and represent their members with a louder voice than an individual local Chamber possibly could.