FedNor gives us money to analyze our competitiveness. And other things.

Sault Ste. Marie MP Bryan Hayes announced $100,000 in federal government funding, through FedNor, for the Sault Ste. Marie Economic Development Corporation (EDC) Thursday morning at the Civic Centre.

The money is aimed at helping the EDC create jobs in Sault Ste. Marie over the next three years.

A three-pronged strategy is involved, including an analysis to make sure conditions are right locally to attract new businesses, creation of an industrial and commercial land database to identify available land for new businesses and development of a marketing strategy.

"Our target is 150 to 200 jobs a year (from 2015 to 2018)," said Tom Dodds, EDC CEO, speaking to an audience of local political and business figures gathered at the Civic Centre.

Where will those jobs be?

"There is the lottery and gaming sector, so we would like to have information technology firms (and jobs) to support it," Dodds said, speaking to SooToday.

"On the steel side of things, we may have, for example, a wind tower manufacturer, which needs to produce large objects, it needs to be close to water so it can ship them and it needs a ready and inexpensive supply of steel."

"There is secondary manufacturing, (we have to examine) what comes out of the steel mill that we can use and better take advantage of, what can having a port here do for us, is there a better way to take wood products and process them here," Dodds said.

"The (yet to be constructed) port offers a lot of opportunities because there aren't many people who have a potential facility of that size adjacent to a large steel mill," Dodds told reporters.

"We have a steel mill we haven't really taken advantage of, we haven't gotten the kind of secondary businesses that are normally associated with a steel mill."

"We also have the airport, a huge piece of property and the ability to grow that infrastructure," Dodds said.

This latest economic development initiative is known as Invest Sault Ste. Marie. 

"Our city council is eager to see this project succeed and we're looking to receiving reports on the EDC's activities and achievements over the next three years," said Ross Romano, acting mayor.

$100,000 in matching municipal funding from the Economic Development Fund for the three year project has already been approved by city council, with a funding application from the EDC to the provincial government in the works, Dodds said.

"To give you a sense of the kind of impact this kind of initiative can have, between 2001 and 2009 the Sault Ste. Marie EDC undertook a similar large scale investment  and marketing program, and supported by the private sector and all levels of government, it led to a number of companies setting up shop here," Dodds said. 

"At that time there was a really big push for the call centres and we have Agero and Sutherland that are here from that period of time, and in addition to that we've seen expansions of Flakeboard, and in general terms we created a greater profile so we're getting a lot more service and retail and companies that would bring wealth and sustainable jobs."

"There was a bump in that period in terms of jobs," Dodds said. 

The following is a release from FedNor:

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Bryan Hayes, MP for Sault Ste. Marie, on behalf of the Honourable Greg Rickford, Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources and Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario (FedNor), announced today an investment in support of small business growth and competitiveness in the Sault Ste. Marie region.

A FedNor investment of $100,000 will enable the Sault Ste. Marie Economic Development Corporation to undertake a new, targeted approach to investment attraction over the next three years to increase trade and export opportunities for local companies.

The initiative will include three components: a community competitiveness analysis to ensure the right conditions are in place to attract new investments and businesses; the creation of an industrial and commercial land database that identifies land readily available for a variety of uses; and the development of a marketing and communications strategy that raises awareness of the competitive advantages of establishing a business in Sault Ste. Marie.

Quick Facts

• The funding announced today is provided through FedNor’s Northern Ontario Development Program, which support projects that promote sustainable community economic development, enhance business development and growth, and facilitate innovation.
• Since 2006, through FedNor’s Northern Ontario Development Program, the Harper Government has invested $351 million in support of more than 1,675 projects. These investments have supported more than 22,700 jobs throughout Northern Ontario.

“Our Government recognizes the importance of attracting business investments as a means for communities to boost economic development, support jobs and promote long-term prosperity. Today’s targeted investment will enable the Sault Ste. Marie Economic Development Corporation to enhance its trade and export efforts for the benefit of the communities and businesses throughout the region,” Bryan Hayes, Member of Parliament for Sault Ste. Marie.

“With the generous support of the Government of Canada through FedNor, we are implementing a three-pronged approach to convey to local, national and international investors that we are open for business,” said Don Mitchell, Chair, Sault Ste. Marie Economic Development Corporation.