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ACOA Briefing – Minister

Atlantic Momentum

Atlantic Canada is experiencing historic momentum…

Macro Economy

• Real gross domestic product (GDP) ↗
• Real GDP per capita ↗
• Real exports ↗

Labour Market

• Employment rate ↗
• Employment income ↘
• Labour productivity ↗

Innovation and Investment

• Business expenditures on R&D (BERD) ↗
• Non-residential investment ↘
• Production of non-emitting energy ↗

Human Capital

• Population ↗
• Immigration ↗
• Immigration retention rate ↗
• Median age ↗
• Youth not in education, employment and training (NEET) ↘
• Educational attainment ↗

Quality of Life

• GINI coefficient ↗
• Housing starts ↗
• Access to family physician ↘
• Life satisfaction ↗
• Sense of belonging ↗

• All four Atlantic provinces exhibited strong evidence of momentum
• Atlantic Canada improved on 16 of 20 indicators
• In comparison, only 10 out of 20 indicators for Canada showed improvement
• The region is surpassing national growth on GDP per capita, exports, productivity, population and immigration

ACOA AT A GLANCE

Fuelling economic growth in Atlantic Canada

Mission

• Help Atlantic Canada’s economy grow

Values

• Commitment to the region
• Customer service and creativity
• Strong advocacy for the region
• Nimbleness/responsiveness
  • 1 of 7 regional development agencies
  • On-the-ground presence, allowing:
    • solid understanding of region’s challenges and opportunities
    • strategic relationships with clients and partners
  • Manages crises at regional level (e.g., COVID-19, Hurricane Fiona)
  • 30 points of service
  • 584 full-time equivalents at:
    • head office in Moncton, N.B. (with a team in Ottawa)
    • regional offices in each provincial capital
    • satellite locations throughout the region

TWO CORE FUNCTIONS

Delivering programs and advocating for Atlantic Canada

ACOA’s mandate is twofold:

• Delivering programming principally for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and community groups
• Advocating for businesses and communities as well as strong economic development policies across the Government of Canada that may impact the region
  • Working through effective relationships and strong collaboration to ensure Atlantic Canadian issues and opportunities are well understood in the federal system (key ministers and officials)

Delivery Partners

• Provinces
• Other RDAs
• Other federal funders
• Industry

Advocacy Stakeholders

ISED | ESDC | NRCan | ECCC

DFO | AAFC | IRCC | TC

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

CURRENT CORE PROGRAMS

Providing strategic, agile support through repayable, provisionally repayable and non-repayable contributions

Regional Economic Growth through Innovation (REGI) (common to all RDAs)

Business Development Program (BDP)

Atlantic Innovation Fund (AIF)

Innovative Communities Fund (ICF)

• For non-commercial projects and contributions

Community Futures Program (CFP)

• Funds 39 independent Community Business Development Corporations

CURRENT TEMPORARY PROGRAMS

Delivering short-term initiatives

COVID-19 economic recovery initiatives

Aerospace Regional Recovery Initiative*

• Ending March 31, 2024

Jobs and Growth Fund*

• Ending March 31, 2024

Other funding initiatives

Hurricane Fiona Recovery Fund

• Ending March 31, 2024

PEI Potato Stabilization and Innovation Initiative

• Ending March 31, 2024

National Ecosystem Fund / Black Entrepreneurship Program*

• Ending March 31, 2025

Canada Coal Transition Initiative (common to ACOA and Prairies Economic Development Canada)

• Ending March 31, 2026

*COMMON INITIATIVES FOR ALL REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AGENCIES

PROGRAM SPENDING

Providing grants and contributions as a catalyst for growth

Over the past decade (2012-2013 to 2022-2023)

• ACOA approved an annual average of 1,443 projects
• Average approved contribution: $237,007
• On average each year, ACOA assisted 590 businesses and invested in 322 communities
• On average, ACOA’s annual project spending was $324M

* Decline in program spending is due to the winding down of short-term initiatives. Budget 2023 decisions are reflected in the table but are based on estimates only at this time.

CLIENT PROFILE

ACOA’s commercial clients

RESULTS

Impacting the region’s economy

Sales and labour productivity (2015 to 2020)

• Sales by ACOA-assisted firms grew by an average of 3.0% per year.
• Labour productivity by ACOA-assisted firms grew by an average of 2.2% per year.

Business exports, growth and R&D (2015 to 2020, except for exports)

• Atlantic Canada's commodity exports rose by 16.6% in 2022 to $43.2 billion. When comparing prior to the pandemic, the region’s exports in 2022 were above those of 2019 (+22.1%, from $35.4 billion).
• In 2020, there were 150 ACOA-assisted high-growth firms, up 6.4% compared to 2015.
• ACOA-assisted firms' R&D expenditures as a percentage of revenue averaged 0.6% over the 2015-2020 period, compared to 0.1% for other firms.

The business survival rate for ACOA-assisted start-ups is 2.2 times higher than for unassisted firms after the crucial fifth year following start-up.

HEADWINDS

…but residents and business owners in Atlantic Canada are still facing a number of economic pressures

AREAS OF FOCUS

Working strategically to unlock Atlantic Canada’s economic potential

OUTREACH OPPORTUNITIES

Key Announcements

• Genesis Group - $1.8 million (St. John’s)
• Fall Flavours Bundle - $447,000 (Charlottetown)
• Bioprocessing and Hurricane Fiona Bundles - $2.4 million and $2.3 million (Cape Breton)
• Hurricane Fiona Recovery Fund approved ACOA projects (four Atlantic provinces)
• Atlantic Association of CBDCs - $12.6 million (annual funding) + $1.5 million (new project)

Media Interview

• Business in Focus magazine – Interview with ACOA Minister – October issue focused on economic momentum in Atlantic Canada (Atlantic Canada Momentum Index) – August 2023

Potential Trips

• August 8-11 – Joint ACOA & Canadian Heritage trip with an Acadian focus – Antigonish County & Cape Breton, N.S.
• September 15-16 – International Shellfish Festival – Charlottetown
• October 9-14 – Potential trip to France focused on business development and official languages (Joint with PCH)

Keynote Events

• September 13-15 – CBDC Annual General Meeting – Moncton, N.B.
• September 19 – Black Business Initiative (BBI) Summit – Halifax
• October 2-4 – Atlantic Canada Showcase – Charlottetown
• October 3-5 – DEFSEC Atlantic 2023 – Halifax