ACOA Ministerial Briefing Session - July 2023
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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
Long description - Organizational chart
This represents the ACOA organizational chart.
The President is Catherine Blewett.
Legal Services is headed by Christine Calvé.
The Head office is in Moncton, New Brunswick, with a small Ottawa presence.
There are regional and local delivery offices throughout the region.
There are six vice-presidents with the following names and titles:
The Vice-President of Policy, Programs and Communications is Daryell Nowlan.
The Vice-President of Finance and Corporate Services is Stéphane Lagacé.
The Vice-President of Newfoundland and Labrador is Dave Boland.
The Vice-President of New Brunswick is Kalie Hatt-Kilburn.
The Vice-President of Nova Scotia is Chuck Maillet.
The Vice-President of Prince Edward Island and Tourism is Patrick Dorsey.
The Ottawa office is the principal day-to-day conduit between the Minister’s Office and ACOA. It advocates for Atlantic Canada’s interests; and it leads on aerospace and defence as well as Industrial and Technological Benefits.
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
| Actual Expenditures | Planned Expenditures (*) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-2021 | 2021-2022 | 2022-2023 | 2023-2024 | 2024-2025 | 2025-2026 | 2026-27 | |
| Operations & Maintenance | $79M | $79M | $82M | $83M | $76M | $75M | $75M |
| Grants & Contributions | $496M | $364M | $351M | $424M | $229M | $221M | $162M |
| Total | $575M | $443M | $433M | $507M | $305M | $296M | $237M |
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
Long description - Client profile
This represents ACOA’s commercial clients.
ACOA clients are majority owned by:
- Women - 11.2%
- Men – 81.4%
- Equally owned - 7.4%
ACOA clients are aged:
- Less than 40 – 11.3%
- 40-54 - 35.1%
- 55 and over - 53.6%
ACOA clients are:
- Immigrants – 7.1%
- Canadian-born – 92.9%
83% of ACOA clients have fewer than 50 employees.
56% of ACOA clients have revenues of less than $2 million.
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.
Long description - Business survival rates
This line graph compares the business survival rate for start-ups, through year 1 to 9 of existence, for ACOA assisted-firms and comparable firms.
After 1 year, the business survival rate for ACOA-assisted firms was 93% compared to 69% for comparable firms.
After 2 years, the business survival rate for ACOA-assisted firms was 87% compared to 53% for comparable firms.
After 3 years, the business survival rate for ACOA-assisted firms was 82% compared to 44% for comparable firms.
After 4 years, the business survival rate for ACOA-assisted firms was 79% compared to 38% for comparable firms.
After 5 years, the business survival rate for ACOA-assisted firms was 74% compared to 33% for comparable firms.
After 6 years, the business survival rate for ACOA-assisted firms was 72% compared to 29% for comparable firms.
After 7 years, the business survival rate for ACOA-assisted firms was 66% compared to 26% for comparable firms.
After 8 years, the business survival rate for ACOA-assisted firms was 60% compared to 23% for comparable firms.
After 9 years, the business survival rate for ACOA-assisted firms was 52% compared to 21% for comparable firms.
HEADWINDS
…but residents and business owners in Atlantic Canada are still facing a number of economic pressures
Long description - Headwinds
Atlantic Canada is facing headwinds – residents and business owners in the region are facing economic pressures, represented by various balloons in the image that are tagged as follows:
- Inflation
- Labour shortages
- Net-zero transition/Energy affordability
- Aging population/Demographic challenges
- Rising interest rates
- Supply-chain difficulties
- Climate adaptation
- Digitalization
- Influx of people into Atlantic Canada
- Recession/uncertainty
- Housing Costs
- War in Ukraine
- Lagging impacts of COVID-19
Long description - Areas of focus
Working strategically to unlock Atlantic Canada’s economic potential
The industrial drivers of change are green imperative, resilience and security, and digital revolution.
There are priorities and solution paths associated with each driver.
Under the green imperative driver, the priority is to decarbonize Atlantic Canada’s grid, electrify sectors and green businesses by increasing Atlantic Canada’s competitiveness in a low-carbon future. Solution paths to do so include:
- advancing transmission through collaboration with electricity regulators
- clean energy sources and emerging energy tech development
- decarbonization and electrification of sectors
- supply-chain development
Under the resilience and security driver, they are two priorities: support critical infrastructure and strengthen regional air access by addressing critical infrastructure needs and reductions in air access to enable economic development; and develop and attract the workforce of the future by addressing barriers to allow full workforce participation in the economy to support SME growth. Solution paths to do so include:
- ensuring critical infrastructure needs are addressed through advocacy and engagement with other government departments
- increasing seat capacity by facilitating integration between airports and airlines and through marketing
- addressing workforce challenges through planning and innovation for training and certification
- innovative approaches to immigration attraction and retention
- fostering an inclusive and diversified workforce
- access to a trained workforce by improving accessibility to skills, reskilling and upskilling initiatives
Under the digital revolution driver, the priority is to increase productivity and digitalization by continuing to close the productivity gap of the region. Solution paths to do so include:
- building awareness on the benefits of automation
- increased uptake of digitalization programs
- continued emphasis on Innovation, Trade and Investment & Tourism as levers for economic growth
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
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