2022–2023 Departmental Results Report

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Prairies Economic Development Canada

Table of contents

• From the Minister
• From the President
• Results at a glance
• Operating context
• Results: what we achieved
  • Core responsibility
  • Internal services
• Spending and human resources
  • Spending
  • Human resources
  • Expenditures by vote
  • Government of Canada spending and activities
  • Financial statements and financial statements highlights
• Corporate information
  • Organizational profile
  • Raison d’être, mandate and role: who we are and what we do
  • Reporting framework
• Supporting information on the program inventory
• Supplementary information tables
• Federal tax expenditures
• Organizational contact information
• Appendix: definitions
• Endnotes

 

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From the Minister

By delivering core funding programs, as well as temporary pandemic relief measures from Budget 2021, PrairiesCan achieved solid results in terms of creating well-paying middle class jobs, business revenue growth and exports as the regional economy recovered close to pre-pandemic levels. PrairiesCan also delivered time-limited recovery programs such as the Tourism Relief Fund and the Canada Community Revitalization Fund, supporting the visitor economy and enhancing community infrastructure across the region. The department continued to work with women and youth entrepreneurs and its renewed emphasis on economic reconciliation with Indigenous communities is seeing results.

A key piece of our work this year had an eye to the future. The department and I began a broad engagement with stakeholders about collaborating more closely with Prairie partners to achieve the objectives of the Building a Green Prairie Economy Act. These important consultations will inform a report and framework to be tabled in Parliament later this year. This framework will inform our ongoing commitment to support regional investments and green technology innovation that will in turn create more well-paying jobs and seize the opportunity to build a brighter future for people living in the Prairies and all Canadians. PrairiesCan continues to be a trusted partner and is well positioned to help spur a more diversified region that is committed to delivering on our federal economic and environmental priorities.

This report tells the story of a department adapting to meet the needs of the communities and businesses it serves. The results we are seeing on the Prairies benefit all Canadians and I am proud of the work we are doing to help our region to build a strong Canadian economy. PrairiesCan is made up of dedicated public servants with deep roots in the West.

I encourage you to read this report to learn more about the results we’ve achieved over the past year.

 

From the President

PrairiesCan’s achievements in the past year show how the department nurtured healthy innovation ecosystems and assisted businesses and communities through its strengths as investor, advisor, pathfinder and convenor. I invite you to read more in this report. The results detailed here reflect the hard-working spirit of our clients, partners, and staff. I sincerely thank them for all their dedication to making a difference.

 

Results at a glance

Prairies Economic Development Canada (PrairiesCan) is committed to building a strong, competitive Canadian economy by supporting business, innovation and community economic development unique to Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. The department’s actual spending amounted to $478.8 million in 2022–23.

In 2022–23, PrairiesCan continued to invest in and diversify the economic future of the region. The department invested in long term economic development projects while working with partners, supporting Prairie businesses, organizations and communities as they innovate and seize new and existing economic opportunities. Investments focused on job creation and innovation while aiming to ensure inclusive economic growth and diversification in the region. Through the department’s permanent funding allocation, PrairiesCan invested over $200 million in 100 new projects during 2022–23. This included nearly 90% being directed towards investments that aim to fuel economic growth through innovation. Over the course of the year, PrairiesCan supported over 390 new and ongoing projects (in 136 individual communities) across western Canada to foster healthy businesses, strengthen innovation ecosystems, and promote jobs and growth. Throughout this report, project spotlight text boxes provide detailed information on individual projects, their objectives and results achieved to date.

In parallel, the department delivered six temporary, yet crucial, COVID-19 recovery programs. The Government of Canada’s Budget 2021 provided regional development agencies (RDAs) funding to support Canadians as the nation started to come out of the other side of the COVID-19 pandemic. As the RDA serving the Prairies region, PrairiesCan’s Budget 2021 programs supported 277 projects with funding of $180.8 million.

This fiscal year also saw the department expand its footprint. PrairiesCan will now be able to work more closely with 12 local communities throughout the Prairies. Locations to where PrairiesCan expanded in 2022–23 include: Lethbridge, Fort McMurray, Grande Prairie, Thompson, Brandon, Regina and Prince Albert. This increased presence will improve support offered to local partners, clients and stakeholders in many communities in the region. A map depicting PrairiesCan’s service locations, including its headquarters and principal offices is presented below.

Throughout the Prairies, the department’s efforts have had a positive impact on the communities it serves. Many of the results listed below are achieved through ongoing projects which may have begun in previous years. Some of the results achieved that stand out from 2022–23 through projects underway include:

• PrairiesCan clients reported solid results from their economic development projects. For all PrairiesCan programs, this included over 14,700 jobs created, $441 million in export sales growth, over $1.2 billion in revenue growth, and over 36,000 businesses assisted.
• Continued support for inclusive economic growth, by helping under-represented groups maximize their participation in the economy.
  • PrairiesCan worked on a roadmap to improve economic inclusion and advance economic reconciliation in partnership with Indigenous Peoples across the Prairies. The roadmap includes examining measures and initiatives across different work streams such as program accessibility, communications, engagement and training, among others.
  • Broadly, PrairiesCan investments have reported the creation of 1,200 jobs for women, 913 jobs for youth and 446 jobs for Indigenous Peoples.
• Develop the clean economy by supporting growth of the clean technology sector in the Prairies.
  • PrairiesCan is leading the Government of Canada’s response to the Building a Green Prairie Economy Act. In 2022–23, PrairiesCan launched an engagement process seeking input from key partners and stakeholders to develop a framework to ensure the Prairies economy is sustainable and inclusive.
  • The department’s clients operating in the clean technology sector reported results achieved of 1,385 jobs created and over $146 million in incremental private sector investment attracted.
• During this reporting period, PrairiesCan invested in 72 projects that stimulated innovation across the Prairies, with project funding totalling $178.4 million. The department provided support to innovative businesses with ambitions of scaling up or growing, and collaborated with organizations that promote healthy innovation ecosystems and innovation infrastructure.

PrairiesCan worked diligently to have a positive impact on the Prairie economy in 2022–23, and will continue to build on economic successes of the region in coming years in close partnership with provinces, Indigenous partners and the business community.

For more information on PrairiesCan’s plans, priorities and results achieved, see the “Results: what we achieved” section of this report.

 

Operating context

Economic overview

2022–23 saw the Prairie economy largely recover to its pre-pandemic levels. However, the recovery has not been uniform, and new challenges have emerged, along with new opportunities. PrairiesCan has worked with the business community and partners to address challenges and seize these new opportunities to grow and diversify the Prairies economy.

In 2022, both the Alberta and Manitoba economies surpassed their pre-pandemic 2019 levels with Saskatchewan’s economy seeing indicators close to its 2019 level. All three provinces exhibited strong economic growth. Alberta’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 5.1%, Saskatchewan’s was up 5.7%, and Manitoba’s increased by 3.9%. While Saskatchewan had impressive growth it remained below its 2019 level due to economic impacts related to the severe drought season in the previous year. All three Prairie Provinces had robust growth in the goods sector, while the service sector, like elsewhere in Canada, moderated.

Russia’s unjustifiable invasion of Ukraine affected commodity prices, specifically agriculture and oil and gas prices . As a result, this contributed to economic growth on the Prairies. The source of the most growth in Manitoba and Saskatchewan were the agriculture and forestry industry. Growth in the industry skyrocketed in 2022 across the Prairies helping to offset economic impacts from the drought in 2021. Additionally, contributing significantly to growth in Alberta and Saskatchewan was the mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction industry, which grew the most since 2017 (+5.6% and +4%, respectively). Construction in Alberta and Saskatchewan experienced a bit of a rebound, growing the most since around 2013 and 2012 (respectively). In Manitoba, the manufacturing industry (+5.9%) contributed to the province’s growth. Despite the strength of the economic growth in the Prairies, industries such as transportation and warehousing, arts, entertainment and recreation, accommodation and food services, and activity related to tourism, are still well below their pre-pandemic levels in all three provinces.

Prairie international exports were valued at $278 billion in 2022, a 44.5% increase from the previous year. Nearly three-quarters of the growth was from oil and gas exports, accounting for over 60% of 2022 exports. The second highest contributor to export growth was mineral or chemical fertilizer (10.7%). In Alberta, most of the growth was from oil and gas exports. Most of Saskatchewan’s growth was from mineral or chemical fertilizers, followed by crude oil. In Manitoba, growth was a bit more diverse, the largest contributors were medication and soya beans.

Average annual employment in 2022 made its way back above its pre-pandemic level for all three provinces. This brought the employment rates for the core working age population (ages 25 to 54) in all three Prairie provinces back up to their recent highs in 2007-2008. The unemployment rates of the Prairie provinces also tightened significantly in 2022. Alberta and Saskatchewan’s average unemployment rates (5.8% and 4.7%, respectively) reached their lowest rates since 2014, while Manitoba’s rate (4.6%) was the lowest since 2008. Despite the strong economic performance in 2022, employment in the goods sector fell for all three provinces. The agriculture industry continued its decades-long decline in employment in the Prairies, while employment in the mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction industry also fell in the Prairies. Employment in the service sector, however, experienced some of its highest growth in decades. Professional, scientific and technical services was up significantly in both Manitoba and Alberta.

Since the second quarter of 2022, the Prairies’ migration has increased. As a whole, the Prairies reached its highest positive net migration since the data began collection in 1991 (totalling 248,239 for the 2022–23 fiscal year). The explosion in net migration was propelled by positive net international migration, reaching a historical high of 58,364 in the first quarter of 2023 for a total of 209,839 people for the 2022–23 fiscal year.

The oil and gas industry, and energy industry in general, continues to be a key industry for the Prairies economy in terms of economic activity, exports and capital expenditures. PrairiesCan continued to work with provinces, Indigenous partners, communities and businesses to seize new economic opportunities. This includes supporting initiatives to diversify the Prairies economy and create good jobs for the green economy while supporting the transition to net-zero.

In response to persistently high inflation in advanced economies, which peaked in Canada in June 2022, the Bank of Canada along with other major central banks began steadily raising interest rates. Prices in the Prairies mirrored that of Canada as a whole, with consumer prices rising and well above the Prairie’s average inflation rate of 2.1% (since the Bank of Canada started inflation targeting in 1991). A combination of higher interest rates and higher prices are affecting businesses, as debt loads start to weigh, and insolvencies generally started to rise in 2022.

Support for Prairie Canadians

PrairiesCan responds to the economic conditions of the region, and provinces, in which the department operates. In 2022–23, PrairiesCan supported businesses by providing zero interest loans as they faced new economic realities, uncertainty, labour pressures and rising borrowing costs. The department helped businesses navigate these challenges, supporting innovation and economic development. Investments focused on areas such as increasing competitiveness, job creation and inclusive growth assisted businesses, communities, and economic partners to realize improved outcomes. Through its activities, PrairiesCan continued to strengthen and support an innovative and competitive economy.

 

Results: what we achieved

Core responsibility

Economic development in the Prairies.

Description

Prairies Economic Development Canada (PrairiesCan) promotes growth and diversification in the economy of the Prairies (Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba) by:

• enhancing innovation;
• improving business competitiveness;
• promoting the adoption of clean technologies; and
• inclusive growth.

Results

PrairiesCan advances its core responsibility through longer term economic development programming. PrairiesCan delivered core programming through the following initiatives:

• Business Scale-up and Productivity (BSP);
• Regional Innovation Ecosystems (RIE);
• Community Economic Development and Diversification (CEDD); and
• Prairie Business Service Network (PBSN).

In the 2022–23 fiscal year, project approvals for these programs totaled $202 million in PrairiesCan funding across over 100 projects. Over the same period, PrairiesCan had 805 active projects report results achieved. In total, PrairiesCan supported projects reported over 14,700 jobs created, over $441 million in export growth, and $1.2 billion in revenue growth.

The department has played a significant role in helping people living and working in the Prairies through COVID-19 and delivered on several new initiatives announced in Budget 2021.

Budget 2021 initiatives

In 2022–23, PrairiesCan continued to deliver programming announced in Budget 2021.^{Endnote 1} Specifically, 277 projects with funding of $180.8 million were approved under the following programs:

• Tourism Relief Fund (TRF);
• Major Festivals and Events Support Initiative (MFESI);
• Jobs and Growth Fund (JGF);
• Canada Community Revitalization Fund (CCRF);
• Aerospace Regional Recovery Initiative (ARRI); and
• Black Entrepreneurship Fund.

As part of the larger Government of Canada response to COVID-19, Budget 2021 created a suite of time-limited programs targeted towards the recovery of several hard-hit sectors of the economy. Two of these programs – the Tourism Relief Fund (TRF) and the Major Festivals and Events Support Initiative (MFESI) – focused on the impacts to Canada’s visitor economy, which predictably was severely impacted by pandemic-related border closures and public health restrictions. Announced in April 2021, later launched in July that year, and closing on March 31, 2023, the TRF and MFESI provided support to two parallel but distinct elements within the sector.

Tourism Relief Fund (TRF)

The TRF supported tourism businesses and organizations to adapt their operations to meet public health requirements while investing in products and services to facilitate growth. The TRF provided both repayable and non-repayable contributions to a range of businesses and organizations across the Prairies, allowing them to complete their recovery and set themselves up for the return of visitors. The program’s $500 million nation-wide budget was spread over two years. PrairiesCan successfully delivered its entire budget of over $73 million over the course of the program, which in 2022–23 included:

• 136 businesses, organizations and Indigenous sole proprietors receiving over $59 million;
• 65 rural/remote communities supported;
• the creation of over 650 jobs; and
• nearly $10 million in support to Indigenous recipients, representing 13.6% of total allocation. This exceeded the 10% target for Indigenous tourism initiatives.

The Tourism Relief Fund contained a unique policy element, in that Indigenous sole proprietors were included as eligible recipients of PrairiesCan funding for the first time. An assessment tool was created to navigate this new policy element, largely shaped from front line staff. With the experience gained through this program, the inclusion of Indigenous sole proprietors in future programming will be greatly simplified.

Results achieved under the TRF as reported by clients include: over 1,500 jobs maintained; 2,495 businesses served; 123 tourism products developed or improved; and over 2,000,000 tourist visits.

In the following project spotlight textboxes, successful project or businesses are showcased. By including these project examples, PrairiesCan can demonstrate the “on-the-ground” impact of its investments and programs.

 

 

 

Major Festivals and Events Initiative (MFESI)

Major festivals and events are key levers of economic activity in communities across the country. They attract international tourists, position Canada and its regions as destinations of choice, encourage investment in Canadian tourism assets and create jobs. The MFESI supported major Canadian festivals and events that were hit hard by the economic impacts of COVID-19, allowing them to adapt and enhance their tourism-related activities as the economy recovered.

PrairiesCan successfully delivered its entire budget of $20 million over the course of the program. Altogether, the MFESI supported three major events in the Prairies; the Calgary Stampede, Edmonton’s K-Days Festival, and the 2022 Grey Cup Festival in Regina, Saskatchewan.

Jobs and Growth Fund (JGF)

Through Jobs and Growth Fund funding, PrairiesCan supported businesses as they prepared for growth post pandemic. In 2022–23, PrairiesCan approved a total of 46 JGF projects, with funding totalling $80.6 million. Clients reported significant positive impacts of JGF projects as the program has helped create 1,200 jobs and maintain another 530 jobs so far. It also helped clients generate over $47 million in revenue growth. These investments will continue to help position local economies for long term growth.

 

 

Canada Community Revitalization Fund (CCRF)

The Canada Community Revitalization Fund program helped communities across Canada build and improve community infrastructure so they can rebound from the effects of COVID-19. The intent of the fund was to support not-for-profit organizations, municipalities, and other public institutions, as well as Indigenous communities on the road to economic recovery. Funding supported social and economic cohesion, helped reanimate communities, and stimulated local economies. PrairiesCan approved 81 CCRF projects totalling $24.8 million in funding during 2022–23.

One important program characteristic relating to the CCRF was that primary consideration was given to Indigenous-led organizations such as First Nations (as represented by their Chief and Council), Tribal Councils, Indigenous Representative Organizations, Metis and Inuit organizations and Settlements .

The program positively impacted hundreds of prairie communities and thousands of people from the Prairies. Key results to date, as reported by clients, include 1,300 jobs created, 406 jobs maintained, and 454 community spaces created, improved or expanded.

 

 

 

 

Aerospace Regional Recovery Initiative (ARRI)

The Aerospace Regional Recovery Initiative helped the Canadian aerospace sector emerge from the pandemic with the capacity to compete on the global stage. The Initiative supported small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to green their operations and adopt environmentally sustainable practices to improve productivity and strengthen commercialization while furthering integration into regional and global supply chains.

In 2022–23, PrairiesCan approved 6 ARRI projects, with funding totalling $7.2 million. Results from these investments are expected to be reported in 2023–24.

Black Entrepreneurship Fund

Since the Fund’s inception, PrairiesCan has invested nearly $15.6 million in six Black-led organizations under the Black Entrepreneurship Program’s (BEP) National Ecosystem Fund to provide Black business owners with enhanced business support services. In 2022–23, organizations provided services that led to the creation or expansion of 258 businesses, and provided services to 1,500 businesses. Black business owners received support to strengthen their business skills, develop new business networks, and enhance their ability to access investment capital.

Other initiatives

PrairiesCan is leading the Government of Canada’s response to the Building a Green Prairie Economy Act, a private members’ bill sponsored by the late Honourable Jim Carr. At its core, the Act is about working collaboratively with partners to focus efforts to grow a Prairie economy that is sustainable and inclusive, and supports well-paying jobs across the region.

In early 2023, PrairiesCan initiated public engagement efforts to hear from Prairie stakeholders and Indigenous partners and began working with federal partners on the development of a framework for implementation of the Act.

Throughout 2022–23, PrairiesCan also actively promoted Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED)’s Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) with Prairie-based companies and partners. During the year, PrairiesCan focused on its pathfinding efforts, where the department helps businesses and communities navigate to appropriate federal economic programs and services. One example of this pathfinding is for SIF’s $8 billion Net-Zero Accelerator stream, where PrairiesCan promoted strong applications for large emitter projects and helped evaluate proposals. These efforts have helped to build a stronger pipeline of Prairie-based projects that are critical for advancing economic opportunities in the region.

In 2022–23, PrairiesCan provided $30.1 million in funding support to the Arctic Gateway Group (AGG) to repair and operate the Hudson Bay Railway, a vital transportation network for over 29,000 residents in northern Manitoba. This funding helped secure a commitment from the Government of Manitoba to invest $73.8 million over two years in AGG, which is a consortium of northern and Indigenous communities along the railway and represents a unique community ownership model.

Gender-based analysis plus (GBA Plus)

PrairiesCan advances inclusive economic development in the prairies region through its programs and services. All of PrairiesCan’s programs support under-represented groups either directly or indirectly, however the department also offers tailored programs that specifically target certain groups. Programs include:

• Women’s Enterprise Initiative (WEI);
• Black Entrepreneurship Program (BEP);
• Economic Development Initiative (EDI);
• Francophone Economic Development Organizations (FEDOs);
• Entrepreneurs with Disabilities Program (EDP); and
• Indigenous Business Development Services (IBDS).

Moreover, PrairiesCan’s programs support businesses majority-owned or majority-led by under-represented groups such as Indigenous Peoples, women, youth, members of the 2SLGBTQI+ community, persons with disabilities, newcomers to Canada and members of official language minority communities. Programming aims to increase participation of under-represented groups in the economy by supporting businesses directly or through not-for-profit organizations by providing funding, business services, training and access to resources.

As part of its departmental inclusivity priority, PrairiesCan continued to support Indigenous-led projects through core and time-limited programming. PrairiesCan is developing a roadmap to improve economic inclusion of Indigenous Peoples across the Prairies. The plan includes examining measures and initiatives across different work streams such as program accessibility, communications, engagement and training, among others.

Another manner in which the department supports inclusive economic growth is through its research and analysis function. In 2022–23, PrairiesCan commissioned The Centre for Innovation Studies (THECIS) to launch the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) studies across the Prairies to better understand the unique challenges and barriers faced by women and youth entrepreneurs. The latest set of women and youth reports have been completed and virtual launches occurred in late 2022. Unique to this period, PrairiesCan also invested in regional impact reports on entrepreneurship in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, which were also released and launched in the Fall of 2022. PrairiesCan will continue to collaborate with THECIS to ensure it has access to accurate and timely data and research.

United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals

PrairiesCan supports Canada’s efforts to address the UN 2030 Agenda and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by investing in clean technology and clean resources projects, helping communities diversify their economies away from coal-fired electricity generation, and supporting the creation of sustainable jobs across the Prairies.

The department also adopts practices that promote sustainable development in PrairiesCan’s internal operations. As a fundamental component to department policies and programs, PrairiesCan’s inclusivity priority is in place to increase economic participation of under-represented and marginalized groups.

The department’s programs and services advance the following UN Sustainable Development Goals:

• SDG 8 – promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all.
• SDG 9 – build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization, and foster innovation.
• SDG 12 – ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.

Innovation

PrairiesCan continued to experiment and innovate in 2022–23. A few examples of innovative practices include:

• PrairiesCan revised its Departmental Results Framework (DRF), which it uses to communicate progress and results. The new framework will allow the department to tell a more meaningful and transparent performance story to Canadians. Its implementation begins in 2023–24.
• Regional communications staff found an innovative and successful way to make project announcements in cooperation with project proponents and funding partners. The sheer volume of announcements stemming from the launch of several temporary recovery programs in Budget 2021 led to the adoption of a strategy that encouraged project proponents to lead announcements. This strategy was tailored after successful pilots in Alberta, where proponents crafted news releases with light input from PrairiesCan. The strategy allowed local communities, groups and organizations to lead the development of project announcements, which would energize and engage these entities to tailor the message to their audiences – and in their own trusted voices. This gave PrairiesCan new inroads to unique audiences and presented a timely opportunity to promote the department’s work with partners at the grassroots level in communities across the Prairies. Over the course of the year, this method was used to announce over one hundred projects in the Prairies.

In the sections that follow, PrairiesCan’s quantitative results and impact are organized by the three departmental results contained in its Departmental Results Framework.

 

PrairiesCan aims to support Prairie businesses as they innovate, scale up and pursue long-term growth. PrairiesCan programming is delivered in three different ways – directly to businesses, through ecosystem organizations, and through community support to drive local economic development.

To capture the impact of this departmental result, PrairiesCan tracks the following four performance indicators listed in the table below. Results achieved can sometimes see significant volatility year-over-year as they often follow general macroeconomic trends in the region.

Performance indicator	Target	Date to achieve target	2022–2023 actual results	2021–2022 actual results	2020–2021 actual results
Value of exports of goods from the Prairies ($)	$197.8B	March 31, 2023	$277.9B	$249.6B	$179.7B
Value of exports of clean technologies from the Prairies ($)	$2.0B	March 31, 2023	$2.0B	$3.5B	$3.5B
Revenue growth rate of firms supported by PrairiesCan programs	9%	March 31, 2023	5.5%	13.5%	20.3%
Number of high-growth firms in the Prairies	2,310	March 31, 2023	1,570	4,490	3,780
Note 1: Data contained in the 2022–23 actual results column includes actual results from Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba only. Data contained in the 2020–21 and 2021–22 actual results columns include data from Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and British Columbia. The reason for this difference is that Western Economic Diversification Canada (which was the RDA servicing the four western provinces) transitioned into two separate organizations in 2021–22 – PrairiesCan and PacifiCan. Note 2: Financial, human resources and performance information for PrairiesCan’s program inventory is available in GC InfoBase. Note 3: For presentation and simplicity purposes, PrairiesCan may round results to the nearest integer or to the nearest one decimal point.

In 2022–23, PrairiesCan met or exceeded two of its four indicators under this departmental result. The target for the indictors relating to the number of high-growth firms in the Prairies and revenue growth rate of firms supported by PrairiesCan were not met. It is believed that the negative economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic were the primary contributing factor to this lower-than-expected result.

Despite not meeting two of its targets under this departmental result, the department’s investments generated 11,055 jobs, over $905 million in revenue growth, and approximately $359 million in export sales growth for its clients.

Regional Innovation Ecosystems

Through the Regional Innovation Ecosystems (RIE) Program, PrairiesCan approved $132.6 million in multi-year assistance for 50 innovation projects aiming to create, grow and nurture inclusive innovation ecosystems. These projects support business needs throughout the innovation continuum and foster an entrepreneurial environment conducive to innovation, growth and competitiveness.

PrairiesCan made targeted RIE investments in not-for-profit organizations that support businesses, including in critical sectors where the Prairies economic potential is high and significant opportunities for growth exist. These investments generated over 4,700 jobs created, over 27,000 SMEs assisted, business expenditures in research and development of over $308 million, and over $436 million of incremental private sector investment attracted.

 

 

 

 

 

Regional Air Transportation Initiative

The Regional Air Transportation Initiative (RATI) is a national initiative to help regional and local air carriers and airports that are critical regional transportation hubs. RATI support enabled the air transportation system across western Canada to remain operational through COVID-19 and continue to support economic growth in communities across the Prairies. The pandemic impacted the level of staff available to a number of PrairiesCan’s clients, affecting the delivery of the program within its initial timeframe. As a result, the initiative was extended to March 31, 2023.

Since the initiative launched in March 2021, PrairiesCan has approved 16 RATI projects, with funding totalling $22.4 million. In 2022–23, RATI projects reported results of 502 jobs created, 74 jobs maintained, 26 communities having had air access maintained and/or restored, and 68 air routes maintained or restored.

 

 

PrairiesCan helps communities across the Prairies access economic development opportunities and build resilience. The department works to increase the participation of under-represented groups in the economy and ensure economic growth is inclusive and leaves no one behind.

To capture the impact of this departmental result, PrairiesCan tracks the following two performance indicators listed in the table below. Results achieved can sometimes see significant volatility year-over-year as they often follow general macroeconomic trends in the region.

Performance indicator	Target	Date to achieve target	2022–2023 Actual results	2021–2022 Actual results	2020–2021 Actual results
Percentage of SMEs that are majority-owned by women, Indigenous people, youth, visible minorities and persons with disabilities in the Prairies	Women: 12.9% Indigenous: 2.9% Visible minorities: 10.3% Youth: 17.4% Persons with disabilities: 0.3%	March 31, 2023	Women: 13.6% Indigenous: 1.8% Visible minorities: 6.6% Youth: 16.7% Persons with disabilities: 0.7%	Women: 15.4% Indigenous: 1.8% Visible minorities: 8.8% Youth: 14.8% Persons with disabilities: 0.9%	Women: 15.1% Indigenous: 2.2% Visible minorities: 15.1% Youth: 15.7% Persons with disabilities: 0.4%
Amount leveraged per dollar by PrairiesCan in community projects	1.1	March 31, 2023	0.87	1.2	1.08
Note 1: Data contained in the 2022–23 actual results column includes actual results from Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba only. Data contained in the 2020–21 and 2021–22 actual results columns include data from Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and British Columbia. The reason for this difference is that Western Economic Diversification Canada (which was the RDA servicing the four western provinces) transitioned into two separate organizations in 2021–22 – PrairiesCan and PacifiCan. Note 2: Financial, human resources and performance information for PrairiesCan’s program inventory is available in GC InfoBase. Note 3: For presentation and simplicity purposes, PrairiesCan may round results to the nearest integer or to the nearest one decimal point.

PrairiesCan did not meet its target for both indicators under this departmental result in 2022–23. Based on 2020 data,^{Endnote 2} PrairiesCan met its target for the percentage of SMEs majority-owned by women and persons with disabilities in the Prairies. However, the target for the percentage of SMEs majority-owned by Indigenous people, youth and visible minorities in the Prairies were not achieved. While the targets were not achieved, the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic were the primary driver behind the lower-than-expected result. Furthermore, COVID-19 disproportionately affected these under-represented groups, exacerbating economic challenges. Studies conducted by Statistics Canada and the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives describe in more detail how certain under-represented groups were more affected than other groups.

The amount leveraged per dollar of PrairiesCan funding in community projects was 0.87. This result fell short of the target, likely due to community organizations having less ability to share costs following the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite not meeting its two targets under this departmental result, the department’s investments generated 2,380 jobs, over $111 million in revenue growth, and over 8,000 SMEs assisted.

Community Economic Development and Diversification

Through the Community Economic Development and Diversification (CEDD) program, PrairiesCan makes targeted investments that aim to generate sustainable, inclusive economic growth and help communities in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba to fully participate in and benefit from economic opportunities.

The Community Economic Development and Diversification (CEDD) stream approved $24.4 million in multi-year assistance for 31 projects aimed at supporting economic development initiatives that contribute to the growth and diversification of communities and non-innovation related ecosystems across the Prairies. Investments in this area can often focus on strengthening relationships, helping communities build resiliency, and supporting businesses in rural communities across the Prairies. In 2022–23, active CEDD projects reported robust results. Specifically, CEDD projects have helped create over 1,750 jobs, maintain over 17,000 jobs, engage over 2,000 economic development partners, assist over 6,000 SMEs, train over 15,000 participants and create or maintain over 6,800 businesses.

 

 

Prairie Business Service Network (PBSN)

An additional primary delivery mechanism through PrairiesCan is the Prairie Business Service Network (PBSN). The PBSN is a network of nearly 80 independent organizations – including Community Futures (CF), the Women’s Enterprise Initiative (WEI), the Francophone Economic Development Organizations (FEDO), Small Business Services (SBS), Indigenous Business Development Services (IBDS) and Entrepreneurs with Disabilities Program (EDP) – that receive PrairiesCan funds to help people on the Prairies to start, grow and expand their businesses. In total, PrairiesCan invested over $26 million in annual funding to these organizations.

PBSN assisted over 3,600 businesses in starting or expanding their operations, served over 24,100 clients, trained more than 39,100 participants and provided more than 89,400 business advisory and information services. The PBSN offered targeted business supports to rural entrepreneurs, Indigenous peoples, women, youth, persons with disabilities, and members of Official Languages Minority Communities (OLMC) to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and take advantage of emerging opportunities.

The CFs provided 628 loans valued at $34.4 million to rural SMEs, while the WEI provided 57 loans valued at over $4.2 million to women-owned SMEs. These loans created or maintained a combined total of over 2,100 jobs across the Prairies.

An analysis of data from CFs’ loan clients, compared to companies of similar size and location in Statistics Canada’s database, demonstrated better results in comparison by CF clients. These results are as follows:

• In terms of employment growth from 2014 to 2019,^{Endnote 3} CF-assisted firms collectively increased their number of employees by 7.98% compounded annually compared to 0.22% in non-assisted firms.
• In terms of sales growth from 2014 to 2019, CF-assisted firms exhibited 8.43% compounded annual sales growth rate compared to 3.14% for non-assisted firms. In addition, CF loan clients were able to withstand initial shocks due to economic activity better than firms without CF assistance. Sales growth of CF-assisted firms also tended to outperform sales growth of comparable firms during periods of economic slowdown.
• CF-assisted firms exhibited significantly stronger longevity at 60% for a five-year survival rate than non-assisted firms at 44%.

The Francophone Economic Development Organizations (FEDOs), members of the OLMCs in western Canada, completed its delivery of the three-year (2020–2023) Economic Development Initiative (EDI) pilot project. The FEDOs approved 49 community projects worth $1.6 million, including 35 projects in the Prairies, which supported Francophone immigrant entrepreneurs, enhanced tourism infrastructure, established creative spaces and promoted the green economy through youth engagement and tourism. The pan-western EDI project developed leadership capacity within the ecosystem, increased collaboration, identified projects that better met the needs of the community and allowed for equitable distribution of funding across all regions.

Community Futures Pan West Network re-established the Rural Opportunities Fund (ROF) with $7.2 million in support from PrairiesCan to strengthen rural communities through community economic development projects up to 2026. This builds on the original ROF initiative (2019 to 2022) that funded projects in western Canada, including 23 across the Prairies, supporting businesses in their succession planning, promoting tourism and immigration, and developing local e-commerce initiatives. In total, these rural projects created or maintained more than 14,000 jobs, trained 13,000 participants, and assisted 3,800 rural business owners in the Prairies.

 

 

 

Canada Coal Transition Initiative (CCTI) and Canada Coal Transition Initiative – Infrastructure Fund (CCTI–IF)

The Government of Canada’s Budget 2018 provided the department with funding to support activities to help coal-dependant communities adapt to Canada’s transition to a low-carbon economy. PrairiesCan received $25 million toward community projects in Alberta and Saskatchewan for the Canada Coal Transition Initiative (CCTI). The CCTI’s objective is to help workers and communities in areas that rely on coal to adjust, by supporting skills development and economic diversification activities during the transition to a greener economy.

The following year, Budget 2019 announced incremental funding for infrastructure projects in these same coal-affected impacted communities. PrairiesCan received $105 million to develop further infrastructure projects under the Canada Coal Transition Initiative – Infrastructure Fund (CCTI-IF). PrairiesCan is actively working with affected communities to identify new economic opportunities and develop economic infrastructure projects to support the transition for Canadians working in the coal industry across western Canada.

PrairiesCan has developed strong relationships and trust with the impacted communities. Communities are at the centre of the planning for these investments. This community-focused approach has allowed PrairiesCan to deliver regionally-tailored investments that respond to the differences in labour force impact, community size, remoteness and the potential for industrial and economic development.

Since the announcement of CCTI and CCTI-IF funding programs, PrairiesCan has supported the following in Alberta and Saskatchewan: 44 projects with over $23.7 million of funding, through the CCTI program; and, 15 projects with over $43.9 million of funding, through the CCTI-IF component. These projects have delivered the following key results achieved in 2022–23: over 1,950 jobs maintained, 800 businesses maintained or created, 2,900 participants trained, and 1,500 SMEs assisted.

 

 

 

PrairiesCan supports firms at many levels of maturity to commercialize new technologies, scale up operations, and improve productivity. The majority of PrairiesCan’s support in this area involves directly supporting businesses as they accelerate growth through productivity improvements, business scale up and technology commercialization.

To capture the impact of this departmental result, PrairiesCan tracks the following three performance indicators listed in the table below. Results achieved can sometimes see significant volatility year-over-year as they often follow general macroeconomic trends in the region.

Performance indicator	Target	Date to achieve target	2022–2023 Actual results	2021–2022 Actual results	2020–2021 Actual results
Value of business expenditures in research and development by firms receiving PrairiesCan program funding ($)	$56.8M	March 31, 2023	$309M	$77.9M	$50.5M
Percentage of professional jobs (including science and technology S&T) in the Prairies	33.6%	March 31, 2023	34.1%	35.3%	35.0%
Percentage of companies engaged in collaborations with higher education institutions in the Prairies	8.8%	March 31, 2023	10.2%	10.2%	10.2%
Note 1: Data contained in the 2022–23 actual results column includes actual results from Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba only. Data contained in the 2020–21 and 2021–22 actual results columns include data from Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and British Columbia. The reason for this difference is that Western Economic Diversification Canada (which was the RDA servicing the four western provinces) transitioned into two separate organizations in 2021–22 – PrairiesCan and PacifiCan. Note 2: Financial, human resources and performance information for PrairiesCan’s program inventory is available in GC InfoBase. Note 3: For presentation and simplicity purposes, PrairiesCan may round results to the nearest integer or to the nearest one decimal point.

PrairiesCan met or exceeded all three of its indicators under this departmental result in 2022–23. The department’s investments to support the development and commercialization of technologies generated strong results for PrairiesCan clients. In total, 222 projects under this departmental result reported results in 2022–23.

Business Scale-up and Productivity (BSP)

PrairiesCan’s Business Scale-up and Productivity (BSP) Program helps companies scale up, improve their productivity and commercialize new technologies. Through this program, PrairiesCan supports high growth businesses directly by offering interest free repayable funding. In 2022–23, PrairiesCan approved 22 projects and $45.8 million worth of PrairiesCan funding under BSP. Project outcomes reported in 2022–23 include: $794 million increase in revenues (including $386 million in exports sales) and 1,431 jobs created (including 925 HQP positions).

 

 

 

 

 

The following table shows, for economic development in the Prairies, budgetary spending for 2022–23, as well as actual spending for that year.

Budgetary financial resources (dollars)

2022–2023 Main Estimates	2022–2023 planned spending	2022–2023 total authorities available for use	2022–2023 actual spending (authorities used)	2022–2023 Difference (Actual spending minus Planned spending)
$408,443,940	$408,443,940	$563,495,280	$478,759,177	$70,315,237
Note: The difference in PrairiesCan’s planned and actual spending is related to the implementation of Budget 2021 programs. Note: Financial, human resources and performance information for PrairiesCan’s program inventory is available in GC InfoBase.

The following table shows, in full time equivalents, the human resources the department needed to fulfill this core responsibility for 2022–23.

Human resources (full-time equivalents)

2022–2023 planned full-time equivalents	2022–2023 actual full-time equivalents	2022–2023 difference (actual full-time equivalents minus planned full-time equivalents)
259	263	4
Note: Financial, human resources and performance information for PrairiesCan’s program inventory is available in GC InfoBase.

Internal services

Description

Internal services are those groups of related activities and resources that the federal government considers to be services in support of programs and/or required to meet corporate obligations of an organization. Internal services refers to the activities and resources of the 10 distinct service categories that support program delivery in the organization, regardless of the internal services delivery model in a department. The 10 service categories are:

• acquisition management services;
• communication services;
• financial management services;
• human resources management services;
• information management services;
• information technology services;
• legal services;
• material management services;
• management and oversight services;
• real property management services.

PrairiesCan’s efforts in the area of Internal Services relate to strengthening its services and programs for prairie Canadians. Notably, PrairiesCan opened new service locations by providing direct services to the region with new locations in Brandon and Thompson, Manitoba; Prince Albert and Regina, Saskatchewan; and Fort McMurray, Grande Prairie, and Lethbridge, Alberta. The new service locations enable the department to assist more people where they live and work with local and regional knowledge. Existing locations will continue in Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Calgary (expanded services), Edmonton, and Ottawa.

Another noteworthy activity in 2022–23 was the department’s work to increase awareness of the availability of the department’s programs and services in the region.  For example, PrairiesCan increased engagement on social media from 4,944 engagements in 2021–2022 to 5,989 in 2022–2023. This was an overall increase of 21% that helped the department share information with key target audiences. Furthermore, as part of a greater emphasis on a digital communications strategy, the department developed in-house capacity to produce video messages for the Minister, laying the groundwork for future in-house creation of success story videos profiling clients and project proponents. Both of these initiatives help the people and communities served by PrairiesCan.

Lastly, PrairiesCan worked diligently to offer streamlined and user-friendly interactions to clients, applicants, and interested stakeholders. The department focused on the end user’s experience. PrairiesCan introduced a new Grants and Contribution (G&C) system that streamlines the intake, assessment, approval and monitoring of ongoing client applications and projects. Ongoing enhancements to system functionality, processes and documents continue to be undertaken to improve user experience.

Contracts awarded to Indigenous businesses

The Government of Canada is committed to reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples and to improving socio‑economic outcomes by increasing opportunities for First Nations, Inuit and Métis businesses through the federal procurement process.

Under the Directive on the Management of Procurement, which came into effect on May 13, 2021, departments must ensure that a minimum of 5% of the total value of the contracts they award are held by Indigenous businesses. This requirement is being phased in over three years, and full implementation is expected by 2024.

Indigenous Services Canada has set the implementation schedule:

• Phase 1 departments: April 1, 2022, to March 31, 2023
• Phase 2 departments: April 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024
• Phase 3 departments: April 1, 2024, to March 31, 2025

PrairiesCan is a Phase 1 department and as such must ensure that a minimum 5% of the total value of the contracts it awards is to Indigenous businesses by the end of 2022–23.

As shown in the following table, PrairiesCan awarded 8% of the total value of its contracts to Indigenous businesses in 2022–23.

Contracting performance indicators	2022–23 results
Total value of contractsEndnote 4 awarded to Indigenous businessesEndnote 5 (A)	$566,944.00
Total value of contracts awarded to Indigenous and non‑Indigenous businessesEndnote 6 (B)	$7,084,302.00
Value of exceptions approved by deputy head (C)	$0.00
Proportion of contracts awarded to Indigenous businesses [B / (A−C)×100]	8.00%

Procurements with Indigenous businesses were primarily in the following areas:

• Office furniture and furnishings, including parts;
• Computer equipment related to distributed computing environment; and
• Other professional services.

Suppliers on the Indigenous Business Directory providing goods or services related to the Economic Object Codes we procured most were put in contact with Procurement Assistance Canada (PAC) and provided guidance on how to get onto the applicable standing offers and supply arrangements. Additionally, contractors that identified as being Indigenous were invited to register with the Indigenous Business Directorate and were also put in contact with PAC.

An internal policy on procurement with Indigenous businesses is currently in development.

The following table shows, for internal services, budgetary spending for 2022–23, as well as spending for that year.

Budgetary financial resources (dollars)

2022–2023 Main Estimates	2022–2023 planned spending	2022–2023 total authorities available for use	2022–2023 actual spending (authorities used)	2022–2023 difference (actual spending minus planned spending)
$15,024,743	$15,024,743	$22,794,278	$20,648,845	$5,624,102
Note: The difference in PrairiesCan’s planned and actual spending is related to the implementation of Budget 2021 programs and internal support services it provides to PacifiCan.

The following table shows, in full time equivalents, the human resources the department needed to carry out its internal services for 2022–23.

Human resources (full-time equivalents)

2022–2023 planned full-time equivalents	2022–2023 actual full-time equivalents	2022–2023 difference (actual full-time equivalents minus planned full-time equivalents)
115	109	(6)

 

Spending and human resources

Spending

Spending 2020–21 to 2025–26

The following graph presents planned (voted and statutory spending) over time.

• Text version: Departmental Spending Trend Graph

  	2020–21 thousands ($000)	2021–22 thousands ($000)	2022–23 thousands ($000)	2023–24 thousands ($000)	2024–25 thousands ($000)	2025–26 thousands ($000)
  Statutory	477,776	5,092	5,310	4,570	4,173	4,067
  Voted	429,722	426,762	494,098	366,170	229,796	172,319
  Total	907,498	431,854	499,408	370,740	233,969	176,386

The overall increase in voted spending from 2021–22 to 2022–23 relates to the time-limited pandemic recovery programs such as Budget 2021 Tourism Relief Fund, Canada Community Revitalization Fund, and Jobs and Growth Fund.

The “Budgetary performance summary for core responsibilities and internal services” table presents the budgetary financial resources allocated for PrairiesCan’s core responsibilities and for internal services.

Budgetary performance summary for core responsibilities and internal services (dollars)

Core responsibilities and internal services	2022–2023 Main Estimates	2022–2023 planned spending	2023–2024 planned spending	2024–2025 planned spending	2022–2023 total authorities available for use	2020–2021 actual spending (authorities used)*	2021–2022 actual spending (authorities used)	2022–2023 actual spending (authorities used)
Economic development in the Prairies	$408,443,940	$408,443,940	$224,171,136	$166,730,953	$563,495,280	$892,802,350	$418,106,043	$478,759,177
Subtotal	408,443,940	408,443,940	224,171,136	166,730,953	563,495,280	892,802,350	418,106,043	478,759,177
Internal Services	15,024,743	15,024,743	13,410,507	12,769,131	22,794,278	14,695,596	13,747,877	20,648,845
Total	$423,468,683	$423,468,683	$237,581,643	$179,500,084	$586,289,558	$907,497,946	$431,853,920	$499,408,022
*Note: 2020–21 actual spending (authorities used) information includes figures for Western Economic Diversification Canada (which included PacifiCan during this fiscal year).

The following table reconciles gross planned spending with net spending for 2022–23.

2022–23 Budgetary actual gross spending summary (dollars)

Core responsibilities and internal services	2022–2023 actual gross spending	2022–2023 actual revenues netted against expenditures	2022–2023 actual net spending (authorities used)
Economic development in the Prairies	$478,759,177	–	$478,759,177
Subtotal	478,759,177	–	478,759,177
Internal services	22,880,010	2,231,166	20,648,845
Total	$501,639,187	$2,231,166	$499,408,022
Note: PrairiesCan received revenues netted against expenditures for various internal support services it provides to Pacific Economic Development Canada.

Human resources

The “Human resources summary for core responsibilities and internal services” table presents the full-time equivalents (FTEs) allocated to each of PrairiesCan’s core responsibility and to internal services.

Human resources summary for core responsibilities and internal services

Core responsibilities and internal services	2020–2021 actual full-time equivalents	2021–2022 actual full-time equivalents	2022–2023 planned full-time equivalents	2022–2023 actual full-time equivalents	2023–2024 planned full-time equivalents	2024–2025 planned full-time equivalents
Economic sevelopment in the Prairies	284	279	259	263	220	198
Subtotal	284	279	259	263	220	198
Internal services	102	107	115	109	98	89
Total	386	386	374	372	318	287

Expenditures by vote

For information on PrairiesCan’s organizational voted and statutory expenditures, consult the Public Accounts of Canada 2022.

Government of Canada spending and activities

Information on the alignment of PrairiesCan’s spending with the Government of Canada’s spending and activities is available in GC InfoBase.

Financial statements and financial statements highlights

Financial statements

PrairiesCan’s financial statements (unaudited) for the year ended March 31, 2023, are available on the departmental website.

Financial statement highlights

Condensed Statement of Operations (unaudited) for the year ended March 31, 2023 (dollars)

Financial information	2022–2023 planned results	2022–2023 actual results	2021–2022 actual results	Difference (2022–2023 actual results minus 2022–2023 planned results)	Difference (2022–2023 Actual results minus 2021–2022 Actual results)
Total expenses	$394,008,760	$376,662,509	$281,812,762	($17,346,251)	$94,849,747
Total revenues	314	180	1,110	(134)	(930)
Net cost of operations before government funding and transfers	$394,008,446	$376,662,329	$281,811,652	($17,346,117)	$94,850,677

The 2022–23 planned results information is provided in PrairiesCan’s Future-Oriented Statement of Operations and Notes 2022–23, and is available on the departmental website.

 

Total expenses were $376.7 million in 2022–23, a net increase of $94.8 million (34%) over 2021–22. This year-over-year net increase is attributed primarily to new programming for the Tourism Relief Fund ($53.5 million), Canada Community Revitalization Fund ($45.1 million), restoration of the Hudson Bay rail line and reopening of the Port of Churchill ($28.0 million), Canada Coal Transition Initiative ($15.8 million), and ongoing fund for Regional Innovation Ecosystems ($13.0 million); offset by reductions in transfer payment expenses under the Regional Recovery and Relief Fund ($38.1 million), and Western Diversification Program ($20.7 million).

 

Condensed Statement of Financial Position (unaudited) as of March 31, 2023 (dollars)

Financial information	2022–2023	2021–2022	Difference (2022–2023 minus 2021–2022)
Total net liabilities	211,915,896	134,197,412	77,718,484
Total net financial assets	208,819,311	130,706,087	78,113,224
Departmental net debt	3,096,585	3,491,325	(394,740)
Total non-financial assets	1,785,367	1,931,984	(146,617)
Departmental net financial position	(1,311,218)	(1,559,341)	248,123

The 2022–23 planned results information is provided in PrairiesCan’s Future-Oriented Statement of Operations and Notes 2022–23, and is available on the departmental website.

 

Total net liabilities were $211.9 million at the end of 2022–23, a net increase of $77.7 million (58%) over 2021–22. This year-over-year net increase is attributed to the establishment of accounts payable balances for the Jobs and Growth Fund and the Tourism Relief Fund.

 

Total net financial assets were $208.8 million at the end of 2022–23, an increase of $78.1 million (60%) over 2021–22. This year-over-year increase in these assets primarily consists of the Due from Consolidated Revenue Fund which is used to discharge PrairiesCan’s liabilities, and an increase in Accounts Receivable and Advances. Given PrairiesCan’s liabilities were higher than the previous fiscal year, the amount Due from Consolidated Revenue Fund also increased.

 

Corporate Information

Organizational profile

Appropriate minister: The Honourable Dan Vandal, P.C., M.P.

Institutional head: President Diane Gray

Ministerial portfolio: The Honourable Dan Vandal: Prairies Economic Development Canada, Northern Affairs, Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency

Enabling instrument(s): Western Economic Diversification Act, R.S.C. 1985, c.11, (4th Supplement)

Year of incorporation / commencement: 1987

Headquarters: Edmonton, Alberta

 

Raison d’être, mandate and role: who we are and what we do

“Raison d’être, mandate and role: who we are and what we do” is available on PrariesCan’s website.

For more information on the department’s organizational mandate letter commitments, see the Minister’s mandate letter.

 

Reporting framework

PrairiesCan’s departmental results framework and program inventory of record for 2022–23 are shown below. Starting in fiscal year 2023–24, PrairiesCan will use its new departmental results framework.

Departmental Results Framework	Core Responsibility: Economic development in the Prairies		Internal Services
	Departmental result: Businesses are innovative and growing in the Prairies	Indicator: Value of exports of goods from the Prairies ($)
		Indicator: Number of high-growth firms in the Prairies
		Indicator: Value of exports of clean technologies from the Prairies ($)
		Indicator: Revenue growth rate of firms supported by PrairiesCan programs
	Departmental result: Communities are economically diversified in the Prairies	Indicator: Percentage of SMEs that are majority-owned by women, Indigenous people, youth, visible minorities and persons with disabilities in the Prairies
		Indicator: Amount leveraged per dollar by PrairiesCan in community projects
	Departmental result: Businesses invest in the development and commercialization of innovative technologies in the Prairies	Indicator: Value of business expenditures in research and development by firm receiving PrairiesCan program funding ($)
		Indicator: Percentage of professional jobs (including science and technology) in the Prairies
		Indicator: Percentage of companies engaged in collaborations with higher education institutions in the Prairies
Program Inventory	Program: Innovation
	Program: Business Growth
	Program: Business Services
	Program: Community Initiatives

 

Supporting information on the program inventory

Financial, human resources and performance information for PrairiesCan’s Program Inventory is available in GC InfoBase.

 

Supplementary information tables

The following supplementary information tables are available on PrairiesCan’s website:

• Reporting on Green Procurement
• Details on transfer payment programs
• Gender-based analysis plus
• Up-front multi-year funding
• Response to Parliamentary Committee and External Audits

 

Federal tax expenditures

The tax system can be used to achieve public policy objectives through the application of special measures such as low tax rates, exemptions, deductions, deferrals and credits. The Department of Finance Canada publishes cost estimates and projections for these measures each year in the Report on Federal Tax Expenditures. This report also provides detailed background information on tax expenditures, including descriptions, objectives, historical information and references to related federal spending programs as well as evaluations and GBA Plus of tax expenditures.

 

Organizational contact information

Mailing address:
Suite 1500, 9700 Jasper Avenue, Edmonton, Alberta  T5J 4H7

Telephone:
780-495-4164 / Toll-free 1-888-338-WEST (9378)

Fax:
780-495-4557

Email:
WD.contactus-contactez-nous.DEO@canada.ca

Web:
Prairies Economic Development Canada – Canada.ca

 

Appendix: definitions

appropriation (crédit)
Any authority of Parliament to pay money out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

budgetary expenditures (dépenses budgétaires)
Operating and capital expenditures; transfer payments to other levels of government, organizations or individuals; and payments to Crown corporations.

core responsibility (responsabilité essentielle)
An enduring function or role performed by a department. The intentions of the department with respect to a core responsibility are reflected in one or more related departmental results that the department seeks to contribute to or influence.

Departmental Plan (plan ministériel)
A report on the plans and expected performance of an appropriated department over a 3-year period. Departmental Plans are usually tabled in Parliament each spring.

departmental priority (priorité)
A plan or project that a department has chosen to focus and report on during the planning period. Priorities represent the things that are most important or what must be done first to support the achievement of the desired departmental results.

departmental result (résultat ministériel)
A consequence or outcome that a department seeks to achieve. A departmental result is often outside departments’ immediate control, but it should be influenced by program-level outcomes.

departmental result indicator (indicateur de résultat ministériel)
A quantitative measure of progress on a departmental result.

departmental results framework (cadre ministériel des résultats)
A framework that connects the department’s core responsibilities to its departmental results and departmental result indicators.

Departmental Results Report (rapport sur les résultats ministériels)
A report on a department’s actual accomplishments against the plans, priorities and expected results set out in the corresponding Departmental Plan.

full-time equivalent (équivalent temps plein)
A measure of the extent to which an employee represents a full person-year charge against a departmental budget. For a particular position, the full-time equivalent figure is the ratio of number of hours the person actually works divided by the standard number of hours set out in the person’s collective agreement.

gender-based analysis plus (GBA Plus) (analyse comparative entre les sexes plus [ACS Plus])
An analytical tool used to support the development of responsive and inclusive policies, programs and other initiatives; and understand how factors such as sex, race, national and ethnic origin, Indigenous origin or identity, age, sexual orientation, socio-economic conditions, geography, culture and disability, impact experiences and outcomes, and can affect access to and experience of government programs.

government-wide priorities (priorités pangouvernementales)
For the purpose of the 2022–23 Departmental Results Report, government-wide priorities are the high-level themes outlining the government’s agenda in the November 23, 2021, Speech from the Throne: building a healthier today and tomorrow; growing a more resilient economy; bolder climate action; fighter harder for safer communities; standing up for diversity and inclusion; moving faster on the path to reconciliation; and fighting for a secure, just and equitable world.

horizontal initiative (initiative horizontale)
An initiative where two or more federal organizations are given funding to pursue a shared outcome, often linked to a government priority.

non-budgetary expenditures (dépenses non budgétaires)
Net outlays and receipts related to loans, investments and advances, which change the composition of the financial assets of the Government of Canada.

performance (rendement)
What an organization did with its resources to achieve its results, how well those results compare to what the organization intended to achieve, and how well lessons learned have been identified.

performance indicator (indicateur de rendement)
A qualitative or quantitative means of measuring an output or outcome, with the intention of gauging the performance of an organization, program, policy or initiative respecting expected results.

performance reporting (production de rapports sur le rendement)
The process of communicating evidence-based performance information. Performance reporting supports decision making, accountability and transparency.

plan (plan)
The articulation of strategic choices, which provides information on how an organization intends to achieve its priorities and associated results. Generally, a plan will explain the logic behind the strategies chosen and tend to focus on actions that lead to the expected result.

planned spending (dépenses prévues)
For Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports, planned spending refers to those amounts presented in Main Estimates.

A department is expected to be aware of the authorities that it has sought and received. The determination of planned spending is a departmental responsibility, and departments must be able to defend the expenditure and accrual numbers presented in their Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports.

program (programme)
Individual or groups of services, activities or combinations thereof that are managed together within the department and focus on a specific set of outputs, outcomes or service levels.

program inventory (répertoire des programmes)
Identifies all the department’s programs and describes how resources are organized to contribute to the department’s core responsibilities and results.

result (résultat)
A consequence attributed, in part, to an organization, policy, program or initiative. Results are not within the control of a single organization, policy, program or initiative; instead they are within the area of the organization’s influence.

statutory expenditures (dépenses législatives)
Expenditures that Parliament has approved through legislation other than appropriation acts. The legislation sets out the purpose of the expenditures and the terms and conditions under which they may be made.

target (cible)
A measurable performance or success level that an organization, program or initiative plans to achieve within a specified time period. Targets can be either quantitative or qualitative.

voted expenditures (dépenses votées)
Expenditures that Parliament approves annually through an appropriation act. The vote wording becomes the governing conditions under which these expenditures may be made.