Minister of Economic Development and Trade Deron Bilous used his keynote address at the Growing the North Conference in Grande Prairie to announce $175,000 in funding for the Grande Prairie region. The cash is coming from the new Community and Regional Economic Support program, which has $30 million to give out to Alberta municipalities working on projects that promote long-term economic growth and diversification.
The biggest chunk of change is going to the County of Grande Prairie. They’ll use the $120,500 to develop an economic development strategy. The MD of Greenview has also gotten $37 million to look into whether a petrochemical facility would work in our region.
Bilous also announced $17.5 million for the City of Grande Prairie to launch their retail incubator that will provide training and resources to help local entrepreneurs grow their businesses. More details will be announced on day two of the conference.