Community Economic Development Initiative (CEDI) expanded with support from PrairiesCan

Federal funding to support five new First Nation-Municipal CEDI partnerships in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba over next three years

The Council for the Advancement of Native Development Officers (Cando) and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), with an investment of over $1.8 million from Government of Canada through Prairies Economic Development Canada (PrairiesCan), have launched a regional expansion of its impactful First Nation-Municipal Community Economic Development Initiative (CEDI) Program.

The CEDI program aims to improve the economic prosperity of participating First Nations and adjacent municipalities through joint community economic development planning and initiatives.

The First Nation-Municipal CEDI program is co-managed and co-delivered by Cando and FCM. The expanded CEDI Program will welcome a new cohort of five (5) First Nation – municipal partnerships from Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba to participate in the program. Each partnership will be invited to participate in the three-year standard CEDI participation model between 2024-2027. Application intake closed on March 27^th, 2024, and selected partnerships will be announced in the coming months.

Since 2013 and three phases of the CEDI program, CEDI has supported a total of 23 First Nation – municipal partnerships to develop capacity and implement long-term joint planning for community economic development and land use, while building respectful and sustainable government-to-government partnerships.

The collaborative nature of this initiative links to principles of the federal government’s new Framework to Build a Green Prairie Economy, which include advancing economic reconciliation. This Framework encouraging greater collaboration on investment opportunities, leveraging additional funding, and attract new investments across the Prairies.

Quotes

Investing in the development of long-term partnerships between First Nations and neighboring municipalities on the Prairies is the right thing to do to advance reconciliation through enabling local economic development. Our government’s support for expanding Cando’s Community Economic Development Initiative across Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba will help create new opportunities for Indigenous communities and nearby municipalities to collaborate on key areas such as land use planning, tourism, and investment attraction that are critical to generating new sustainable economic activity.

• The Honourable Dan Vandal, Minister for PrairiesCan

Working with organizations like Cando is a great way to respect and remain committed to Indigenous economic reconciliation. The expansion of the Community Economic Development Initiative is an important step in facilitating new opportunities to deliver meaningful social and economic benefits for Indigenous communities.

• The Honourable Randy Boissonnault, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages

Cando is excited to partner with PrairiesCan to expand the CEDI Program delivery to meet the needs of new partnerships in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. The CEDI Program – Prairies Region will welcome a new cohort of five partnerships in addition to the eight partnerships that are currently participating in the CEDI Program. Each partnership will be assisted towards developing their capacity and implementing long-term joint planning for community economic development and land use – for the betterment of citizens from each partner community.

• Ray Wanuch, Executive Director, the Council for the Advancement of Native Development Officers (Cando)

Quotes from past CEDI partnerships:

CEDI has allowed us to build and strengthen our relationships, our knowledge and understanding of how we govern and how we operate day to day as local governments. That process is an important component of reconciliation and will allow us to determine where our collective community goes in partnership through CEDI and beyond.

– Warden Owen McCarron, the Municipality of the County of Antigonish

I thank the Town of High Level for joining with Dene Tha’ First Nation in the CEDI partnership initiative in 2018. Both of the partners had no idea at the start of the partnership initiative that we were going to be facing the largest fire since the 1950’s and then the pandemic. These two natural disasters highlighted the need for and the benefits of creating a regional partnership that can make a difference when unforeseen disaster hits the area. The two natural events caused tremendous hardships on our populations, and no one want to see these things happening anywhere, but it happens whether we like it or not. Having a friendship agreement will give us the forum through which we can “improve the economic prosperity” of the partners, work together on preparing for possible future natural disasters, and other activities that will enhance joint efforts.

– Chief James Ahnassay, Dene Tha’ First Nation

CEDI Program Information:

Who should apply?

• First Nation and municipal governments should apply jointly.
• First Nation and municipal governments who have a shared interest in joint community economic development and land use plannin
• First Nation and municipal governments who have a shared interest in improving the government-to-government relationships.

What is joint community economic development?

Joint Community Economic Development (CED) is a process by which neighbouring governments/ community partners initiate and generate their own innovative solutions to their common economic problems, thereby building mutual long-term community capacity. Local knowledge is used for local solutions. This approach integrates economic, social, and environmental objectives that benefit members of both of communities, building stronger, and more sustainable communities.

What are the joint community economic development opportunities for a First Nation – municipal partnership?

First Nations and municipalities have different legislation, jurisdictions and governance models and therefore have different responsibilities and opportunities to economic development and land-use planning. Since CEDI began in 2013, the program has witnessed a range of collaborative joint CED initiatives. Three prominent joint community economic development themes have emerged from CEDI partnerships to date, including: Collaborative Land-Use Planning; Infrastructure and Service Agreements; and Inclusive Regional Economic Development and Indigenous Procurement. Learn more about past CEDI partnerships and their joint initiatives by visiting the CEDI Phase II Partnership Profiles on the CEDI website.

What are the benefits to joint community economic development for First Nation – municipal partnerships?

There are many potential benefits, including:

• A stronger, united voice for engaging with businesses and other orders of government.
• Increased ability to access funding from other orders of govern
• Cost savings and more efficient program and/or service delive
• More opportunities for local business development and job
• Ability to leverage the unique financial, human and physical resources of each partner.
• Coordinated planning efforts to improve land use, land management and environmental/resource protection.

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Media Contact :

Paul Macedo
Communications Director
Cando
paul.macedo@edo.ca

NT4