2019-20 DRR Results: what we achieved

Core responsibility: economic development in Atlantic Canada

Description:

Support Atlantic Canada’s economic growth, wealth creation and economic prosperity through inclusive clean growth and by building on competitive regional strengths. Help SME growth through direct financial assistance and indirectly through business support organizations. SMEs become more innovative by adopting new technologies and processes and pursuing new avenues for expansion and market diversification in order to compete and succeed in a global market.

Results:

In 2019-20, ACOA supported the Government of Canada’s priorities by responding to Atlantic Canadian businesses’ challenges and opportunities, strengthening the region’s competitiveness on the global stage, and building on its culture of innovation. The Agency helped firms to scale up, develop new markets, and adopt new technologies and processes in key sectors such as ocean, food, clean technology and tourism. It did so by supporting advanced manufacturing, the start-up ecosystem and exports as drivers of competitiveness. It focused on Indigenous economic development and supported a skilled workforce through immigration. ACOA acted as a catalyst for economic development and a convener of partners to take joint actions. It also played a pathfinding role to improve Atlantic businesses’ and communities’ access to federal investments. The Agency played an essential coordination and transition role with federal partners to support the Atlantic Growth Strategy.

The region’s firms received support to adopt clean technologies that reduced their environmental footprints, enhanced their productivity and increased their competitiveness. Developing new clean technologies supported clean electricity supplies, such as smart grids and energy storage technologies, as well as the Clean Power Roadmap for Atlantic Canada, a partnership of Atlantic provincial governments and federal departments to outline a vision for jurisdictions’ collaboration over the coming decades. ACOA invested $40.5 million in 192 projects to accelerate the adoption of clean technologies.

In early 2020, the Agency pivoted quickly to address the economic impacts of COVID-19 on Atlantic Canadian businesses and communities. ACOA provided key analysis on anticipated economic impacts and supported the design of strategic mitigation measures in response.

The Agency’s work was in line with the Minister’s mandate letter to deliver regional economic programming that is responsive to the unique opportunities and challenges in Atlantic Canada, including acting as a trusted resource for businesses and communities. This contributed to the Government of Canada’s overall goal of advancing growth and innovation, and of diversifying economies to build stronger and more innovative communities across Canada.

Businesses invest in the development and commercialization of innovative technologies in Atlantic Canada

ACOA supported firms at all levels, from start-ups to established firms, to accelerate their growth and scale up, and to enhance their productivity and competitiveness in both domestic and global markets. The Agency created, grew and nurtured inclusive regional ecosystems that support business needs and foster an entrepreneurial environment, particularly in key sectors such as food and ocean. SMEs in the steel and aluminum industry also received support to enhance their capability. Efforts from the Agency contributed to private-sector investment in research and technologies in the region, and the value of business expenditures in research and development (R&D ) by firms receiving ACOA funding reached an average of $86.7 million, surpassing the Agency’s target of $66 million.

The Agency built linkages with innovation ecosystems by working with other public, private and institutional partners and by supporting start-ups. It addressed gaps in support of start-ups by approving nearly $14 million for 31 projects with Atlantic Canada’s business accelerators and incubators, providing targeted support to foster an entrepreneurial culture, developing a robust financing chain, and ensuring the early-stage companies’ pathways to globalization. It engaged with clients, other federal departments and agencies, organizations, academia, and associations outside the Government of Canada to improve awareness of national funding sources and enhance industrial sector growth and innovation through R&D activities. For example, ACOA and the National Research Council partnered to increase Atlantic Canadian SMEs’ understanding of the value of innovative technology to improve manufacturing products and processes, and help them succeed in a competitive world. This work furthered Atlantic Canada’s reputation as a thriving start-up ecosystem and one of North America’s best values for entrepreneurs in terms of business costs, including access to talent.^{Footnote (i)}

With these activities, ACOA supported the development of new technologies and a strong innovation ecosystem:

• Tronos Maintenance, based in Prince Edward Island, invested in state-of-the-art equipment to undertake its highly innovative, advanced manufacturing adaptation R&D project that will leverage and build upon its capabilities in aerospace while creating new capabilities in manufacturing through local, domestic and international collaborations.
• Newfoundland and Labrador’s MYSA Empowered Homes built on its smart thermostats for electric baseboard heating systems to develop and commercialize new product lines to grow and diversify revenues, and continue offering tools for more energy efficient homes.
• NB Power and the Université de Moncton partnered to create the NB Power Artificial Intelligence Center to bring together industry professionals, university researchers, graduate students and trainees with state-of-the-art computing equipment to focus on industrial research in the area of artificial intelligence as it carries immense potential to transform the energy and utilities sector.

Businesses are innovative and growing in Atlantic Canada

In 2019-20, ACOA supported businesses at various development stages to accelerate their growth, assist them in scaling up, and enhance their productivity and competitiveness in both domestic and global markets. Firms supported by ACOA programs reported strong revenue growth rates, higher than the set target of 8%, at an average rate of 9% in 2018-19.^{Footnote (ii)}  The Agency, in collaboration with federal and provincial partners, targeted strategic support for 12 high-potential firms under the Accelerated Growth Service (AGS) during the year, for a total of 95 Atlantic Canadian firms enrolled so far. During the fiscal year, ACOA provided $8.3 million in funding toward 42 distinct projects from AGS clients to help them grow, for a total of $70.4 million in funding toward 187 distinct projects since 2017.

Positioning companies to leverage opportunities in the global ocean sector was key, and ACOA worked with partners to maximize the economic benefit of the blue economy while ensuring long-term sustainability. ACOA’s support for a digital ocean asset map and database, developed in collaboration with the Ocean Supercluster (OSC), will draw a comprehensive and inclusive picture of the private enterprise, research and educational institutions, and innovation ecosystem stakeholders in Canada’s ocean economy. ACOA also leveraged the OSC to grow the region’s SMEs by supporting its Ocean Startup initiative to grow the pipeline of ocean enterprises.

ACOA approved $11.3 million in trade and investment initiatives to help businesses grow through new and existing markets, including supporting tools for export readiness, adapting to virtual trade shows to foster trade relationships, and attracting foreign direct investment to high quality development sites across the region. Some of these initiatives were supported through the Atlantic Trade and Investment and Growth Agreement, under which the Agency and the four Atlantic Provinces approved more than $7 million for 24 projects to support export growth in 10 strategic sectors. For example, the agreement supported Grow Export 2020, which identified several Atlantic Canadian companies new to exporting, or that were interested in doing so, providing the necessary training and coaching to enter the competitive export market. Efforts such as these proved beneficial, with the value of export of goods from Atlantic Canada reaching a high of $28.7 billion in 2019-20, surpassing the Agency’s target of $22 billion.

As part of a pan-Atlantic tourism approach, ACOA, Destination Canada and the four provincial governments worked together to strengthen the tourism sector in the region, and extended the Atlantic Canada Agreement on Tourism (four Atlantic Provinces and tourism industry associations). The Agency, with other regional development agencies (RDAs) and Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, implemented the Canadian Experiences Fund to address the needs of the tourism sector in Atlantic Canada.  

The Agency ensured that Atlantic Canada’s interests were considered in federal policies, programs and regulations through advocacy efforts in priority areas such as defence procurement, tourism and clean growth. The Agency’s engagement of stakeholders, including SMEs and leading global aerospace and defence contractors, leveraged nearly $137 million in investments through the application of Canada’s industrial technological benefits policy commitments for Atlantic Canada. The Agency also worked with the Atlantic Canada Energy Office on issues that affect the competitiveness of the region’s oil and gas industry and to support clean technology and energy.

ACOA fostered the adoption of advanced manufacturing technology and business activities between Atlantic Canada and international markets. For instance:

• Prince Edward Island’s BioSpa has seen tremendous growth for its skincare products in Atlantic Canada and is exploring opportunities in Canada and abroad. The company is scaling up its operations to match demand and expects to double its sales growth.
• An Accelerated Growth Service client, ProtoCase, expanded its facilities and updated its equipment with several pieces of advanced manufacturing and processing technologies for its customized electronic enclosures. This allowed the company to meet demand as they enter into new and expanded markets while continuing to provide rapid turn-around for clients.

Communities are economically diversified in Atlantic Canada

In 2019-20, ACOA supported economic diversification of communities and promoted the inclusion of groups such as women, newcomers, Indigenous people, younger and older workers, and persons with disabilities in the Atlantic economy. ACOA has largely met its targets for inclusiveness and economic diversification as demonstrated through the percentage of professional, science and technology-related jobs in the region, which represented 32% of all jobs in Atlantic Canada’s economy, slightly above the Agency’s target of 31%.^{Footnote (iii)} Every dollar invested by ACOA in community projects leveraged another dollar in 2019-20.^{Footnote (iv)} Although this is below ACOA’s target, the Community Business Development Corporation (CBDC) network responded to increased demand for business financing in remote and rural communities, as seen by an increase in the overall value of loans and lower cost sharing from funding partners.

ACOA’s efforts were key to help bridge the labour and skills divide and increase the region’s capacity to attract global talent and international students, retain newcomers through enhanced settlement support, and ensure immigrant entrepreneurs led successful businesses and were integrated into the economy, including in rural areas. A recent evaluation found that “the program delivery model, with local presence as well as convening and pathfinding roles, allows the Agency to be responsive to the diverse and changing economic needs across the region. ACOA has developed or strengthened collaborations to better address immigration, skills and labour, and funding.”^{Footnote (v)} The Agency played a leadership role in building strategic partnerships with key federal departments such as Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and the Atlantic Provinces through the promotion of the Atlantic Immigration Pilot and the expansion of the Study & Stay program across all four Atlantic provinces. It also supported the Federal Framework for Aboriginal Economic Development by working closely with Indigenous leadership and businesses, the Atlantic provincial governments, and Indigenous Services Canada. The Agency approved $14.6 million for 62 projects that supported various Indigenous economic development priorities in the region, including Aboriginal economic development, research and business skills development.

The Agency invested $1.1 million for 24 projects under the Economic Development Initiative in official language minority communities, mostly in rural francophone communities, in francophone communities located mostly in rural areas. Further, ACOA’s support to the CBDC network through the Community Futures Program translated into 1,296 loans valued at $72.1 million, and the leveraging of an additional $50 million in funds for the creation and expansion of small businesses throughout rural communities in Atlantic Canada. Of the $72.1 million, 39% went to start-up ventures, assisting 562 businesses. A recent national, horizontal evaluation of the Community Future Program found that the programming contributed to “strengthening business practices, economic growth, job creation and diversification of rural economies.”^{Footnote (vi)}

ACOA helped communities diversify, supported women entrepreneurs, and enabled partners to attract and retain skilled global talent in Atlantic Canada:

• The Newfoundland and Labrador Organization of Women Entrepreneurs and its regional partners created the Atlantic Canadian Women in Business Growth Partnership, which addresses gaps for start-ups and scaling up for diverse groups and women-owned businesses in the trades, technology and STEM-related fields.
• ACOA supported capacity training and mentoring in oyster aquaculture in four First Nations communities across New Brunswick. Working with Mi'kmaq community representatives, this type of support was identified as critical in supporting business ventures for First Nations in this growing industry.
• Cape Breton University engaged its international student population to ease seasonal employment demands on Cape Breton Island by providing daily transport to rural tourism jobs. This helped employers access a much-needed labour force, supported the sector and helped students create links to these communities.

Gender-based analysis plus (GBA+ )

All ACOA programs are delivered with an inclusive lens to support groups that are underrepresented in Atlantic Canada’s economy and among its entrepreneurs, including immigrants, Indigenous people and women. The Agency also continued its efforts to support remote and rural regions, as well as official language minority communities. ACOA has integrated GBA+ into analyses for new initiatives, program evaluations, data and reporting mechanisms – including enhanced agreements with Statistics Canada for disaggregated data – and awareness building across the Agency to highlight the economic benefits of inclusivity.  

Experimentation

In partnership with the National Research Council of Canada as the technical lead, ACOA developed a competition under the Impact Canada challenge platform. It attracted numerous applications aimed to find new ways to design an efficient boat hull to lower costs and reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. Three finalists have been selected for the final stage – building and testing scale models for each design –, which will take place in 2020-21.

Results achieved:

Budgetary financial resources (dollars)

Human resources (full-time equivalents)

Financial, human resources and performance information for ACOA’s Program Inventory is available in GC InfoBase^{Footnote (xv)}.

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 the 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 (IM) Services
• Information Technology (IT) Services
• Legal Services
• Material Management Services
• Management and Oversight Services
• Real Property Management Services

Results:

ACOA supported workplace well-being by continuing to foster a healthy, respectful, accessible and inclusive workplace.

During 2019-20, the Agency established the office of Internal Conflict Management Services to contribute to a high-performing workplace that is respectful, healthy and inclusive by focusing on building collaborative skills that help resolve conflicts early and at the lowest possible level. In addition, the Agency developed in-house training to increase the awareness and competencies of all ACOA employees on diversity and inclusion, aiming at increasing representativeness and fostering an inclusive workplace. ACOA’s 2019 Values and Ethics Strategy was also implemented to ensure that values and ethics remain at the foundation of the Agency’s corporate culture, and support open dialogue at all levels of the organization.

ACOA continued to find ways to leverage technology by implementing IM/IT initiatives in support of the Government of Canada Digital Operations Strategic Plan for 2018-2022. These initiatives include the ongoing work to decommission legacy and aging systems in favour of cloud services, continuing the expansion of GCWiFi service in all regional offices, and laying the groundwork for the implementation of the GC Secret Infrastructure service in some offices. ACOA also offered training sessions on tools to improve employee productivity.

ACOA implemented organizational initiatives to strengthen and improve the efficiency of service and program delivery. For example, the Agency enhanced its financial planning and forecasting capacity and streamlined processes related to contracting of services, procurement of goods, travel approvals, internal controls and post-payment verification processing. It continued to collaborate with other RDAs to improve upon the efficient delivery of programs and services to Canadians, including the development of a common grants and contributions system.

In support of accountability and evidence-based decision-making, ACOA maintained a strong focus on results and impact through ongoing performance measurement, evaluation and analysis of its programs and services. In 2019-20, the Agency undertook an evaluation of its Innovation programming^{Footnote (xvi)} and participated in a national, horizontal evaluation of the Community Futures Program.^{Footnote (xvii)}

ACOA ensured that its key activities and budgetary resources remain aligned with Government of Canada priorities and the Agency’s mandate. To do so, it integrated human resources, financial management, risk management, performance measurement and evaluation considerations into its planning and decision-making processes.

Budgetary financial resources (dollars)

Human resources (full-time equivalents)