2023–24 Departmental Results Report at a glance
A departmental results report provides an account of actual accomplishments against plans, priorities and expected results set out in the associated Departmental Plan.
Key priorities
CED’s key priorities for 2023–24 were as follows:
- Support the post-pandemic recovery of SMEs and the regions
The post-pandemic economic recovery has remained a top priority for CED over the past year. To help all regions of Quebec, including many rural communities, be part of the transition to a more resilient, sustainable and inclusive economy, CED provided support in the form of funding programs, services, knowledge and expertise tailored to Quebec’s different regional realities.
Specifically, CED finalized the implementation of the five pan-Canadian economic recovery initiatives announced in Budget 2021, namely the Jobs and Growth Fund (JGF), the Aerospace Regional Recovery Initiative (ARRI), the Tourism Relief Fund (TRF), the Major Festivals and Events Support Initiative (MFESI) and the Canada Community Revitalization Fund (CCRF). Under these initiatives, 397 projects were awarded a total of $213.5M in funding in 2023-24.
At the same time, whether it be through the Regional Economic Growth through Innovation (REGI) program, the Quebec Economic Development Program (QEDP) or the Community Futures Program (CFP), CED continued to support growth and innovation among Quebec businesses and help communities take advantage of economic development and diversification opportunities. CED played the role of economic facilitator, bringing partners together around the projects it was funding. And for every dollar invested by CED over the past year in all its programs combined, including recovery initiatives, a leverage effectFootnote 1 of $3.20 was created.
Supporting community vitality and the social economy is an integral part of CED’s mandate. With this in mind, and as announced at the Sommet de l’Est on November 13, 2023, CED has committed to invest $30M over three years, via its regular programs, in projects that will generate economic benefits for businesses and communities in the east end of Montréal. Through the Initiative to Support Economic Development in Montréal’s East End (ISEDMEE), CED aims to support development opportunities that promote the revitalization, attractiveness and sustainable reindustrialization of Montréal’s East End. CED also organized the first of three social economy roundtables hosted by the Minister in Quebec City in February 2024.
Finally, as of October 1, 2023, business information services, which were previously outsourced, are now delivered directly by CED employees, with CED acting as a one-stop shop where Quebec’s small businesses and aspiring entrepreneurs, as well as Agency partners, can obtain guidance, assistance and referrals to appropriate resources—including CED programs—to support their development projects, in co-operation with ecosystem players.
- Accelerate the green transition of SMEs and the regions
CED maintained its commitment to foster the environmental transition of Quebec businesses, specifically by helping them fund their green transition and acquire the necessary expertise to make it happen. CED supported SMEs and the organizations that work with them with a view to helping the Quebec economy make the transition to more sustainable business models, and contributing to Canada’s ambitious climate change and environmental protection goals. Over the past year, through its regular programs and temporary initiatives, CED provided a total of $137.4M in funding for 243 green projects; of this amount, $83.7M went towards clean technologies that help improve the environmental performance of businesses and communities. Besides having an impact on the economic development of the region where they are being carried out, these projects target, not only the development and adoption of clean technologies, but also changes to business practices to ensure sustainable growth by contributing to greenhouse gas reduction; the production of cleaner products; the growth of bioenergy, alternative energy sources and electric vehicles; and energy efficiency.
CED also funded 23 projects with expenditures totaling over $5.6M through the Hurricane Fiona Recovery Fund (HFRF). Working with the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, CED contributed to recovery efforts and efforts to restore economic activity in communities in Eastern Canada directly affected by Hurricane Fiona, while promoting adaptation and resilience to climate change.
The pursuit of these priorities and the investments made—the volume of which was exceptional for CED due to the scale of the temporary initiatives—would not have been possible without the expertise and dedication of the entire CED workforce.
In Budget 2023, the government committed to reducing spending by $14.1 billion over the next five years, starting in 2023-24, and by $4.1 billion annually thereafter.
As part of this commitment, CED reduced its operating expenses in 2023-24 by $255,000 by lowering spending on travel and professional services. These reductions had no impact on CED’s grant and contribution programs.
In order to participate in the Government of Canada’s concerted efforts, CED will reduce its operating expenses in the coming years as follows:
- $772,000 in 2024-25
- $1,205,000 in 2025-26
- $1,799,000 in 2026-27 and thereafter
Highlights
In 2023-24, CED’s total actual spending (including internal services) on G&C and operations amounted to $563,182,802, and the number of full-time equivalent staff members (including internal services) was 379. These expenses include the monitoring of repayable contributions (portfolio of approximately $3 billion.) For complete information on CED’s total spending and human resources, see the Spending and human resources section of the full report.
A summary of the Agency’s achievements in 2023-24, as per its approved Departmental Results Framework, is presented below. A Departmental Results Framework consists of a department’s core responsibilities, its expected results, and the performance indicators that make it possible to measure progress towards the achievement of these results.
Core responsibility: Economic Development in Quebec
Actual spending: $563,169,207
Actual human resources: 215 full-time equivalents
Departmental results achieved
- Departmental result 1: Quebec businesses are innovative and growing
Business growth and innovation remained the primary objective of CED’s Regional Economic Growth through Innovation (CERI) program. This support translated into a total of $289.1M in funding for 623 projects carried out by SMEs, or NPOs that support SMEs, through regular programs and temporary initiatives. The projects targeted the development of new products and services; the promotion of local manufacturing and the strengthening of supply chains; cybersecurity enhancement; support for e commerce; the acceleration of the digital shift; and better positioning on foreign markets.
Besides pursuing its support for the green transition of SMEs and the regions, as mentioned in the Key priorities section above, CED also focused on creating an entrepreneurial environment conducive to innovation, and promoting the start-up and growth of innovative tech businesses by supporting the various players in the relevant regional ecosystems. To this end, in 2023–24, CED provided funding for 22 business incubator and accelerator projects to help businesses reach their full potential as drivers of innovation and regional economic development.
- Departmental result 2: Communities are economically diversified in Quebec
Over the past year, CED provided funding for a number of forward-looking projects for Quebec’s local and regional economies, notably in the form of assistance to help communities re-establish and diversify their activities. Through the Quebec Economic Development Program (QEDP), including temporary initiatives that shared the same terms and conditions, CED supported 479 projects, for a total of $183.8M in funding, to help businesses and communities pursue promising economic development and diversification opportunities going forward. CED paid particular attention to regions facing significant barriers to development by working with local stakeholders, including social economy actors and Indigenous businesses.
At the same time, CED continued to support SMEs in all of Quebec’s rural regions through its funding for the 57 Community Futures Development Corporations (CFDCs), 8 Business Development Centres (BDCs), and the Network of CFDCs and BDCs. This $34.3M investment under the Community Futures Program (CFP) allowed these organizations to support local projects, provide assistance for businesses, and pursue their mission of supporting the economic development of rural regions through their investment funds. By focusing on providing support for local opportunities that take into account the diversity of regional realities, CED has helped generate direct benefits for communities, such as access to regional markets, the development or upgrading of community facilities, and the development of regional anchor sectors such as tourism.
Finally, CED pursued several initiatives with a view to fostering an inclusive economy in all regions of Quebec, i.e., the Economic Development Initiative– Official Languages (EDI-OL), the Black Entrepreneurship Program (BEP), the Tourism Relief Fund (TRF) – Indigenous communities, and the Strategic Partnerships Initiative – Energy Transition for Indigenous Businesses.
- Departmental result 3: Businesses invest in the development and commercialization of innovative technologies in Quebec
In 2023-24, CED continued to support businesses that develop and market innovative products and services. Through the REGI, $11.3M was invested in 90 commercialization projects to foster the competitiveness and sustainability of these businesses.
CED also awarded $52M in funding to 100 organizations to support 117 guidance projects that contribute to the technical, technological and business advancement of Quebec SMEs. These include organizations working in the areas of clean tech, the transfer of technologies to SMEs, or entrepreneurship within universities, as well as organizations that support export or commercialization projects that contribute to economic growth in the regions of Quebec.
Finally, as part of its support for the National Quantum Strategy (NQS) and Regional Quantum Innovation (RQI), CED also funded 10 projects totalling $6.2M to support SMEs and non-profit organizations looking to advance in the quantum field by adopting, developing and commercializing this type of technology. CED continued to work with entrepreneurs regarding projects approved in previous years to ensure their completion and manage the reimbursement of repayable contributions.
CED continued to work with entrepreneurs regarding projects approved in previous years to ensure their completion and manage the reimbursement of repayable contributions.
More information about the core responsibility to Economic Development in Quebec can be found in the “Results: what we achieved” section of the full Departmental Results Report.