Prairies Economic Development Canada 2025–2026 Departmental Plan
On this page
- From the Minister
- From the President
- Plans to deliver on core responsibilities and internal services
- Planned spending and human resources
- Corporate information
- Supplementary information tables
- Federal tax expenditures
- Definitions
Copyright information
© His Majesty the King in Right of Canada, represented by the Minister of Emergency Management and Community Resilience, 2025, ISSN: 2816-296X
From the Minister
As Minister responsible for PrairiesCan, I am proud to present the 2025–2026 Departmental Plan for Prairies Economic Development Canada.
We are building one Canadian economy that works for everyone, and the Prairies are a major part of it. PrairiesCan is playing an active role in advancing the Prairie economy and accelerating community and Indigenous-led economic growth by being on-the-ground in communities throughout the region with advice, support and targeted investments.
PrairiesCan helps businesses become more productive, competitive, and resilient, which is vital in a rapidly changing global trading environment, enabling them to create prosperity.
PrairiesCan will collaborate with small and medium-sized enterprises and the organizations that support them, assisting them to seize new opportunities for high-paying jobs in communities across Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
The outcomes will benefit people living and working on the Prairies, and all Canadians, as we leverage the might of the Prairie economy to strengthen Canada’s competitiveness and economic output.
I look forward to meeting with entrepreneurs and other key stakeholders on the Prairies, as we further this important work and achieve results.
The Honourable Eleanor Olszewski
Minister of Emergency Management and Community Resilience and Minister responsible for Prairies Economic Development Canada
From the President
I am pleased to share PrairiesCan’s 2025–2026 Departmental Plan, which outlines how we will work to grow the Prairie economy. PrairiesCan aims to bring results in three categories: long-term growth of Prairie businesses; community economic development; and business commercialization and adoption of technology on the Prairies.
At PrairiesCan, we are committed to the principle of continuous improvement. During the coming year, the people who work at PrairiesCan in locations across Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta will put more emphasis on finding new efficiencies and getting the most value out of our departmental resources.
Small and medium-sized enterprises are the engines of our economy. They are the means by which the department is taking action on accelerating economic growth, harnessing innovation to enhance business competitiveness, and strengthening resiliency and Indigenous economic participation in the communities we serve. By working strategically with other federal departments, industry stakeholders, businesses, and others, PrairiesCan is dedicated to delivering tangible results for the Prairie region.
Diane Gray
President, Prairies Economic Development Canada
Plans to deliver on core responsibilities and internal services
Core responsibilities and internal services
Core responsibility: Economic Development in the Prairies
In this section
Description
Prairies Economic Development Canada (PrairiesCan) promotes growth and diversification in the economy of the Prairies (Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta) by enhancing innovation, improving business competitiveness, promoting the adoption of clean technologies, and inclusive growth.
The department’s core responsibility is complemented by three departmental results:
- Businesses are growing in the Prairies.
- Communities are developing economically in the Prairies.
- Businesses are commercializing technology and adopting it in the Prairies.
Quality of life impacts
The department’s core responsibility, Economic Development in the Prairies, contributes mainly to the “Prosperity” domain of the Quality of Life Framework for Canada and, more specifically, four indicators:
- Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita.
- Employment.
- Productivity.
- Firm growth.
The department also contributes to the “Environment” domain to a lesser extent, along with the cross-cutting sub-domains of “Fairness and Inclusion” and “Sustainability and Resilience” through investments in the clean economy and inclusive economic growth.
Indicators, results and targets
This section presents details on the department’s indicators, the actual results from the three most recently reported fiscal years, the targets and target dates approved in 2025–26 for Economic Development in the Prairies. Details are presented by departmental result.
Fiscal year 2023–24 was the first year for PrairiesCan’s new Departmental Results Framework, therefore, past results are not available (n/a) for most new indicators from 2021 to 2023.
Targets are based on the number of current projects funded by PrairiesCan. The department uses estimates of future results provided by clients to produce a target for the upcoming fiscal year. Because our targets and results are based on current projects and departmental funding levels, both department-wide and area specific, targets and actual results can vary greatly from year to year. Also, many of these are multi-year projects that can take several years to realize results.
| Departmental Result Indicators | Actual results | Target | Date to achieve target |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of jobs created |
|
3,355 | March 31, 2026 |
| Value of exports |
|
$164.2M | March 31, 2026 |
| Number of PrairiesCan-assisted entities that are majority-led by underrepresented1 groups |
|
50 | March 31, 2026 |
| Revenue growth rate of firms supported by PrairiesCan programs |
|
12% | March 31, 2026 |
| Note 1: Underrepresented groups include: members of the 2SLGBTQQIA+ community, members of a Black community, women, Indigenous peoples, newcomers to Canada and immigrants, members of an Official Language Minority Community, persons with disabilities, members of a racialized community, and youth. | |||
| Departmental Result Indicators | Actual results | Target | Date to achieve target |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of jobs created |
|
1,452 | March 31, 2026 |
| Number of contributing partners engaged in advancing community-based projects (i.e. providing financial or in-kind support) |
|
70 | March 31, 2026 |
| Value of PrairiesCan community economic development investments |
|
$20.0M | March 31, 2026 |
| Amount leveraged per dollar invested by PrairiesCan in community projects |
|
1.0 | March 31, 2026 |
| Note 1: In fiscal year 2023–2024, there was an outlier project that added nearly 4,500 more contributing partners than expected. Hence, the actual result was much higher than the original target. | |||
| Departmental Result Indicators | Actual results | Target | Date to achieve target |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of jobs created |
|
718 | March 31, 2026 |
| Value of exports |
|
$65.9M | March 31, 2026 |
| Number of technologies to market |
|
37 | March 31, 2026 |
| Value of business sales growth resulting from technology commercialization or adoption |
|
$22.1M | March 31, 2026 |
Additional information on the detailed results and performance information for Prairies Economic Development Canada’s program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.
Plans to achieve results
The following section describes the planned results for Economic Development in the Prairies in 2025–26.
Economic Development in the Prairies is the core responsibility for Prairies Economic Development Canada (PrairiesCan), which is the Regional Development Agency (RDA) responsible for economic development in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. The department will achieve this core responsibility by assisting businesses, communities, and not-for-profit groups through funding programs, services, and advice. These actions will allow PrairiesCan to achieve our core responsibility, and its three departmental results, by focusing on the following priorities.
Priorities for 2025–26
PrairiesCan’s three priorities for 2025–26 are new value and competitiveness, fostering clean growth, and inclusive development.
- New Value and Competitiveness - accelerating economic growth through new sources of value and innovation in traditional sectors. Some examples include:
- Working with businesses to create new revenue sources by adopting innovative technologies, bringing new products and services to market, and creating jobs in emerging sectors.
- Continuing to strengthen important Prairie clusters such as zero-emission heavy equipment vehicle and manufacturing (ZHEV), value-added agriculture, and clean technology.
- Using our programs and services to help build economic resilience in businesses and communities, increase Prairie exports, and assist with trade issues.
- Implementing and administering the Regional Tariff Response Initiative as announced by the Prime Minister in March, 2025.
- Implementing other new federal initiatives such as funding for innovation in housing and artificial intelligence.
- Helping businesses and communities seize new opportunities in resource sectors while reducing environmental impacts.
- Fostering Clean Growth - PrairiesCan, with other federal departments, will invest and work with regional partners to seize new sustainable economic opportunities. Working within the Framework to Build a Green Prairie Economy, the department had consultations with stakeholders and identified several focus areas. Some examples are:
- Growing key regional sectors, including natural resources, agriculture, and manufacturing.
- Effective movement of goods, people, and information.
- Expanding and capitalizing on clean electricity.
- Community economic development.
- Indigenous economic reconciliation and inclusive growth.
To learn more about the Framework and next steps, please see the PrairiesCan Green Prairie Economy webpage.
- Inclusive Development - promoting more equitable and inclusive development.
- Strengthening our inclusive development considerations in departmental roles as pathfinder, convenor, advisor, and investor.
- Supporting increased economic participation of underrepresented groups such as Indigenous Peoples, black Canadians, women, members of the 2SLGBTQQIA+ community, persons living with disabilities, and youth.
Focusing on our three priorities will allow us to achieve our departmental results and core responsibility, Economic Development in the Prairies.
As mentioned above, the departmental results PrairiesCan works to achieve are:
- Businesses are growing in the Prairies.
- Communities are developing economically in the Prairies.
- Businesses are commercializing technology and adopting it in the Prairies.
More details on each departmental result are listed below.
Departmental Result 1: Businesses are growing in the Prairies
Through this departmental result, PrairiesCan supports Prairie businesses in pursuing long-term growth and increased productivity (see Table 1 above). The department delivers funding programs in three different ways – directly to businesses, indirectly through ecosystem organizations, and through community support to grow local economic development.
Results we plan to achieve:
- Supporting Prairie businesses directly through the Business Scale-up and Productivity (BSP) program to help them be more productive, innovative, and able to scale-up their operations.
- Helping businesses indirectly by supporting innovation ecosystems through the Regional Innovation Ecosystems (RIE) program.
- Increasing access and participation of Indigenous clients in PrairiesCan’s core programs and pathfinding them to other federal government supports.
- Investing in businesses that are majority-owned or led by underrepresented groups, and the ecosystems that support them.
- Investing in new technology such as artificial intelligence (AI) through the Regional Artificial Intelligence Initiative (RAII). These investments will help with commercialization, adoption, and creation of AI products.
- Encouraging and assisting local economies to position themselves for long-term growth through our funding programs, services, and advice.
- Helping the aerospace sector improve their productivity and adopt environmentally sustainable practices.
- Supporting Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and not-for-profit organizations in developing local tourism products and experiences.
- Through this departmental result, PrairiesCan-supported projects are expected to generate the following results:
- Supporting thousands of SMEs.
- Job creation, including jobs for highly qualified personnel (HQP).
- Revenue and export growth for supported firms.
- Attracting incremental private sector investment.
Departmental Result 2: Communities are developing economically in the Prairies
Through this departmental result, PrairiesCan helps communities across Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba improve their economic development activities, prospects, and resilience (see Table 2 above).
Results we plan to achieve:
- Supporting economic development initiatives to help communities across the Prairies grow and diversify with the Community Economic Development and Diversification Program. This core program enables communities to leverage their capacity and strengths to respond to economic development opportunities and changing or difficult economic circumstances.
- Funding network partners in the Prairies Business Service Network (PBSN) deliver services throughout Prairie communities. The PBSN is a network of nearly 80 independent organizations including Indigenous Business Development Services (IBDS), Community Futures (CF), Entrepreneurs with Disabilities Program (EDP), the Women’s Enterprise Initiative (WEI), the Francophone Economic Development Organizations (FEDO), and Small Business Services (SBS). These organizations receive PrairiesCan funding to help Prairie Canadians start or grow their businesses.
- Targeting business supports to rural entrepreneurs, Indigenous peoples, women, youth, persons with disabilities, and members of Official Languages Minority Communities (OLMC) through the PBSN to increase economic participation of these underrepresented groups.
- Improving Francophone tourism infrastructure, promoting cultural products, and enhancing creative spaces and cultural institutions through the community-focused Francophone Economic Development Organizations.
- PrairiesCan-supported projects in this departmental result are expected to generate the following results:
- Creating and maintaining jobs.
- Supporting thousands of SMEs.
- Collaborating with hundreds of economic development partners engaged in advancing community-based projects.
- PrairiesCan’s support to the PBSN is expected to generate the following results:
- Serving thousands of clients by providing business advisory and information services.
- Tailoring support to businesses that are starting or expanding their operations.
- Training thousands of participants in skills development opportunities.
Departmental Result 3: Businesses are commercializing technology and adopting it in the Prairies
Through this departmental result, PrairiesCan supports firms to innovate by commercializing new technologies, scaling-up operations, and improving productivity (see Table 3 above). Most of PrairiesCan’s work for this departmental result involves direct support for businesses to accelerate innovation and commercialization.
Results we plan to achieve:
- Supporting firms through the Business Scale-up and Productivity (BSP) stream as they pursue product development, technology demonstration, and commercialization.
- Collaborating with key economic development partners to stimulate growth in the innovation ecosystem, including helping businesses adopt, expand, or modernize specialized production facilities to increase productivity.
- Promoting the adoption and commercialization of technologies through the Regional Innovation Ecosystems program.
- Investing in AI commercialization and adoption through the Regional Artificial Intelligence Initiative (RAII). RAII is part of the Regional Economic Growth through Innovation (REGI) Program.
- Investing in companies and not-for-profit organizations through the Regional Quantum Initiative, a funding program that aims to advance and commercialize quantum products and solutions for domestic and global markets.
- Through this departmental result, PrairiesCan-supported projects are expected to generate the following results:
- Job creation, including jobs for highly qualified personnel (HQP).
- Revenue and export growth for supported firms.
- Expenditures in research and development.
- Commercialization of new technologies.
PrairiesCan roles
PrairiesCan works to achieve its departmental results and priorities through the following four roles:
- Investor - creating jobs and growth through investments and targeted initiatives using funding programs for businesses, communities, and organizations.
- Pathfinder - helping businesses and communities navigate government economic and job creation programs and services.
- Convenor - connecting key economic stakeholders, partners, and clients with other federal departments and organizations, to drive collaboration, innovation, and growth.
- Advisor - providing place-based advice and economic expertise to assist clients and partners, and advocate for Prairie interests in national policy discussions.
Service locations
PrairiesCan has 12 service locations in: Winnipeg, Brandon, and Thompson, Manitoba; Saskatoon, Prince Albert, and Regina, Saskatchewan; Edmonton (headquarters), Calgary, Fort McMurray, Grande Prairie, and Lethbridge, Alberta; and Ottawa, Ontario. This increased presence is improving support to local partners, clients, and stakeholders where they live and work. Our employees use knowledge of the local and regional economy to advise clients and partners on funding programs, policy, advocacy, publications, and economic data.
A map depicting PrairiesCan’s service locations, including its regional locations, principal offices, and headquarters, is presented below.
Text description of figure 1
| City | Type of office |
|---|---|
| Edmonton, Alberta | Headquarters |
| Calgary, Alberta | Principal office |
| Saskatoon, Saskatchewan | Principal office |
| Winnipeg, Manitoba | Principal office |
| Ottawa, Ontario | Principal office |
| Fort McMurray, Alberta | Regional location |
| Grande Prairie, Alberta | Regional location |
| Lethbridge, Alberta | Regional location |
| Prince Albert, Saskatchewan | Regional location |
| Regina, Saskatchewan | Regional location |
| Brandon, Manitoba | Regional location |
| Thompson, Manitoba | Regional location |
Supporting Canada’s defence procurements
PrairiesCan works with businesses and governments to facilitate access to aerospace, defence, and marine opportunities. This departmental pathfinding and advocacy work connects Prairie companies and research institutions to defence-related business and investment opportunities through the Industrial and Technological Benefits (ITB) Policy. An important example of this work is the PrairiesCan-hosted annual Western Innovation Forum (WIF), held annually in February or March. At the 2025 WIF, PrairiesCan facilitated over 800 meetings between Prairie-based companies, research and learning institutions, and international defence contractors. The virtual event attracted 360 participants, with 93% giving positive feedback, showcasing Prairie expertise in clean technology, artificial Intelligence, and a number of other emerging technologies. To read more about PrairiesCan work on the WIF, aerospace, and defence opportunities, check out the PrairiesCan ITB website.
News releases, success stories, and other publications
To read more about PrairiesCan work, click on the website links below.
Planned resources to achieve results
Table 4: Planned resources to achieve results for Economic Development in the Prairies
| Resource | Planned |
|---|---|
| Spending | $264,594,009 |
| Full-time equivalents | 236 |
Complete financial and human resources information for Prairies Economic Development Canada’s program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.
Related government priorities
Gender-based analysis plus
PrairiesCan is committed to gender diversity and inclusion. GBA Plus guides us to align departmental practices and strategies with GBA Plus goals when looking at new and existing programs and services.
The department develops all programs and services with consideration of the impacts on marginalized or underrepresented groups including Indigenous Peoples, black Canadians, women, youth, members of the 2SLGBTQQIA+ community, persons with disabilities, newcomers to Canada, and members of official language minority communities.
The department also offers tailored programs that specifically target certain underrepresented groups. Programs include:
- Black Entrepreneurship Program (BEP)
- Economic Development Initiative (EDI)
- Francophone Economic Development Organizations (FEDOs)
- Entrepreneurs with Disabilities Program (EDP)
- Indigenous Business Development Services (IBDS)
To enhance data collection and ensure consistency of gender and diversity data for PrairiesCan applicants, a diversity and inclusion section is included on funding application forms. This allows the department to compile aggregate information for diverse groups on the ownership and/or leadership of the organizations applying for funding. PrairiesCan uses this data to identify potential access issues to programs and services and to make evidence-based decisions.
Furthermore, PrairiesCan supports research and study of entrepreneurial data to identify gaps, and better understand unique challenges faced by certain underrepresented groups to inform future program design.
United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the UN Sustainable Development Goals
PrairiesCan continues to support Canada’s efforts to address the UN 2030 Agenda and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This includes helping communities diversify their economies through investments in clean technology and clean resources projects, which supports the creation of sustainable jobs across the Prairies. The department also adopts practices that promote sustainable development in PrairiesCan internal operations. As a fundamental component to department policies and programs, PrairiesCan’s inclusive development priority is in place to increase economic participation of underrepresented and marginalized groups.
The department’s programs and services advance the following UN Sustainable Development Goals:
- SDG Goal 8 – promote sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all (SDG targets 8.2 and 8.3).
- SDG Goal 9 – build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization, and foster innovation (SDG target 9.4).
- SDG Goal 12 – ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns (SDG targets 12.2 and 12.7).
More information on Prairies Economic Development Canada’s contributions to Canada’s Federal Implementation Plan on the 2030 Agenda and the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy can be found in our Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy.
Program inventory
Economic Development in the Prairies is supported by the following programs:
- Innovation
- Business Growth
- Business Services
- Community Initiatives
Additional information related to the program inventory for Economic Development in the Prairies is available on the Results page on GC InfoBase.
Internal services
In this section
Description
Internal services are the services that are provided within a department so that it can meet its corporate obligations and deliver its programs. There are 10 categories of internal services:
- management and oversight services
- communications services
- legal services
- human resources management services
- financial management services
- information management services
- information technology services
- real property management services
- materiel management services
- acquisition management services
Plans to achieve results
This section presents details on how the department plans to achieve results and meet targets for internal services.
PrairiesCan is a small department that is committed to having a respectful workplace culture. The department supports an innovative and creative approach to internal services, programs, and service delivery. The department works to continuously learn and improve its internal services to ensure internal and external clients, partners, stakeholders, and communities are supported.
PrairiesCan encourages this approach with initiatives such as:
- Engaging employees to improve problem-solving, use LEAN thinking and exercises, and to optimize internal processes.
- Continuous improvement of grants and contributions program delivery.
- Providing clients with secure digital access to services such as our online portal for program funding applications.
- PrairiesCan offers user-friendly online interactions to clients, applicants, and stakeholders.
- The department has improved the intake, assessment, approval, and monitoring of client applications and projects.
- This system will continue to evolve to improve our client service.
- Increasing our capacity and partnerships in economic analysis to support evidence-based decision-making.
- Continuing our efforts to encourage a welcoming and inclusive work environment for all.
- In line with our departmental inclusive development priority, PrairiesCan regularly examines our staffing assessment methods to identify and reduce any bias and or barriers.
- PrairiesCan has targeted recruitment campaigns for members of employment equity groups.
- The department continues to educate and inform employees on important commemorative days and support inclusive learning and development.
- PrairiesCan also launched a Sponsorship Program to link executives with employees who identify in an employment equity group with a goal to support their visibility and development.
- Using technology such as secure remote access, video conferencing, web-based tools, wireless connectivity, and height adjustable work surfaces to improve well-being and efficiency at work.
- Increasing awareness of the department’s programs and services in the region by improving our presence on social media platforms such as LinkedIn. Our digital communications strategy also seeks areas for improvement and to deliver creative, cost-effective products and services such as internal news, intranet, external website, electronic publications, translation, and ministerial support.
- Developing high quality planning, reporting, financial, and digital communications products for Canadians, Parliamentarians, and for internal use.
- Continually improving our results and evaluation story to better show how the department helps Prairie Canadians and the economy. These PrairiesCan evaluations provide an evidence-based, neutral assessment of the value for money of our programs. Evaluations and departmental results also inform senior management decision-making on the relevance and effectiveness of departmental programs.
- Using PrairiesCan service standards to identify areas of improvement for client service. Our department is committed to the principles of client-centric service, operational efficiency, and a culture of service management excellence. External departmental service standards are on the PrairiesCan website.
- Providing in-house compensation expertise and services to ensure staff and new employees are paid accurately and on time.
Planned resources to achieve results
Table 5: Planned resources to achieve results for internal services this year
| Resource | Planned |
|---|---|
| Spending | $13,941,553 |
| Full-time equivalents | 104 |
Complete financial and human resources information for Prairies Economic Development Canada’s internal services is available on GC InfoBase.
Planning for contracts awarded to Indigenous businesses
Government of Canada departments are to meet a target of awarding at least 5% of the total value of contracts to Indigenous businesses each year. This commitment has been fully implemented by the department. 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.
Senior designated officials for the management of procurement are responsible for establishing, implementing, and maintaining a departmental Procurement Management Framework (PMF) which must include oversight, planning, and reporting mechanisms. This includes planning and reporting mechanisms for contracts awarded to Indigenous businesses. Appendix E of the Directive on the Management of Procurement describes the procedures for establishing these mechanisms and includes the roles of other government organizations.
PrairiesCan will continue to update and improve its PMF as it relates to Indigenous procurement. Tools and procedures for market research activities are currently under development that will include an emphasis on Indigenous procurement considerations. This includes continuing to leverage Indigenous set-asides that are incorporated into standing offers and supply arrangements.
Planning summary
The Procurement Unit works with business owners to complete a “schedule of planned procurements” (“the schedule”) each year. Business owners are responsible for detailing their anticipated procurement requirements for the upcoming year, and for each procurement, must indicate if the requirement will use a set-aside process, and whether it is mandatory or voluntary. Where no set-aside process is indicated, business owners must give a brief explanation as to why. The Procurement Unit then reviews the schedule and examines whether there is capacity for mandatory set-asides to be met by Indigenous suppliers. Planned procurements are then examined based on whether they can be met using standing offers and supply arrangements, and from these tools, which ones have an Indigenous set-aside process or separate Indigenous supplier pool that can be leveraged. Procurements that cannot be met using a set-aside process are examined on a case-by-case basis.
Methodology
Using “the schedule”, the total dollar value of planned procurement activity with Indigenous businesses is divided by the estimated total dollar value of all procurement activity for the year.
The department has not sought any deputy head-approved exceptions. Most of the department’s procurement activity exists within standing offers and supply arrangements, which often have Indigenous set-asides incorporated into them.
Table 6: Percentage of contracts planned and awarded to Indigenous businesses
| 5% reporting field | 2023–24 actual result | 2024–25 forecasted result | 2025–26 planned result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total percentage of contracts with Indigenous businesses | 10.08% | 5.05% | 5.00% |
Planned spending and human resources
This section provides an overview of PrairiesCan’s planned spending and human resources for the next three fiscal years and compares planned spending for 2025–26 with actual spending from previous years.
Spending
This section presents an overview of the department’s planned expenditures from 2022–23 to 2027–28.
Graph 1 presents how much the department plans to spend in 2025–26 to carry out the core responsibility and internal services.
Text description of graph 1
| Programs and internal services | 2025–26 Planned spending |
|---|---|
| Program 1.1 – Innovation | $121,647,402 |
| Program 1.2 – Business Growth | $60,492,879 |
| Program 1.3 – Business Services | $31,341,294 |
| Program 1.4 – Community Initiatives | $51,112,434 |
| Internal services | $13,941,553 |
Analysis of planned spending by core responsibility / program inventory
Prairies Economic Development Canada only has one core responsibility, so the program inventory budget, within the core responsibility, has been used for Graph 1.
Budgetary performance summary
Table 7: Three-year spending summary for core responsibilities and internal services (dollars)
| Core responsibilities and internal services | 2022–23 Actual expenditures | 2023–24 Actual expenditures | 2024–25 Forecast spending |
|---|---|---|---|
| Economic Development in the Prairies | $478,759,177 | $358,651,850 | $347,813,283 |
| Internal services | 20,648,845 | 18,955,684 | 14,404,320 |
| Total | $499,408,022 | $377,607,534 | $362,217,603 |
More financial information from previous years is available on the Finances section of GC Infobase.
Table 8: Planned three-year spending on core responsibilities and internal services (dollars)
| Core responsibilities and internal services | 2025–26 Planned spending | 2026–27 Planned spending | 2027–28 Planned spending |
|---|---|---|---|
| Economic Development in the Prairies | $264,594,009 | $171,302,858 | $154,557,648 |
| Internal services | 13,941,553 | 13,817,569 | 13,437,424 |
| Total | $278,535,562 | $185,120,427 | $167,995,072 |
Analysis of the next three years of spending
PrairiesCan planned spending in 2025–26 is $278.5 million, compared to the 2024–25 forecast spending of $362.2 million. This represents a net decrease in spending of ($83.7) million, which includes a net decrease in contributions and other transfer payments of ($81.7) million and a decrease in operating costs of ($2.0) million. Factors contributing to the net decrease in spending in 2025–26 include:
- An increase of $3.4 million in funding for the Regional Artificial Intelligence Initiative announced in Budget 2024.
- An increase of $2.0 million in funding to support New Flyer Industries project.
- An increase of $1.4 million in funding to support Canada’s Critical Minerals Initiative.
- An increase of $0.5 million in funding for the Black Entrepreneurship Fund.
- A decrease of $37.3 million in funding for the Canada Coal Transition initiative - Infrastructure Fund.
- A decrease of $24.9 million in funding to restore rail service to Churchill, Manitoba.
- A decrease of $11.5 million in support for the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization.
- A decrease of $10.7 million in funding to support the Canadian Critical Drug Initiative.
- A decrease of $3.7 million in funding for the Carbon Fibre Manufacturing project.
- A net decrease of $1.8 million in funding for other minor operating and grants and contributions adjustments.
- A decrease of $0.9 million in funding for the Quantum Strategy announced in Budget 2021.
- A decrease of $0.2 million in funding for the Regional Economic Growth Initiative announced in Budget 2024.
More detailed financial information on planned spending is available on the Finances section of GC Infobase.
Table 9: Budgetary gross and net planned spending summary (dollars)
| Core responsibilities and Internal Services | 2025–26 Gross planned spending | 2025–26 Planned revenues netted against spending (dollars) | 2025–26 Planned net spending (authorities used) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Economic Development in the Prairies | $264,594,009 | $0 | $264,594,009 |
| Internal services | 13,941,553 | 3,800,000 | 10,141,553 |
| Total | $278,535,562 | $3,800,000 | $274,735,562 |
Analysis of budgetary gross and net planned spending summary
PrairiesCan receives revenues netted against expenditures for various internal support services it provides to Pacific Economic Development Canada.
Information on the alignment of Prairies Economic Development Canada’s spending with Government of Canada’s spending and activities is available on GC InfoBase.
Funding
This section provides an overview of the department’s voted and statutory funding for its core responsibilities and for internal services. For further information on funding authorities, consult the Government of Canada budgets and expenditures.
Graph 2 summarizes the department’s approved voted and statutory funding from 2022–23 to 2027–28.
Text description of graph 2
| Fiscal year | Total | Voted | Statutory |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022–23 | $499,408,022 | $494,097,634 | $5,310,388 |
| 2023–24 | $377,607,534 | $372,151,000 | $5,456,534 |
| 2024–25 | $362,217,603 | $357,504,838 | $4,712,765 |
| 2025–26 | $278,538,562 | $273,447,031 | $5,088,531 |
| 2026–27 | $185,120,427 | $180,141,059 | $4,979,368 |
| 2027–28 | $167,995,072 | $163,437,197 | $4,557,875 |
Analysis of statutory and voted funding over a six-year period
The overall decrease from 2022–23 to 2027–28 is the completion and winding down of Budget 2021 and Budget 2024 initiatives. The spending from 2024–25 to 2025–26 relates to the winding down of the Canada Coal Transition Initiative - Infrastructure Program, completion of Churchill restorations and moving into the operating and maintenance phase of the Churchill train line.
For further information on PrairiesCan’s departmental appropriations, consult the 2025–26 Main Estimates.
Future-oriented condensed statement of operations
The future-oriented condensed statement of operations provides an overview of PrairiesCan’s operations for 2024–25 to 2025–26.
Table 10: Future-oriented condensed statement of operations for the year ended March 31, 2026 (dollars)
| Financial information | 2024–25 Forecast results | 2025–26 Planned results | Difference (forecasted results minus planned) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total expenses | $332,504,262 | $252,454,312 | ($80,049,950) |
| Total revenues | 183 | 202 | 19 |
| Net cost of operations before government funding and transfers | $332,504,079 | $252,454,110 | ($80,049,950) |
Analysis of forecasted and planned results
PrairiesCan’s total expenses are expected to be $252.5 million in 2025–26, compared to $332.5 million in 2024–25. There is an overall net decrease of $80.0 million primarily due to less funding for:
- The Canada Coal Transition Initiative.
- Restoring rail service to Churchill, Manitoba.
- The Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization.
- The Canadian Critical Drug Initiative.
A more detailed Future-Oriented Statement of Operations and associated Notes for 2025–26, including a reconciliation of the net cost of operations with the requested authorities, is available on Prairies Economic Development Canada’s website.
Human resources
This section presents an overview of the department’s actual and planned human resources from 2022–23 to 2027–28.
Table 11: Actual human resources for core responsibilities and internal services
| Core responsibilities and Internal Services | 2022–23 Actual full-time equivalents | 2023–24 Actual full-time equivalents | 2024–25 Actual full-time equivalents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Economic Development in the Prairies | 279 | 263 | 235 |
| Internal services | 107 | 109 | 105 |
| Total | 386 | 372 | 340 |
Analysis of human resources over the last three years
The overall decline in FTEs from 2022–23 to 2024–25 mostly relates to the decrease in program spending under initiatives such as the Budget 2021 Tourism Relief Fund, Canada Community Revitalization Fund, and Jobs and Growth Fund. This decrease is also due to the completion of the Churchill restoration projects.
Table 12: Human resources planning summary for core responsibilities and internal services
| Core responsibilities and Internal Services | 2025–26 Planned full-time equivalents | 2026–27 Planned full-time equivalents | 2027–28 Planned full-time equivalents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Economic Development in the Prairies | 236 | 230 | 227 |
| Internal services | 104 | 103 | 102 |
| Total | 340 | 333 | 329 |
Analysis of human resources for the next three years
The base human resource levels continue to be stable for the next three years. Fluctuations that occur at the program level reflect resource realignment to support priorities and projects. The department will continue to achieve its results by allocating its human resources to best support its programs.
Corporate information
Departmental profile
Appropriate minister(s):
The Honourable Eleanor Olszewski, P.C., M.P.
Institutional head:
Diane Gray
Ministerial portfolio:
Emergency Management and Community Resilience, Prairies Economic Development Canada
Enabling instrument:
Western Economic Diversification Act, R.S.C. 1985, c.11, (4th Supplement)
Year of incorporation / commencement:
1987 / 2021
Other:
Headquarters:
Edmonton, Alberta
Principal offices:
Calgary, Alberta
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Ottawa, Ontario
Regional locations:
Edmonton, Calgary, Fort McMurray, Grande Prairie, and Lethbridge, Alberta
Saskatoon, Prince Albert, and Regina, Saskatchewan
Brandon, and Thompson, Manitoba
Departmental contact information
Mailing address:
Prairies Economic Development Canada
Suite 1500, 9700 Jasper Avenue
Edmonton, Alberta T5J 4H7
Telephone:
(780) 495-4164 / Toll Free: 1 (888) 338-9378
Teletypewriter (TTY):
1 (877) 303-3388
Fax:
(780) 495-4557
Email:
Website(s):
Supplementary information tables
The following supplementary information tables are available on Prairies Economic Development Canada’s website:
- Transfer Payment Programs with total planned spending of $5 million or more
- Transfer Payment Programs with total planned spending of less than $5 million
- Gender-based analysis plus (GBA Plus)
- General information on up-front multi-year funding to Primrose Lake Economic Development Corporation
Information on Prairies Economic Development Canada’s departmental sustainable development strategy can be found on PrairiesCan’s website.
Federal tax expenditures
Prairies Economic Development Canada’s Departmental Plan does not include information on 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.
Definitions
List of terms
- 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 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 consists of the department’s core responsibilities, 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.
- fulltime 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 fulltime 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])
-
Is an analytical tool used to support the development of responsive and inclusive policies, programs, and other initiatives. GBA Plus is a process for understanding who is impacted by the issue or opportunity being addressed by the initiative; identifying how the initiative could be tailored to meet diverse needs of the people most impacted; and anticipating and mitigating any barriers to accessing or benefitting from the initiative. GBA Plus is an intersectional analysis that goes beyond biological (sex) and socio-cultural (gender) differences to consider other factors, such as age, disability, education, ethnicity, economic status, geography (including rurality), language, race, religion, and sexual orientation.
Using GBA Plus involves taking a gender- and diversity-sensitive approach to our work. Considering all intersecting identity factors as part of GBA Plus, not only sex and gender, is a Government of Canada commitment.
- government priorities (priorités gouvernementales)
- For the purpose of the 2025–26 Departmental Plan, government 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; fight 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 departments are given funding to pursue a shared outcome, often linked to a government priority.
- Indigenous business (enterprise autochtones)
- For the purpose of the Directive on the Management of Procurement, Appendix E: Mandatory Procedures for Contracts Awarded to Indigenous Businesses and the Government of Canada’s commitment that a mandatory minimum target of 5% of the total value of contracts is awarded to Indigenous businesses, an organization that meets the definition and Arequirements as defined by the Indigenous Business Directory.
- 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 department, program, policy or initiative respecting expected results.
- 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 department, policy, program or initiative. Results are not within the control of a single department, policy, program or initiative; instead they are within the area of the department’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.
Page details
- Date modified: