Helping rural areas prepare for economic growth is the goal behind provincial and federal funding totaling $450,000 over two years. The two governments signed a funding agreement with the Saskatchewan Economic Development Alliance to help attract rural investment through investment readiness. SEDA’s CEO, Verona Thibault, explains that SEDA will be working with municipal partners to develop an inventory of commercial industrial land and attach that to site selection data sets that investors would be looking at. SEDA will also engage industries in value-added agriculture, manufacturing, energy and minerals to highlight the opportunities in rural areas.

Trade and Export Development Minister, Jeremy Harrison, says this investment will help ensure that rural communities are ready for growth and able to attract new investment. Minister for PrairiesCan, Dan Vandal, says, “Our government recognizes that we cannot have a prosperous Canada without successful, competitive and thriving rural communities.

Thibault says the announcement is important for SEDA and for rural Saskatchewan, because it demonstrates the two levels of government coming together the with shared goals of expanding investment readiness capacity in rural Saskatchewan.