Claresholm belongs to strong regional economic alliance

By Rob Vogt

Claresholm is one of several communities in southwestern Alberta that make up an innovative regional economic development initiative.
The Alberta SouthWest Regional Alliance is a group of 15 communities, working together to help each other succeed. According to its website, the corporation is governed by a board of elected representatives from each member community.
The real strength of an organization is in the commitment and energy of each individual, business and community that contributes to it. Alberta SouthWest communities are energetically cooperative, and share a collaborative long-term strategy to grow and promote the region.
The vision of Alberta SouthWest is working together for prosperous and healthy communities.
Its mission statement is that Alberta SouthWest is a progressive and innovative regional partnership of diverse communities working together to facilitate sustainable growth in southwest Alberta.
Its mandate is to:
1) Encourage and support economic diversification and value added sector development.
2) Identify and communicate new investment opportunities.
3) Support the attraction, retention and growth of business enterprises.
4) Enhance Alberta’s competitiveness by promoting innovation and productivity.
5) Facilitate regional cooperation and collaboration.
6) Identify opportunities to streamline regulatory processes to enhance regional competitiveness.
7) Support strategic economic development planning.
8) Demonstrate inclusiveness of regional stakeholders in planning processes and establishment of priorities
9) Engage in the exchange of regional economic information.
Alberta SouthWest also includes Stavely, and the Municipal District of Willow Creek.
Some of Alberta SouthWest’s initiatives include:
• The Alberta SouthWest Regional Business License Program, which has been serving businesses since 2003. The licence authorizes your company to do business in the partner communities, letting businesses save money on “out-of-town” licence fees.
When you renew your annual community business licence, choose to add on a regional business licence, and pay the $80 regional business licence fee.
This program supports more than 350 regional businesses annually. Please note to qualify your primary business location must be within one of the Alberta SouthWest partner communities. To purchase a regional licence, please contact your municipal office.
• Southwest Invest projects are designed to build investment readiness. Regional promotion is foundational to bringing economic benefit to member communities and to the region. AlbertaSW values the work and services of Community Futures offices who focus on growing business “one at a time”. Together they can meet the needs of communities and business at multiple levels.
• “Bringing Investment Home” is a partnership project between Community Futures Alberta Southwest, Alberta SouthWest Regional Alliance, and Community Futures Crowsnest Pass. It is estimated the year-long project generated and supported about $7 million of new and expanded business investment in the region.
• The Southern Alberta Business Succession Project is dedicated to providing resources to help business owners find successful transitions through proper planning.
• The Southern Alberta Investment and Trade Initiative, a partnership with SouthGrow and Economic Development Lethbridge, focuses on promoting Southern Alberta’s unique benefits into a competitive advantage for local businesses. The goal is to let the world know about the region’s unique selling proposition – a strong economy; a productive well-educated labour pool; incentives and competitive tax rates; strong world connections; abundant land and resources; and high quality of life.
• Connect4Commerce is an online platform designed to help with buying and selling almost anything, from equipment to entire businesses. The site is also a hub of information and advice related to buying, selling and growing a small business.
While there are other buy-and-sell websites, Connect4Commerce is the only one-stop-shop designed specifically for business-to-business interactions, making it more targeted and generating a highly engaged community.
• The Crown of the Continent Geotourism Council/National Geographic. When you visit Alberta SouthWest you are traveling within the Crown of the Continent, which refers to Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park and the surrounding communities in Alberta, British Columbia and Montana. These regions are working together to develop very special trans-boundary and international visitor experiences.
• Building a Sustainable Tourism Investment Opportunity Network aims to foster sustainable tourism development in Alberta’s Southwest region. The initiative aims to attract investment into sustainable tourism projects, promoting economic growth.
• Film Friendly Southwest Alberta – Reel Adventures. Rugged mountains, pristine rivers, historic streetscapes – Alberta SouthWest is a treasured movie making destination. Follow the Reel Adventures Alberta Movie Maps and drive into the filming locations of these classic movies.
• Energizing Agricultural Transformation. Agriculture and agri-food continue to “feed” the Canadian economy. In 2018, it contributed over $110 billion to the gross domestic product, making Canada one of the top ag producers in the world.
The Alberta Southwest Regional Alliance recognizes that while agriculture is a known economic engine, relatively little is known about what categories of agriculture and agri-food exist in the southwest quadrant of the province. With an eye on the future, the Alberta SouthWest executive wants to determine if there are ways to support existing agri-business while exploring new innovative agricultural trends and trade opportunities.
• The Manufacturing, Energy, Construction, Ag Processing project brings together industry influencers and innovators to participate in “think tank” sessions to identify trends, labour market needs, supply chain issues and opportunities.
• The Southern Alberta Alternative Energy Partnership started in 2006 and is one of Alberta SouthWest’s longest running projects. It consists of three economic development organizations: SouthGrow, Economic Development Lethbridge, and Alberta SouthWest. Together, this group represents 37 municipalities in the south central region of the province.
The main objective of this partnership is to nurture and facilitate our region’s growth as an alternative energy provider, while at the same time introducing methods that will allow individuals and organizations who live here to become more self-sufficient energy users. The three streams of alternative energy are solar, wind and bio-energy (including ethanol, biodiesel and biomass).
• The Peaks to Prairies EV Charging Network started in 2016 and was completed in 2019, with three southern Alberta regional economic development alliances along with the City of Calgary and City of Lethbridge collaborating to develop a regional electric vehicle charging station network. By the end of 2019 20 fast charging/Level 2 stations were installed throughout the region.
• The Regional Innovation Network of Southern Alberta formed in 2011. This collaborative partnership looks to accelerate growth of small and medium sized enterprises bringing new products or processes to market. The focus of most clients are innovation and technology. The Regional Innovation Network of Southern Alberta uses the Alberta Innovation Network to collaborate with other provincial networks.