Canada’s Budget for Edmonton Businesses

Posted on March 23, 2017 by Brad Ferguson

Last night at dinner, the discussion on the federal budget was deafening. Everyone was focused on the escalating debt and the deficit, all with spirited and good intention. But beyond the big looming debt number, not one business owner knew much about the details … the details of which are actually quite interesting.

Edmonton-based businesses have never cared much about the Federal Budget, and I totally respect the reasons why. Budgets have been for government folks, easterners, institutions and non-profits. Why would the federal budget come up in conversation, aside from taxes? What does the budget have to do with my business making money? How is the budget relevant to our day-to-day free-enterprise lives.

Part of me would love to continue asking those questions. But part of me knows that the world is changing and it’s not the smartest strategy to be left behind.

Every Edmonton-based business should read Budget 2017. I don’t mean read to simply find their new personal or corporate tax rates. But read it to understand the underlying policy and directional changes that will shape our country for the next decade or more. Budget 2017 doesn’t do much for the energy sector or for our current economic downturn, but the budget is unusually specific about the path forward and the emerging sectors that are expected to move Canada’s economy ahead.

Read it and engage; or ignore it and be left behind. Because in it, Budget 2017 has significant positive implications for Edmonton – Canada’s 5^th largest, youngest, fastest growing municipality – that is being recognized as a major hub for new federal investment.

Beyond the significant support for affordable housing and predictable long-term investment for transit and infrastructure, as successfully championed by Mayor Don Iveson, this budget focused on building our economy through the solid combination of innovation and job creation. Of specific interest to Edmonton-based businesses should be:

$400 million over three years to be made available through the Business Development Bank for a new Venture Capital Catalyst Initiative to increase last-stage venture capital available to Canadian entrepreneurs (who submit proposals);

$1.4 billion in new financing support for Canada’s cleantech sector (equity finance, working capital and project finance) to promising clean technology firms who want to grow and expand;

$125 million to fund a pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence collaboration between Montreal, Toronto-Waterloo and Edmonton, with UofA’s AMII (Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute) recognized as one of the leading programs in the world;

$950 million over 5 years to support a small number of business-led innovation “superclusters” that have the greatest potential to accelerate economic growth;

10,000 new Co-op positions for STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) students;

Priority sectors for investment will include Advanced Manufacturing, Agri-food, Cleantech, Digital Industries, Health and Biological Sciences and Clean Energy Resources;

$7.8 million over two years to implement a new Global Talent Stream under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, as part of the Global Skills Strategy;

No changes to capital gain taxes or taxes on stock options, which will benefit the tech sector;

$50 million over two years for teaching initiatives to help children learn to code; and

$37.5 million per year funding made permanent to Destination Canada, Canada’s national tourism marketing organization, to continue its strong collaboration with industry partners to maximize the impacts of its marketing campaigns to draw in more tourists from abroad.

Now, I’m typically one of the first people to call for balanced budgets. However, if a fiscal stimulus and low interest rates are required to keep our national economy on a positive growth curve, which they are, then these are the areas that have the ability to stimulate a long-term change to business innovation and competitiveness which we so desperately need across the nation.

The programs listed above are very much in line with our priorities at EEDC, through our Investment & Trade, Tourism, Startup Edmonton, Tec Edmonton, Edmonton Research Park and Shaw Conference Centre teams. And these are our teams that connect with local businesses on a daily basis to help Edmonton-based companies understand and benefit from these new programs and sources of funding.

Fiscal stimulus and support programs are needed across the country for our businesses to grow and evolve, adopt new technologies, access new talent and new markets and improve competitiveness. It is part of a larger transition we need to be embracing, otherwise others will and folks like my dinner guests will be left behind.

Please take time to become informed, and see each of these programs as opportunities for your business. Once informed, please connect with us at EEDC to help connect you with some of these new opportunities.

http://www.budget.gc.ca/2017/docs/plan/toc-tdm-en.html

http://www.budget.gc.ca/2017/docs/bb/brief-bref-en.html

http://www.budget.gc.ca/2017/docs/speech-discours/2017-03-22-en.html

Structure Follows Strategy

Posted on October 26, 2015 by Brad Ferguson

It has been a long time since Alberta had a Ministry of Economic Development & Trade, and it is long overdue. The announcement by Premier Notley last Thursday brought cheers from many across the province, as we can now establish focus and resources towards our most pressing economic issues:

Building a culture of risk-taking and entrepreneurship in businesses big and small;
Developing revenues, trade and investment from beyond our borders;
Unlocking the value of our resource assets in mutually beneficial ways; and
Leading an innovation system that is relevant and respected across Canada.

We have been talking about these four simple priorities for years as part of our provincial strategy; however, the ministerial structure never followed the strategy and past ministries lived through endless leadership changes and budget uncertainty.

This was a much needed change and, when led by a strong Minister, Deputy Minister and Premier’s Advisory Committee on the Economy, I believe we are now off to a great start.

The old models of economic development, diversification and innovation have not brought success or change, and I look forward to working with this new ministry to compete and win in today’s marketplace.

I am often hard on our government because I have high expectations. This is a timely and prudent move, and I compliment this kind of thoughtful stewardship.

I look forward to helping bring back our excellence.

Relative Advantages at Risk

Posted on August 8, 2015 by Brad Ferguson

Like many, I watched both the Canadian and U.S. political debates last week. And like many I shook my head at the shameless pursuit of these potential leaders to get their media sound bites, as opposed to the much needed presentations of progressive economic, environmental and social policies that will advance our respective nations.

In Canada, I blame that on the debate format that allowed for multiple microphones to be on at the same time. In America, I blame that on the presence of Donald Trump.

But as the various caricatures struggled for air time, one thing became incredibly obvious:

Canada’s opposition leaders are on a path to creating an uncompetitive, bureaucratic, socialist state while opposition leaders in the United States are passionately committed to making the American economy the most entrepreneurial, innovative and competitive economy in the world.

And this should concern Canadians.

It should concern us because the advantages Canada has built up during the Obama Administration are at risk, and at risk of reversing rather quickly.

Advantages are relative. And, just as Canada has been successful in the attraction of business, people and investment relative to the U.S. over the past eight years as the Obama Administration was increasing debt, deficits, taxes and bureaucracy … we risk losing our advantage if we start doing the same.

For me, there are only three ballot questions:

Do we want to be a high-tax or a low-tax jurisdiction?
Do we want big government or small government?
Do we want to be a social welfare nation or a globally competitive nation?

I don’t advocate for any one political party – they all have their faults – but I do love my country and all of her potential. We have the world’s second largest land mass with a well-educated and peaceful population and an economy that is inter-connected and inter-dependent from coast to coast. We have the strongest banking system on the globe and a quality of life that ranks us consistently among the Top 5 nations, and consistently considered the most desirable country in the world.

Yes, we have massive work to be done in the areas of Indigenous rights, environmental stewardship, infrastructure investment in our cities and safe energy production and distribution. But, these next steps in Canada’s evolution can only be done on the back of a strong economy where Canadians are all productively working with small, medium and large scale competitive companies and on projects that will build a stronger nation.

From what I saw at the debate the other night, the Canadian opposition leaders are enamored with the Obama Administration, while the American leadership hopefuls are enamored with what we currently have in Canada.

America needs change.

In Canada, we should be seeking improvement … not change.

Entrepreneurs Matter

Posted on July 5, 2015 by Brad Ferguson

Becoming an entrepreneur and starting a business completely changed my life. At first, it was a quest for independence and freedom … to move away from working for someone else, to take the risk, to see if I could do it on my own. But the reasons I continued ran much deeper … reasons that motivate so many business owners each and every day … reasons I respect so very, very much.

Today, in a world where many students are taught that business and capitalism are fundamentally based on the pursuit of greed, selfishness, exploitation and profit maximization … there is a need to re-introduce and re-romanticize today’s entrepreneur … the lifeblood of our communities and our economies.

Entrepreneurs start things. They try things. They see the world as a system full of gaps, of opportunities, and they set out to solve those problems by envisioning something better. They set out on a wonderful journey of purpose, adventure, risk and creativity … not to maximize profits and greed … but to see if what they imagined is, in fact, possible.

That is what fuels the hearts of entrepreneurs.

They envision new ways to deliver groceries and advanced drill bits to work in extreme climates. They suggest better ways for dentists to serve the poor and they improve the ways 3^rd world countries filtrate drinking water. They imagine new video games for disinterested teens and they design new vaccines for impoverished children. They also start shoe stores and daycares and construction companies and cafes and corner stores.

Entrepreneurs Matter.

Entrepreneurs not only solve some of our most difficult challenges, but they also sign the paychecks that feed, clothe and shelter 78% of our local families. They not only represent the largest contributors to charities and non-profits, but their pursuit of free enterprise innovation and social cooperation has also led to unprecedented prosperity for humanity.

Over the past two centuries, free enterprise entrepreneurs have brought extraordinary economic growth and prosperity to hundreds of millions of people around the world. Extreme poverty has declined from 85% of the world’s population to 16%. The undernourished population has declined by 50%. Average income per capita has increased 1000x, with only 5% of that population living in North America. Sanitation, medicine and agricultural productivity have progressed to maintain a world population that has grown from 1 billion to 7 billion. 84% of the world can now read. And average life expectancy has increased from 36 years to an astonishing 86 years.

Our world is far from perfect … we have much more to improve … but we also need to appreciate the progress that has been made.

Governments didn’t accomplish these feats … entrepreneurs did. They innovated. They experimented. They took risks. They tried new things. And guess what? When their solutions worked and people derived value, their businesses grew and became profitable … which allowed them to invest in more ideas, create a broader vision, pay more taxes and extend their solutions to new markets.

That’s what changes our world. That’s what improves our communities.

That’s what matters.

So, as we move forward and continue progress on environmental, inequality, health care, animal welfare, and other global challenges …. let’s let entrepreneurs continue to be the lifeblood of innovation, our communities and our economy …. and let’s not turn them into the lifeblood of government.

Are We Smart Enough?

Posted on September 4, 2014 by Brad Ferguson

Complacency is a dangerous disease. It’s forever affected General Motors, Kodak, Microsoft and Blockbuster. And it is a widespread addiction amongst Alberta companies.

Why?

Because things are good. Why change? Why invest? Why try harder … when you can just sit back and enjoy the prosperity that comes from underlying economic growth?

Look at your own organization. Look at yourself. What are you investing in today that will allow you to reap dividends in 2-3 years or 5-7 years?

These are important questions, and they are the questions every Albertan should be asking every day. They are the questions that we will explore at E-Town (www.e-town.ca) next week, and it is important that you invite yourself to the conversation. Here’s why (true stories from the past week):

Me: Is your team coming to e-town this year?
CEO: It looks fabulous, but we’re too busy working too hard.
Me: Is working harder your competitive advantage?
CEO: Ummm … shut up.

Employee: I’d like to attend e-town this year. It only costs only $399.
Boss: What will you learn?
Employee: Technology, leadership and creativity trends affecting our business.
Boss: I don’t think those are our priorities right now.

Do these stories sound familiar? Are we simply trying to win by working harder? Or is it time we start thinking about competing by being smarter than your competition? One of our speakers, Estelle Metayer, focuses solely on this topic, and I’m probably looking forward to her session the most.

Why?

Because it strikes at the heart of our economic future. And you can’t afford to miss it.

Thank you.

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