Who We Are

Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD) is a federal department with 401 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff, based in Western Canada and managed with four regions: British Columbia; Alberta; Saskatchewan; Manitoba; and an Ottawa liaison office (see organization chart in Annex D).  The department is headquartered in Edmonton as required by the Western Economic Diversification Act, 1988. Each region and corporate unit, as well as all individual senior officials in the department, has a shared responsibility to ensure the department, as a whole, achieves its mandate and objectives, as well as ensuring that the specific needs and issues of the region are addressed.

WD's workforce

Human Resources	2009-2010	2010-2011	2011- 2012
*FTEs	401	386	383

*Note: This chart represents WD's current staffing complement. WD's complement is expected to increase by approximately 60 FTEs for the next two years to support implementation of CAF and RInC, which are Budget 2009 economic stimulus initiatives plus the delivery of the Building Canada Fund and the ongoing Canada Business Network.

WD's representation in all areas is comparable to the available Canadian workforce and the public service as a whole:

• Average age - 45.34 years
• Women - 59 per cent
• Visible minorities - 15.9 per cent
• Aboriginal peoples - seven per cent
• Persons with disabilities - four per cent
• Nine per cent of employees identify French as their first official language

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Annex E provides additional details on WD's workforce.

What We Do

In creating a more diversified western Canadian economy, WD aims to help people, organizations and communities achieve or exceed their potential. We fund initiatives that support innovation, business development and the economic development of communities - building a stronger West in a stronger Canada.

Although differences exist among the four western provinces in terms of economic structure, economic performance in the West is heavily dependant on commodities and natural resources, which include agriculture, forestry, mining, and oil and gas. The western Canadian economy is also largely dependant on trade, with approximately one third of its gross domestic product derived from exports.

In Western Canada, a number of factors have contributed to a weakened short-term economic outlook: low and volatile commodity prices; decreased export demand for goods and services; record low consumer confidence; declining capital investment intentions; and a more unfavourable outlook for the American economy.

Over the long term, diversification of the western economy is the key to sustained economic success. A number of structural issues need to be addressed to ensure a more resilient western economy, including:

• ongoing reliance on the resource sector and exposure to volatile markets;
• low business expenditures on research and development, resulting in fewer technologies being developed and commercialized;
• lack of access to early stage capital to facilitate company start-up and growth;
• lower levels of business productivity, negatively affecting global competitiveness;
• the lack of export by a large proportion of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) (given that exporters generally outperform non-exporters);
• demographic shifts that will limit the availability of skilled labour; and
• low participation rate of Aboriginals in the labour force.

WD's programs encourage entrepreneurship, innovation and community economic development. They are supported by the department's leadership and coordination role in furthering western interests and responding to western challenges. WD works strategically through partnerships - with all orders of government, academic and research institutes, industry associations, and not-for-profit organizations - to implement initiatives that leverage resources and expertise for the benefit of the West and western Canadians.

WD will focus on the following priorities for 2009-2010:

• Delivery of the Community Adjustment Fund (CAF) and Recreational Infrastructure Canada (RInC) program - to provide economic stimulus through investments that will create and maintain jobs in the West;
• Technology Commercialization - to facilitate the translation of knowledge and technology into commercial opportunities;
• Trade and Investment - to enhance SME participation in global markets, create value-added opportunities connected to Western Canada's gateways and corridors, and attract new investment attraction;
• Business Productivity and Competitiveness - to support the growth and competitiveness of western Canadian small business; and,
• Rural Diversification - to support new economic options and opportunities in the rural West.

In response to these priorities and to contribute to its strategic outcomes, WD:

• Invests in projects through the Western Diversification Program: which strengthens the western Canadian economy, increases the economic viability of western Canadian communities, and to help the western Canadian economy to become more competitive, expanded, and diversified.
• Implements multi-year contribution programming such as the Western Economic Partnership Agreements (WEPAs). These agreements, between the Government of Canada and the four western provinces, address economic challenges by investing in shared priorities that include -
  • supporting the creation and growth of research and development, with a focus on getting new products, technologies and services to market;
  • supporting trade and investment;
  • enhancing business productivity and competitiveness; and
  • increasing value-added production in traditional industries.
• Provides funding to members of the Western Canada Business Service Network, which provides more than 100 points of service in rural and urban communities across the West where entrepreneurs can obtain assistance in starting and growing businesses.
• Delivers the western component of three Economic Action Plan initiatives announced in Budget 2009:
  • The two-year, $1B Community Adjustment Fund to provide economic stimulus to mitigate the short-term impacts of the economic downturn in affected communities; of which Western Canada's share is $306M.
  • The two-year, $500M Recreational Infrastructure Canada program of which $54 million dollars has been allocated to WD for the first of two project implementation tranches. Additional funds for the delivery of the second tranche is anticipated in 2009-2010.  This program supports the construction, rehabilitation and repair of recreational infrastructure; and,
  • The two-year, $500M for community projects through the Communities Component of the Building Canada Fund to accelerate the construction of community projects.
• Works with provinces and municipalities to deliver federal infrastructure funding under the Infrastructure Canada Program, Municipal Infrastructure Fund, Canada Strategic Infrastructure Fund, and the Building Canada Fund Communities Component programs. We deliver these programs in partnership with the Transport, Infrastructure and Communities portfolio departments and western provincial departments. Planned federal investments expected in the coming year in Western Canada total approximately $335.6M.
• Delivers, monitors and evaluates initiatives to mitigate the impact of the mountain pine beetle infestation ¹ in the Province of British Columbia.

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Management Excellence

WD places a priority on Management Excellence and continues to make progress in improving management practices. During this planning period, but more specifically during the 2009-2010 fiscal year, WD will concentrate on the following priorities to ensure that we deliver on our operational priorities:

WD's 2009-2010 Management Excellence Priorities

1. Public Service (PS) Renewal - WD will sustain the necessary complement of qualified, motivated and knowledgeable staff by focusing on the following:
   • Integrated business and human resource planning;
   • Employee engagement, career development, talent management, and succession planning;
   • Ensuring that WD has the required human resources in place to deliver CAF and RInC; and
   • Strategic recruitment and renewal initiatives.
2. Performance Measurement - To support improved performance measurement, WD will focus on addressing challenges through:
   • Reviewing performance measures to ensure relevance and appropriate measuring;
   • Further development of WD's project database system, Project Gateway, to more effectively track data related to performance measurement; and
   • The introduction of a performance reporting process, which will track progress against established performance targets and support organizational decision-making.
3. Integrated Risk Management - The department will:
   • Review, update and more fully integrate risk-based decision-making into all elements of WD management practices; and
   • Create risk management tools and train employees on risk management practices.

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Our Budget

Financial Resources	2009-2010	2010-2011	2011-2012
*($ thousands)	242,521	158,837	151,375

* - Please refer to Annex F for additional details on the allocation of funding by program activity.

Note: Financial resources are depicted as presented in the 2009-2010 Report on Plans and Priorities, prior to receiving details on the Budget 2009 Economic Stimulus initiatives. WD expects to receive the following additional resources in 2009-2010:

• CAF - $153.1M (includes both grants and contributions and operating funds);
• RInC - $32.1M (includes both grants and contributions and operating funds). An additional $32.1M for the delivery of second tranche of RInC is also expected in 2009-2010.;
• Building Canada Fund - $2.1M (operating funds); and
• Canada Business Network - $3.8M (operating funds).

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