About the Initiative

In June 2008, Minister for La Francophonie, the Honourable Josée Verner, announced the Roadmap for Canada’s Linguistic Duality 2008-2013: Acting for the Future, a government-wide investment of $1.1 billion across 15 federal departments and agencies to encourage linguistic duality among Canadians. The Roadmap offers support to official language minority communities in five priority areas: health, justice, immigration, economic development, and arts and culture.

Moreover, the Roadmap aims to address government priorities with action in the following areas:

• emphasizing the value of linguistic duality among all Canadians;
• building the future by investing in young people;
• improving access to services for official language minority communities (OLMCs);
• capitalizing on economic benefits; and,
• ensuring efficient governance to better serve Canadians.

Economic Development Initiative

As part of the Roadmap, the National Economic Development Initiative (EDI) of the Roadmap seeks to address the specific economic challenges of each region and build upon regional successes to facilitate sustainable growth in OLMCs. EDI will promote the development of new expertise through innovation, diversification of economic activities, partnerships, and increased support of small- and medium-sized businesses. The Government of Canada has allocated $30.5 million over five years for this initiative.

National EDI program priorities

• Capacities built - Development of new or improved tools and/or services (e.g. training or advice for enterprise development, opportunities for networking), improved strategic planning, leadership for communities, access to information, services and partnership opportunities.
• Enterprises developed - Improved growth and competitiveness of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), leading to increased trade, tourism and investment in new and existing markets, new and diversified products and services, job creation, and a larger number of innovative and diversified SMEs led by young entrepreneurs.
• Communities developed - Diversification of the economic base of the minority communities, where opportunities exist to do so through increased trade, socio-economic analyses and studies.

Who is responsible for the Initiative ?

EDI will be delivered by Industry Canada/FedNor for Northern Ontario and FedDev Ontario for Southern Ontario, Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (East), Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec (Quebec), Western Economic Diversification Canada (West) and Indian Affairs and Northern Development (Northern Canada).

Industry Canada will have responsibility for the coordination and evaluation of the EDI across Canada.