More than 1,000 citizens, entrepreneurs and business people identify key courses of action for economic development in Quebec

MONTREAL, QUEBEC--(Marketwired - Nov. 28, 2016) - Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions (CED)

Constantly evolving economic and technological conditions are providing new business opportunities for Quebec enterprises and regions. The Government of Canada is determined to more effectively help enterprises innovate in order to adapt to these changes and make the most of them.

To that end, CED has listened to the viewpoints of Quebec's population by launching a call for ideas and organizing multi-regional roundtables. The thoughts of some 1,000 citizens and economic development players are being published today in the Summary Report of the Dialogue on the economic development of Quebec regions.

The report paints a picture of the strengths, challenges and opportunities in Quebec regions. It has identified many possible solutions that will help make Quebec enterprises more competitive from an economic, environmental and technological standpoint.

Here are a few concrete examples:

• Improved business productivity through the deployment of digital technology and telecommunications infrastructure;
• Integration of digital technology in the promotion and development of new markets for the products and services of businesses;
• Provision of logistical, administrative and financial support that is more tailored to businesses that want to break into new markets.

The findings from the discussions will inform CED's ideas for the development of its renewed vision of the economic development of Quebec regions and guide its actions in the years ahead.

CED wants to thank everyone who took part in the call for ideas and roundtables, and plans to continue this constructive dialogue so that Quebec regions and enterprises can continue participating in sustainable economic growth to their full potential.

Related document

For more details on the Summary Report of the Dialogue on the economic development of Quebec regions, see the attached backgrounder.

Related link

To access the Summary Report of the Dialogue on the economic development of Quebec regions: http://www.dec-ced.gc.ca/eng/resources/consultations/economic-development.html.

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Backgrounder - Release of the Summary Report

Government of Canada releases the Summary Report of the Dialogue on the economic development of Quebec regions

The Summary Report of the Dialogue on the economic development of Quebec regions paints a picture of the strengths, challenges and opportunities in Quebec regions. It has identified many possible solutions that will help make Quebec enterprises more competitive from an economic, environmental and technological standpoint.

The discussions also touched upon action areas other than those of CED, such as improving infrastructure, training the workforce and youth, and welcoming immigrants. The report will also be shared with other federal and provincial departments, as well as regional economic development players.

The report is organized around three key areas of focus that are consistent with the action areas of Canada's Innovation Agenda.

Area 1: Building an innovative society and making businesses more competitive. For example:

• providing a governance structure for programs, in collaboration with other financial partners, that is more modern and more conducive to business development and that reflects the new legal, demographic, geographic, technical and entrepreneurial realities;
• improving collaboration among business and research environments in order to increase the opportunities for technological development and innovation in businesses' production methods.

Area 2: Making the regions more attractive to youth and professionals and improving the regions' performance by focusing on their comparative advantages. The following suggestions were made:

• actively promoting strategic alliance models for social and economic stakeholders and consolidating centres of excellence throughout the province;
• pursuing the technological and ecological modernization of equipment, infrastructure and public service delivery.

Area 3: Ensuring increased collaboration between governments and economic development partners to make government activities and programs more visible by:

• encouraging the development of joint programs with other public and private agencies;
• promoting Quebec products, services, activities and business models within Canada and abroad, through the Government of Canada.

Lastly, the report illustrates that Quebec has strengths that can be leveraged in a regional development approach, including:

• the emergence of a new generation of ambitious, responsible and creative entrepreneurs who have specific needs with respect to technology and infrastructure;
• the active participation of new organizations founded on innovative partnerships between the social and economic spheres, such as strategic alliances and centres of excellence that enable the optimal use of natural resources and the consolidation of a knowledge-based economy.

Overall, the comments presented in the Summary Report of the Dialogue on the economic development of Quebec regions demonstrate that the future of Quebec's regions is at the heart of concerns raised by the public and economic development stakeholders.