Save the Date:

June 17th at 5:30 pm

Heritage Inn and Convention Centre

Celebrating the 2020 Business of the Year Nominees

Our weekly newsletter is available to members only and provides valuable business information such as:

Congratulations to these three local businesses on being the first three of our region to join the marketplace. It is free to join this year, contact the chamber for details on how to get your store online.

Chamber members can use the code: Chamber when registering for the courses below.

Our REDA (Regional Economic Development Alliance) has launched their new website. Easy to navigate and plenty of economic development information about our region.

From March 1 through March 26, your insights on skills, training, and Alberta’s labour market will directly inform our advocacy to government.

EDMONTON — Alberta Chambers of Commerce (ACC) President and CEO Ken Kobly released the following statement on Alberta Budget 2021:

"Today's budget is, necessarily, one driven by the realities of the COVID-19 pandemic. It reflects the pressures of rising healthcare costs, low energy prices, and a global recession while highlighting the need for economic reopening.

"As Alberta's government continues to invest in pandemic recovery, these funds must be used for the immediate challenge of getting our economy open again. In addition to the vaccine rollout, Alberta's government needs to direct resources towards reopening shuttered businesses. Whether that's working with industries on ways to safely operate or connecting with business operators around individual exemptions, this is our province's most pressing economic opportunity.

"This budget itself rests on reopening. It relies on some significant improvements—including a rebound of Alberta's economy, increased employment, and a stabilized energy market—that will quite simply not be possible with a closed down economy. If we are going to meet these targets, we don't have time to waste in getting Albertans back to work."

Ken Kobly

President and CEO

Alberta Chambers of Commerce

ACC initial budget briefing

Key points for Alberta business from Budget 2021:

Mayors Don Iveson (Edmonton) and Naheed Nenshi (Calgary) weigh in on the

provincial budget on this podcast.

February 26, 2021

AUMA acknowledges that 2020 and 2021 have been a period of economic uncertainty, and that Alberta’s government faces difficult choices due to the COVID-19 pandemic, oil price shock and the global economic recession. While the provincial government attempts to re-establish a sustainable fiscal trajectory, the broken promises and choices made in Budget 2021 and the corresponding three-year fiscal plan will have a long-term impact on Albertans, who live and work in our communities.

Last weeks poll, what would you like to see in the newsletter:

Survey only allows for one choice:

Grant opportunities: 37.5%

Free webinars: 12.5%

Business conferences: 12.5%

Hear from local professionals: 12.5%

Low interest loans:12.5%

All and more: 12.5%

This March, Cybera will be teaming up with organizations in Alberta’s rural connectivity space to host the first annual Alberta Rural Connectivity Forum.

Running online from March 23-24, 2021, the Alberta Rural Connectivity Forum will gather broadband stakeholders from across Alberta to discuss internet access opportunities for residents, businesses, and public organizations.

Recognizing the central importance of broadband to the province’s future, and the lack of a unified response to this problem, the Alberta Rural Connectivity Forum will bring together partners in government, policy and advocacy to share experiences and workshop solutions.

 Webinar 3, March 10, 2021 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

This final session wrap up the workshop series by connecting with two retail food buyers who will share their insights on successfully getting into retail. These Alberta buyers will talk about their retail program, what is important, and how to work with them when you are onboarding your products with their banner stores. A business advisor from ATB Entrepreneur Centre will also join the speaker panel to share how they can work with you to become ready for the market place and about the ATB Market Place now available to Alberta entrepreneurs. In this final workshop you will come away with the ability to finalize your plan and be ready to successfully sell into retail.

March 4th 10 - 11 am

Social media marketing plays a big role in promoting your tourism business, but it can be difficult to know which platforms you should be investing your time and resources in. Instagram is a visual-first platform and one of the most important in today’s marketing world. But with over a billion users, many different content features, and a seemingly ever-changing algorithm, how can you stand out and how do you decide what type of content to share? In this webinar, Travel Alberta’s Social Media and Consumer Marketing Specialist, Courtney Manson, offers advice on identifying your strategy and goals for Instagram and how to grow your audience, explains all of Instagram’s features and how to use them, and provides insight into how Travel Alberta is leveraging Instagram to support business objectives.

Thursday, March 18, 10:00 - 11:00 a.m.

Ecommerce is at an all-time high. Lockdowns, travel bans, and business restrictions shifted consumers online, and the world’s largest retailers soon followed—in some cases, selling direct to consumer (DTC) for the very first time. For businesses big and small, demand will remain high and eCommerce is here to stay. To learn what’s new in eCommerce and how it can help your business stand out in the crowd, join the marketing crew from Carmella for an overview of the trends and best practices for 2021 and beyond.

Nearly 15 per cent of Canada's electricity is generated by nuclear technology. Small modular reactor technologies could be the future of this industry. Moderated by Maureen Kolla of Alberta Innovates, each webinar in the series features subject matter experts representing a range of private and public sector organizations participating in Canada’s Small Modular Reactor (SMR) Action Plan.

This virtual webinar series is open to anyone who wants to learn about innovation in Canada’s nuclear industry.

Let’s Talk Tech – A Deep Dive on SMR Technologies

March 2, 2021

9:00 am – 12:00 am MST

How to build a website, step by step

Follow these steps to help you build and launch your website today:

Decide on the goal of your website

Choose a website builder

Choose a web host

Pick a custom domain name

Decide on a layout

Add relevant pages

Connect a payment system

Add business tools

Preview, test, and publish your website

The department of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, has launched a newly designed online hub for the Canadian tourism sector. The site contains information and resources for businesses in the tourism sector, including the latest financial supports available for tourism businesses.

•         Community Foundations of Canada is currently accepting applications for project funding. The first intake for applications will close on March 9th, 2021 at 5:00PM PST

•         The initiative is supporting projects under three main themes:

o   Creating safe and vibrant public spaces

o   Improving mobility options

o   Digital solutions

Starting in mid-April, the Enhanced COVID-19 Business Benefit will provide funding to eligible small and medium businesses most affected by the pandemic and ongoing public health restrictions. Payments will be calculated based on 15% of the eligible business’s monthly revenue, up to a maximum of $10,000. Businesses can use these funds as they see fit to help offset the costs of re-opening, and implementing public health measures including:

o        physical barriers

o        purchasing personal protective equipment and disinfecting supplies

o        paying rent and employee wages

o        replacing inventory

o        expanding online business or e-commerce opportunities

This program is for farmers in their first, second or third year of pre-certification or for farmers already certified organic and are increasing their organic acreage.

Canada Organic Trade Association is accepting applications until all funds are allocated, or by June 30, 2021.

As an employee, you may be able to claim certain home office expenses (work-space-in-the-home expenses, office supplies, and certain phone expenses).

This deduction is claimed on your personal income tax return. Deductions reduce the amount of income you pay tax on, so they reduce your overall income tax liability.

Two options available:

Google Market Finder, is a free tool to identify new potential markets, discover helpful operational information and start selling to customers at home and around the world.

The first signs that the world is winning the battle with COVID-19 has sparked great news for the global economy as the number of people vaccinated grows and the death rate falls.

Once shops and factories reopen, once people trapped working from home are finally set free to spend on restaurant meals and travel, sharing the savings they couldn't spend during lockdown, that recirculation of money is the very thing that will make economies strong.

So it is fair to ask why stock markets tumbled last Thursday — the Dow and the Toronto market were down again Friday — if the economy is recovering.

Dr. Jana Rieger and her team created Mobili-T to help patients with dysphagia, a medical term for a swallowing disorder that occurs as a side effect of those medical conditions.

Wildfire season runs from March 1 to Oct. 31 in Alberta, which means permits are now required for activities such as residential, industrial or agricultural debris burning.

The wildfire hazard is highest in the spring months when fuels like trees and grass have extremely low moisture content after the snow has melted and evaporated.

Alberta Wildfire continues to make progress on the Spring 2019 Wildfire Review recommendations. Some initiatives have been completed in advance of this wildfire season, while others are multi-year projects.

Key accomplishments to date include:

To do our part:

Video released by the Alberta Government explains how to identify a victim of human trafficking, as well as how to get assistance for those impacted by the crime.