Also called RDA, ACOA, PrairiesCan, PacifiCan, FedDev Ontario, FedNor, CanNor, CED Quebec
What are the regional development agencies?
Seven federal agencies, each covering one part of Canada, that fund business growth in their own region.
What else it is called
- Other names
- RDA, ACOA, PrairiesCan, PacifiCan, FedDev Ontario, FedNor, CanNor, CED Quebec
- In French
- agences de développement régional
Related entries
Understanding regional development agencies
Canada delivers federal regional economic development through seven agencies, each responsible for its own territory. The Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency covers the four Atlantic provinces. Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions covers Quebec. The Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario and FedNor cover southern and northern Ontario. Prairies Economic Development Canada covers Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Pacific Economic Development Canada covers British Columbia. The Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency covers the three territories.
They offer broadly comparable things, chiefly repayable interest-free contributions for productivity and expansion projects and funding for regional initiatives, but the programme names, the thresholds and the priorities differ. That is worth knowing because advice found online is usually written for one region and does not transfer cleanly.
Which agency applies is determined by where the work happens. A company with plants in two regions deals with two agencies.
In practice
If you are reading about a federal funding programme and the article names an agency that is not yours, check the equivalent rather than assuming the terms are the same.
Frequently asked
Which agency do we deal with?
The one covering the province where the project happens. For a plant in Prince Edward Island that is the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency; for one in Manitoba it is Prairies Economic Development Canada.
How are these different from the Business Development Bank?
The bank lends at commercial rates and is available nationally. A regional agency provides interest-free repayable contributions for projects that fit its regional mandate, and the assessment includes what the project does for the region rather than only whether you can repay.