BONNYVILLE – Where are we now? Where do we want to go? And how do we get there? Those are the questions that consultants from Deloitte looked to answer when creating an Economic Development Action Plan for the Town of Bonnyville.
On Aug. 22, managing director Paul Blais and senior manager Clark Hoskin from Deloitte presented an in-depth action plan to council, designed to assist the municipality achieve its economic development goals.
The process began in February after council agreed to conduct an Economic Development Strategic Plan for the Town. The action plan was recently completed, reviewed and endorsed by the municipality’s Economic Development Committee at a meeting held in June.
“The primary outcome of this project was to update priority areas for the Town of Bonnyville while creating specific action items aligned within the Bonnyville Regional Economic Development Strategy in order to grow the community beyond current projections,” states information provided by the municipality.
Where are we now?
To understand the current economic environment of the community, Deloitte carried out an analysis of the population, age and average income of the Town’s residents.
As of 2021, 6,404 people called the Town of Bonnyville home. This is an increase of seven per cent from 2016.
Based on data from 2021, the average age of town residents is 36.0, which is lower than the provincial average that sits at 38.4.
“This means that there is a bulk of the community that... are in their primary wage-earning years. [The town] neither has a lot of really young people nor do you have a lot of seniors, which rural communities traditionally struggle with as a place where people age but don't necessarily work – and that hurts the economy,” explained Blais.
Another important metric that has a significant impact on economic development is residents’ average household income. From 2015 to 2020, the average household income dropped by 16 per cent. As of 2020, the average combined household income of town residents is $85,000 annually.
Using a “Compound Annual Growth Rate” projection model, which takes historical data to project future population numbers based on the previous 10 and 20-year population, it suggests that the town could expect a population growth ranging from 6,797 to 7,184 residents by 2041.
This model only looks at the past to predict the future population. It does not take into account any future development projects that may be constructed in the region.
Where do we want to go?
Feedback provided by stakeholders during a focused engagement session had participants sharing the strengths and weaknesses of the Town when it comes to the municipality's current economic development efforts.
“The in-community visits and other conversations we had with community members, business and community leaders were very important in defining some future directions that the community can see itself being a part of,” shared Blais.
“There's a strong feeling that the Town of Bonnyville is a regional hub and it's the heart of the northeastern region – that makes it a retail and service center and industrial center.”
Other positives that stakeholders felt could be promoted included a family-oriented community, low cost of living and housing, access to daycare options, good schools, a health centre and a variety of sporting teams.
“Tourism was mentioned frequently as an underdeveloped opportunity for the Town of Bonnyville,” Blais shared with council. “Stakeholders also noted that there is a lack of communication and connection to Town administration and elected officials, specifically with economic development activities that are happening within the town.”
The need to diversify the local economy was acknowledged as a way to move away from Bonnyville’s historic boom-and-bust cycles. Key sectors that were identified for diversification efforts were energy, tourism and retail sectors.
Another area of improvement that stakeholders strongly agreed on is that the town’s Main Street and downtown need to be revitalized.
“A deteriorating downtown area is of concern to many stakeholders. Many felt that current first impressions of the Town of Bonnyville leave many residents, potential investors, and visitors with the wrong impression of the Town’s potential,” notes information provided by Deloitte.
Action plan
So how does the consultancy firm think the Town can achieve its economic development goals?
Deloitte provided five areas of focus, with step-by-step strategies for the municipality to work towards those goals.
These goals include revitalizing neighborhoods and community spirit, laying the groundwork for developing sport tourism, developing vacant industrial land, operating a best-in-class economic development office and pursuing new retail, processing and service opportunities.
When it comes to attracting big box retailers, Blais acknowledged that the town would be competing with other larger municipalities in the region but emphasized that smaller retailers could be a better fit.
“There are opportunities to attract some unique operators and that actually can be even more beneficial to a Main Street than anything else,” noted Blais.
Employment in retail trade was the third highest among all sectors in the Town of Bonnyville with 408 jobs in the sector, about 6.9 per cent of the total jobs in town.
When it comes to sports tourism, Hoskin pointed out, “There already is a regional effort that's starting to begin around exploring this and it's important for the communities to work together. No community is an island when it comes to tourism.”
When speaking about developing vacant industrial land, Hoskin acknowledged challenges faced by the municipality, but offered ways to overcome boundary constraints.
“There is a hunger for affordable industrial properties outside of larger centres that's been documented through talking to site selectors. The trick in Bonnyville is that the Town itself doesn't own a lot of land and so it's important for you to build those relationships with your private sector landowners to help build out, wherever possible, additional development on that land via industrial or commercial,” stated Hoskin.
Following the presentation, Mayor Elisa Brosseau said it was encouraging to see the Economic Development Action Plan for the Town.
“As we take a look at the population trend, it really isn't a significant change... but it gives us a playbook to help us identify those ways to increase population, retail and commerce,” said Brosseau.
Later in the meeting, council voted unanimously to approve the Economic Development Strategic Plan as presented.
