ST. PAUL – The County of St. Paul and its regional partners secured seven grants for 2025 worth over $800,000 aimed at advancing initiatives expected to boost local job creation, economic diversification, tourism enhancement, and improvement of regional services.
The St. Paul Elk Point Economic Development Alliance (STEP) managed the application process for the grants.
STEP is a regional partnership between the County of St. Paul, Town of St. Paul, Town of Elk Point, and the Summer Village of Horseshoe Bay. STEP manages economic development opportunities and growth in the St. Paul region.
Linda Sallstrom, Economic Development Officer for STEP, said the grants will help realize some of the economic growth priorities in the region, “and provide councils with the information they need to make the decisions on how to move forward.”
Grants managed by the County of St. Paul
For grants are directly managed by the County of St. Paul and a significant portion of funding will go toward agricultural and investment initiatives, said Sallstrom.
One of the two grants managed by the County is a $200,000 Alberta Community Partnership (ACP) grant, which involves creating an inventory of agricultural assets within the STEP region.
The grant covers nine priority areas such as feedstock, value-added production, and agri-retail, with the goal of identifying existing assets, business linkages, and developing targeted marketing materials to support future development.
The other grant is a $35,000 CanExport Community Investments (CECI) grant to fund foreign directed investment (FDI) opportunities.
Horseshoe Bay managed grant
The Summer Village of Horseshoe Bay secured a $200,000 ACP grant for the Alberta Iron Horse Trail (AIHT) Staging Area Development Plans initiative.
Sallstrom said the project focuses on developing staging areas along the Iron Horse Trail across several municipalities in Northeast Alberta. This is aimed at enhancing tourism opportunities in the region.
Regional Waste Management Service Delivery
In partnership with seven municipalities, the Town of St. Paul received a $150,000 ACP grant for Regional Waste Management Service Delivery.
The project will build on a collective partnership through the Evergreen Regional Waste Management Services Commission, which would involve assessing current waste management operations, identifying gaps, and the evaluation of potential new service delivery models.
The intention is to enhance service efficiency, in addition to extending landfill lifespan, reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and supporting a coordinated regional waste management strategy.
“Waste management is a regional responsibility,” said Town of St. Paul Mayor Maureen Miller, expressing her excitement with the grant approval. “We have to do this as a team . . . as steward of the land.”
“So, we want to make sure we are as efficient as possible,” she said.
Meat processing facility study
The MD of Bonnyville also obtained a $175,000 ACP grant to conduct a study on the current state of meat processing in the MD and the County of St. Paul.
The overall goal is to understand the feasibility of meat processing facilities to strengthen the agricultural sector in the region, but also to potentially further support local food systems.
MD of Bonnyville Reeve Barry Kalinski, on behalf of the MD, says he is excited about the development. “Agriculture is an important part of our community and our region,” he said.
“Securing funding to assess the need for a meat processing facility to boost our local economy and support our local food system is a step forward for the future of agriculture in both the MD and the County of St. Paul,” said Kalinski.
Indigenous flight training proposal
Also, the University nuhelot’įne thaiyots’į nistameyimâkanak Blue Quills (UnBQ) has been approved a $35,000 Indigenous Reconciliation grant to study the feasibility of a flight training program at the university.
The study will involve assessing demand in the aviation sector in the region.
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