September 2024 - Newsletter

We are currently in the process of switching over our current online application system (FPOA) to Salesforce.

What does this mean?

Beginning November 25, 2024, all of our programs will be applied for through Salesforce. We will no longer be using the FPOA or PDF application forms.

Does this impact any program intakes?

The Business Façade Improvement program intake deadline for eligible regions is changing for 2024. The NEW intake is October 1 to 31. This program will still be applied for through the FPOA.

Grant Writing Support (GWS) and Economic Development Capacity Building (EDCB) intake deadlines are changing for 2024. The NEW intake opening is December 1. This program will be applied for through Salesforce.

Internship Program deadlines are the same, however, both intern and host community applications will be applied for using PDF application forms for 2024 – not the FPOA.

What’s next?

Over the next four to six weeks, we will update our new FAQ page and social media accounts to keep you apprised of upcoming changes.

On August 3, the Vanderhoof International Airshow Society hosted the 2024 Masters of the Sky Exhibition. The main attraction at the event was a B17 Flying Fortress, the aircraft used in WW2 by the United States all through the engagement.

The society was able to provide this event thanks in part to a $5,000 Fabulous Festivals and Events grant.

At the end of August, Northern Development Initiative Trust launched a new economic visualization tool that provides economic insights for northern and central British Columbia.

The Northern Economic Dependencies Dashboard – or NEDD – presents information at three different levels: for the north/central region as a whole, the nine regional districts in Northern Development’s service region, and 32 local areas – which combines the region’s communities, including First Nations.

NEDD aims to help residents, economic development officers, and local and First Nation governments understand the impact of economic changes and industry transitions in their communities.

Features of NEDD include:
-Visualization of economic data at regional, district, and local levels
-Analysis of industry diversity, location quotients, and employment impact ratios
-Insights into population changes, job distribution, and income dependencies
-Forest sector vulnerability index

The dashboard offers both current snapshots and five-year change data, allowing users to track economic trends over time. It provides a range of indicators, from basic population and job data to more complex economic metrics such as industry diversity indices and local supply shares.

NEDD is designed to be user-friendly, featuring drop-down menus, printable graphics, and easy comparisons. It also allows for the download of raw data for custom analysis.

The first update of the digital State of the North economic dashboard went live on September 5.

In May, Northern Development officially launched the site, which contains all of the information and statistics previously found in the annual State of the North reports.

The following sections of the dashboard are updated with new stats and commentary:

-GDP
-Exchange Rate
-Unemployment Rate
-Labour Force
-Job Vacancies
-Bankruptcies
-Tourism
-Mining, Oil and Gas

Some takeaways from the updates:

-Across B.C., job vacancies and job vacancy rates have declined and are closer to pre-pandemic levels. Industries such as construction, accommodation and the food services sector show significant declines in job vacancies

-Hospitality sector employment is down, which is likely linked to elevated interest rates causing declining levels of discretionary spending

-Global natural gas prices trended downwards in the first half of 2024, amid excess global supply. However, drilling activity in B.C. has trended upwards to support export capacity coming online once LNG Canada begins operations in 2025

The next State of the North update will be posted in November.