Vegreville receives grant to bring jobs and businesses to town
The Government of Canada has announced that the Town of Vegreville will receive $8,250,000 through the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program to build the Town of Vegreville Agri-Food Industrial Park. The Industrial Park will be located at SE17-52-14-W4 and construction will begin in May 2021 after the project goes through the tender process. Following the Government of Canada's official announcement, members of Town Council met with Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville MLA, Jackie Armstrong-Homeniuk, at the future home of the Agri-Food Park to highlight the positive impacts that this project will have on Vegreville.
The eighty-acre development will be fully serviced and will target leading hemp innovators to the bustling industry in Vegreville. The project, costing $9,900,000, will create approximately 200 jobs and is expected to be completed by October 2022.
Minister of Infrastructure, Prasad Panda said,
"Vegreville is a town of significant cultural and regional importance. Alberta's Recovery Plan commits to building infrastructure to get people back to work and attract private sector investment. Today's announcement, in conjunction with the federal government, will create good jobs for skilled tradespeople in Vegreville and help generate local economic activity. I'd like to thank MLA Jackie Armstrong-Homeniuk for her tireless advocacy for this project, along with Mayor Tim McPhee. The two of them showed up in my office literally the day after I was named Infrastructure Minister to advocate for this project, and I'm grateful to see federal approval today."
MLA Jackie Armstrong-Homeniuk, Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville said,
"I'm ecstatic to see this project go forward, creating jobs and diversifying our economy at a time we need it most. I'd like to thank Premier Kenney, Minister Panda, and Minister McIvor for their tireless advocacy for this project. Since Minister Panda was named Infrastructure Minister I have been advocating for this project, and it's wonderful to see all three levels of government partnered together to move this important project forward. I would also like to thank Mayor McPhee and his council for all of their tireless effort and as well to the Government of Canada for their important participation."
Mayor Tim MacPhee said,
"On behalf of the Town of Vegreville, I'd like to thank the federal and provincial governments for their help in receiving this grant. Three years ago, we came together as a community. Town council, our economic development department, the chamber, and some business leaders met and identified what we needed to do to improve the economic outlook of our town. Our main focus was jobs, so by creating this completely serviced agri-food park and with a couple of new industries lined up, we hopefully will be able to move forward with creating some new jobs to attract people to our community and create employment for our youth so they can stay within our community. This has been quite a long process that included three federal ministers of infrastructure and two different provincial governments. There are many people to thank, and I cannot thank everybody in this news release. I want to thank Minister Panda and his staff – I was the very first elected official in his office when he became the Minister, and he has taken a personal interest in our situation – thank you very much. I would also like to thank Minister McKenna in Ottawa and her staff for not getting too mad when I kept checking every two days by email how the process was going. I'd also like to thank our MP Shannon Stubbs for her continued advocacy for Vegreville and it's residents. Finally, I'd like to thank our friends at Alberta Counsel. I hope that we can get some shovels in the ground as quickly as possible!"
For future updates on the project, please visit www.vegreville.com.
About the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP):
The governments of Canada and Alberta are working together to make long-term infrastructure investments that will build inclusive and prosperous communities, as well as support a low carbon, green economy - leading to a higher quality of life for all Canadians. Through the Federal government's ICIP, Alberta is receiving $3.65 billion over the next ten years (2018-28). These projects will be cost-shared with the Alberta government, municipalities and other partners.
For more media inquiries, please contact:
Kaleb Brink, Communications Coordinator
T: 780-632-2606 E: kbrink@vegreville.com