The City of Terrace is marking National Economic Development Week from May 9–13, 2022, to celebrate the contributions of positive economic development and explain the role of the profession.

Economic development is important for governments and organizations at all levels. Here at the City of Terrace, National Economic Development Week will be celebrated each day with an example of how economic development positively enhances the community, with features on local partners, business support agencies, and our own efforts to retain, expand, and attract businesses to contribute to the sustainability and vibrancy of our amazing community. Scroll down on this page for those stories starting on Monday, May 9!

To learn more about economic development in Terrace, visit terrace.ca/ecdev.

Economic Development Stories

Monday, May 9: Our Award-Winning Projects

To kick off the week, we must take a moment to celebrate our award-winning achievements!

In April, we received an Economic Development Marketing Innovation Award at the 2022 BC Economic Development Awards. We received this award for the Northwest BC Workforce and Resident Attraction Initiative, known fondly as WARA. But we did not do this work alone: the WARA team also included the District of Kitimat, City of Prince Rupert, Village of Hazelton, District of New Hazelton, and Regional District of Kitimat-Stikine.

WARA aims to address the urgent need for talent attraction supports to help combat the fly-in-fly-out mentality of a portion of the workforce in the northwest. The project includes assets employers can use for their recruitment efforts, including the Live Northwest BC website, community profiles, maps, videos, images, and brochures. Since its launch, the project has supported major employers like the Coast Mountain School District, MNP, Coastal GasLink, and LNG Canada in their recruitment efforts.

To see elements of the completed project, visit the Live Northwest BC website.

Another award-winning program is the Shop Local Passport program, which we started in the December 2020 holiday season and ran again in December 2021. People could pick up a passport booklet and get stamps at local participating businesses as they shopped. Once participants had 10 stamps, they earned an entry into a draw. At the end of the event, thousands of dollars in prizes were given out to the lucky winners. The Shop Local Passport was created and sponsored by the City of Terrace, Terrace and District Chamber of Commerce, Community Futures 16/37, Kermodei Tourism, and the Regional District of Kitimat-Stikine—and their efforts paid off when the program received an Economic Recovery and Resiliency Award from the BC Economic Development Association last year.

We are proud of these exciting, collaborative achievements and can’t wait to see what comes next.

Tuesday, May 10: Downtown Revitalization

The City of Terrace provides a variety of programs that support business growth, like the Downtown Revitalization Tax Exemption program, which provides an incentive for new commercial and residential projects or significant re-development of existing buildings and property in our downtown. Eligible projects have received a 5-year tax exemption for all, or a portion, of the municipal property taxes following completion of works specified in a Development Permit and/or Building Permit. This program helps support ongoing redevelopment and revitalization of the downtown to secure the future economic and social health of the City of Terrace. It helps rejuvenate the downtown core, ensure success of the local economy, and help achieve Council’s objectives related to downtown revitalization in the Official Community Plan and Downtown Plan. Find the bylaw here.

Another example is our parklet program. The first pilot project in 2019 gave local businesses a chance to add extra seating to their business with a small, prefabricated patio situated in a parking space outside their door; today, we rent out two parklets for 60-day terms during the summer months. Businesses can also design and construct their own parklet using our guide.

Parklets play an important role in downtown revitalization and encourage positive use of our downtown amenities. We are currently accepting applicants for the 2022 season and encourage businesses to reach out ASAP to get started!

Learn more about the parklet program: jcherniawsky@terrace.ca or 250-615-4041.

Wednesday, May 11: Community Collaboration

Economic development assists in the development and implementation of projects, programs, and policies that assist with the stimulation of the local economy through business attraction, retention, and expansion. At the City of Terrace, we couldn’t do this without the help of so many other groups in the Northwest.

Here are just a few examples:

• Terrace and District Economic Response Team: Composed of the City of Terrace, Terrace and District Chamber of Commerce, Kermodei Tourism, Community Futures 16/37, and the Regional District of Kitimat-Stikine, this group came together to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic’s effects on local businesses with information, advocacy, and programs like the Shop Local Passport that had an economic impact of over $350,000 last winter.
• Northern Development Initiative Trust: A non-profit corporation, NDIT is the catalyst to stimulate economic growth by investing in grassroots, community-led projects. NDIT also works with municipalities; for example, the City of Terrace’s Grant Writing Support pilot program was administered with financial support from NDIT.
• Love Northern BC: A supporter of local businesses across northern BC, Love Northern BC is the umbrella organization that includes our local Love Terrace.
• WARA Team: As mentioned earlier this week, our award-winning Workforce and Resident Attraction Project is a joint effort between the City of Terrace, District of Kitimat, City of Prince Rupert, Village of Hazelton, District of New Hazelton, and Regional District of Kitimat-Stikine.

We are so grateful for all our partners in the northwest!

Thursday, May 12: Grant Writer Program

Thanks to a commitment from LNG Canada and annual successful grant applications to Northern Development Initiative Trust, the City of Terrace’s Grant Writing Support program continues through 2023.

Started as a pilot program in 2020, it has provided the services of a professional grant writer to City staff and local community groups. It was administered throughout the year, with assistance from the Terrace Community Foundation and financial support from Northern Development Initiative Trust and LNG Canada. To date, the grant writer has assisted the City and local non-profits to apply for over $12.5 million in funding.

We love that this program supports the City’s grants for projects that benefit the community while also supporting other community groups’ grants for projects that benefit the community. It’s a win-win-win!

Head to our grant page for more information about this program.

May 13: Our New Strategic Plan

This January, Council approved the 2022–2024 Economic Development Strategic Plan, which provides direction on how to allocate resources to achieve both short- and long-term goals. The three key goals are to:

• Optimize Terrace’s Investment Readiness: We’re working with other agencies and local employers to understand both the advantages and challenges in Terrace’s target sectors.
• Improve Terrace’s Position as an Economic and Cultural Hub: We’re developing a comprehensive business retention and expansion program to provide supports for small businesses, improve the perceived and physical image of Terrace, and ensure entrepreneurs in the community have the resources they need to grow.
• Increase and Maintain Terrace’s Industrial Tax Base: We’re connecting with businesses that could take advantage of the land available at the Skeena Industrial Development Park and finding incentives to draw them there, while also using the Investment Attraction Strategy to continue to market Terrace in general.

What’s already underway? We’re making improvements on the development approval process to make it easier to apply, getting ready to implement online business licensing, and supporting the Terrace Downtown Improvement Area with access to the grant writer for downtown beautification grants. And there's much more to come, so stay tuned for more updates as we continue to make strides in economic development in Terrace!

Thanks for sharing Economic Development Week with us!