Description

The Canada Community Revitalization Fund (CCRF) was a two-year, $500 million national infrastructure program to revitalize communities across Canada, providing the opportunity to incentivize and transform community infrastructure, including downtown areas, main streets and community spaces across Canada. Applications significantly exceeded the funding allocated, with no additional grants available. 

Background

Canada’s Community Revitalization program showed great promise in incentivizing the development and revitalization of significant public areas and had enough interest to become massively over-subscribed, with the number of applications exceeding the funding available. This level of interest demonstrates a high demand and the opportunity to further develop refreshed, active, and prosperous downtown and main street communities across Canada. 

Downtown districts are home to many of the oldest, most critical and historical organizations in cities across Canada and often are home to many small and start-up businesses. The economic impacts of COVID-19 restrictions were and still are heavily felt by stakeholders in these areas. Without Government investment and support, the responsibility of bringing tourism, new businesses, and commerce to downtown regions will fall largely on the same organizations that encountered deep and lasting financial impacts stemming from a persistent lack of traffic and business closures during COVID-19 lockdowns. These businesses support key regional supply chains, create thousands of jobs, and provide substantial property tax revenue to their municipalities. Many of these businesses and organizations carry cultural significance to their cities and contribute to tourism and travel experiences. Downtowns are also home to many social services and charity organizations, which rely heavily on local traffic, business donations and local volunteers to offer aid and support to vulnerable populations around Alberta, all of which were impacted during the pandemic. 

Expanded funding would assist in revitalizing downtown and main street businesses to prevent the loss of more historic and vital organizations and businesses. A concerted effort between tourism professionals, government, business associations and downtown stakeholders is necessary to renew the vibrancy and life in our nation’s downtown sectors.

Recommendation

The Medicine Hat & District Chamber of Commerce recommends that the Government of Canada:

1. Invest in Canada’s Community Revitalization Fund to inject funding for an additional two years focused on downtown and main street communities and businesses across Canada.
2. Focus the eligibility on applications that target downtown and main street projects and programs with a specific focus on those projects that will assist in attracting new investment, support existing businesses, create additional jobs and attract more people to their downtown and main street corridors.

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce recommends that the Government of Canada: 

1. Invest in Canada’s Community Revitalization Fund to inject funding for an additional two years. 
2. Focus the eligibility on applications that target downtown and main street projects and programs with a specific focus on those projects that will assist in attracting new investment, support existing businesses, create additional jobs and attract more people to their downtown and main street corridors.