Sault Ste. Marie's Economic Diversification Strategy

Destiny Sault Ste. Marie

In December 2001, FedNor/Industry Canada announced the creation of a $3 million Economic Diversification Fund for the City of Sault Ste. Marie (SSM) and immediate region. With an additional $500,000 made available by FedNor to the Community Development Corporation (CDC) of Sault Ste. Marie & Area to facilitate the development of a Sault Ste. Marie economic diversification strategy, a partnership was formed between the CDC, the Sault Ste. Marie Economic Development Corporation (SSMEDC), and the City of Sault Ste. Marie to develop and implement a diversification strategy.

By November 2002, Destiny Sault Ste. Marie, Sault Ste. Marie's Economic Diversification Strategy was born. Destiny Sault Ste. Marie is a strategy for economic development developed by analyzing past economic efforts, listening to businesses and citizens, learning from other communities' experiences and consultation with federal and provincial government staff.

Destiny Sault Ste. Marie facilitates, guides, works, monitors and promotes the generation of economic wealth in the community through a specific set of targeted growth and diversification initiatives and projects, in order to support a growing population base.

The key outputs of Destiny Sault Ste. Marie will be new jobs, population recovery and a varied economy, capable of growth. Destiny's immediate objective is to create 1,500 direct jobs and 1,500 spin-off jobs in the community by 2005. Associated construction would create further employment in the community. Destiny's long-term goal is to generate 8,000 jobs over the next 10 years. The CDC continues as one of the lead partners and financial administrator of this initiative.

Destiny Sault Ste. Marie is a collaborative effort between the City of Sault Ste. Marie, the Sault Ste. Marie Economic Development Corporation and the Sault Ste. Marie Chamber of Commerce with support from FedNor, Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation, Human Resources and Skills Development Canada and Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities. Visit Destiny Sault Ste. Marie for more information.

Community Quality Initiative

In 1998, Sault Ste. Marie embarked on a grassroots strategic planning process called Building An Extraordinary Community (BEC). During the implementation of the project it was recognized that additional efforts would be helpful to facilitate the ongoing advancement of the community. The Communities Quality Initiative (CQI) is the result.

The CQI project was undertaken to foster the pursuit of continuous quality improvement in organizations and businesses in the region.

The CDC was one of the lead partners in the BEC process and is one of the founding members of CQI. To learn more about these initiatives, click here.

Algoma Workforce Development Group

The Algoma Workforce Development Group, under the leadership of Sault College and in partnership with the CDC of Sault Ste. Marie & Area, East Algoma CFDC, Superior East CFDC and Destiny Sault Ste. Marie with funding by HRSDC and MTCU commissioned a Trends, Opportunity and Priorities (TOP) Report for the Algoma District.

The TOP Report is the result of an interactive process between the consultant, steering committee and community stakeholders. The process has involved data analysis, an employer survey, focus groups, community consultations and interviews.