The federal government is making FedNor a stand-alone agency.
Municipal leaders in northern Ontario have long wanted the regional economic development funding initiative to have greater independence to funding requests.
Terry Sheehan, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister responsible for FedNor, the government is responding.
“Stakeholders told us that FedNor needed more independence and local decision making to ensure it could better respond to the region’s economic development needs. That’s what we’re doing here today,” says Sheehan.
The switch from a government program to a separate agency also comes with a larger budget.
The government first announced the transition in the 2021 budget.
Sheehan says the change will allow FedNor to better respond to the needs of northern Ontario.
“It’s going to be faster, nimbler, more responsive to the realities of northern Ontario and within northern Ontario,” says Sheehan.
The regional development program was first created in 1987, operating under various ministries until now.
Sheehan says FedNor has invested more than $1.4 billion since to support over 7,500 projects, creating and maintaining 87,500 jobs across the region.
