CEDC releases amended strategic plan

If a local economic development agency sticks to its plan then the future in Thunder Bay will be bright, says the agency’s leader.

Thunder Bay’s Community Economic Development Commission released its strategic action plan Monday, outlining its strategy for the next two years. Originally released in August 2008, the CEDC’s CEO Steve Demmings said the plan needed to be amended to highlight the changes in the region and global economy.

With developing countries on the lookout for raw materials to expand, Demmings said Thunder Bay could play an important role in that expansion. From gold to iron ore, the region holds a lot of strategic resources, he said.

"That is extremely important to the development of growing countries and is very important to us in terms of developing those resources," Demmings said.

A developing country’s "tremendous appetite" for resources could bring young people back to the city, create jobs and stimulate the economy if CEDC does its job, Demmings said.

"That could very much be a reality with the awesome future that we have," he added.

Planning the city’s most aggressive business retention and expansion strategy takes a lot of grunt work from the CEDC, Demmings said. Networking, marketing and branding Thunder Bay is all a part of bringing business to the city.

"We have intense competition right across the globe for business," he said.