Highlights

B usiness Relaunch
New financial assistance and fundin g options
Permit volume and Construction volume down from April 201 9
Grande Prairie's hotel occupancy 55.6 % in January 2020
Upcoming Webinars

Business Relaunch

As businesses reopen, there are many supports in the community to assist in the transition. From Business Ambassadors that can provide guidance on COVID-19 risk mitigation, to print materials and PPE procurement, GPREP's Business Relaunch section provides several resources to support local businesses in reopening and continuing operations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Contact business@gprepeoc.com for more information or to let us know how we can support your business.

Applications now open for RRRF & CECRA

Two new financial assistance applications opened this week. For businesses that were previously ineligible for the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA), you may be eligible for the Regional Recovery and Relief Fund (RRRF). The financing terms are the same as CEBA and the program is administered by by Community Futures locally.

For more information or to find out if you're eligible, visit Community Future's RRRF page or contact their office.

Also launched this week is the application for the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA). This provides relief for small businesses experiencing financial hardship by offering unsecured, forgivable loans to eligible commercial property owners.

For property owners to be eligible, they must offer a minimum of a 75% rent reduction for the months of April, May and June 2020.

For more information visit COVID–19: CECRA for small businesses.

Cooperative Investment Program for Tourism

Tourism is also getting attention this week with the revamped Travel Alberta Cooperative Investment Program which has some new streams and funding criteria.

The program is designed to assist tourism operators and organizations to RESTART consumer marketing activities and aid in the development of traveller products and packaging in a COVID-19 environment.

There are two intake dates, the first opening June 1-30, 2020, and then September 1-30, 2020. Partners are not required to match funds and capital costs for product development up to $5,000 may be eligible.

Visit Travel Alberta's Cooperative Investment Program page for more information.

Business Resiliency Taskforce

The City of Grande Prairie and County of Grande Prairie's economic development departments continue to collaborate along with the Chamber of Commerce to strive for business resiliency in our communities. For up-to-date business information, programs, and webinars, visit g randeprairiechamber.com/covid-19-business-resiliency/

Please don't hesitate to reach out for support or to provide feedback. Reply to this email or use the form at the website above.

May Newsletter Disclaimer

We are committed to providing the business community with the most up-to-date information available. We will continue to report in the same format for consistency but recognize it may not accurately reflect the current economic situation which is rapidly changing due to the COVID-19 pandemic and low oil prices. Please contact us if you have any questions or concerns by replying to this email.

Housing

There were 107 homes sold in Grande Prairie in April, bringing the total sales so far this year to 511 which is down 24% from the same period in 2019. The average sale price to date is $300,909, a 2% decrease from the same period last year.

The City saw 13 single-family and 3 multi-family housing starts so far this year, compared to 12 single-family and 17 multi-family starts in 2019. Overall, housing starts within the city were down 44.8% compared to same time last year.

The region as a whole has seen 16 single-family starts and 2 multi-family housing starts in the first quarter of 2020, compared to 15 single-family and 40 multi-family starts in Q1 2019. Overall, starts within the region are down 67.3%

New Construction

38 permits worth almost $2 million were issued in April, down 58% in permit volume and 72% in construction value from April 2019. This is largely due to building permits for commercial alterations and single detached homes.

Click on the links below for interactive maps showing where development is occurring throughout the city

Commercial | Residential | Industrial | Institutional

Employment

The region's unemployment rate saw an increase from 7.1% in March to 10.1%.

Provincially, the unemployment rate increased from 8.1% to 10.1%.

Drilling Report

137 drilling licenses were issued in Grande Prairie so far this year, a 50% decrease from the same period last year. Of the licenses issued to date, 50 are for oil, 80 for gas and 7 for other industry-related wells, compared to 102, 156 and 17 respectively for the same period in 2019.

Completions are up 13% so far this year, with 233 completions compared to 207 in 2019.

Overdimensional Vehicles

306 overdimensional vehicles passed through the city in April 2020, down from the 520 vehicles recorded for April 2019. To date, the city has seen a 41% decrease in overdimensional vehicle traffic compared to 2019.

Commodities

Power Update

April 2020 settled at $28.92/MWh, representing a 29% decrease from April 2019’s settle of $40.80/MWh and a 31% decrease from last month’s settle of $42.16/MWh.

April 2020 saw no influential pricing. This can be attributed to a combination of factors including demand destruction from both COVID-19 and oil production reduction (by 400,000bbl/ day), lower demand due to shoulder season variables such as extended daylight hours and temperatures increasing from cold to mild, as well as increased supply from spring runoff.

For more details, check out TC Energy's Power Market

Travel

The Grande Prairie Airport saw 31,842 passengers pass through its doors in January, a 12% decrease from 2019.

In January, the average hotel occupancy rate in Grande Prairie was 55.6%. The average occupancy for Grande Prairie is approximately 34% higher than similar cities in Alberta and higher than the provincial average of 41.6%

For additional information on the travel and tourism industry check out the Alberta Tourism Market Monitor.

News

Events

Building resilience in COVID-19 - ATB
Thursday, May 28 2:00 PM- 3:00 PM

Building Your Business Plan with the Business Model Canvas - ATB
Thursday, June 4 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM

Sandler 1/2 Day Digital Sales Workshop
Wednesday, June 3 9 AM - 12 PM

investgrandeprairie.com

For more information, contact:
ecdevinfo@cityofgp.com
780-538-0475

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Economic Development · 217 - 11330 106 Street · Grande Prairie, Alberta T8V 7X9 · Canada