Significant Progress

Way Forward Commitment:

Our government is strategically targeting sectors of our economy to support growth and diversification, including mining, forestry, oil and gas, tourism, agriculture, aquaculture and technology. We have taken steps to attract more investment activity in these sectors. In the agriculture sector, for example, we have made more than 64,000 hectares of new Crown land available for farming, which provides strategic opportunities for investment.

Further, the recent favourable private-sector response to a Request for Proposals to lease the Bull Arm fabrication site points to the interest in, and potential of, targeted and strategic investment attraction activities. In 2018-19, our government will align resources to target key sectors and identify priority business opportunities and markets to advance economic development in our province.

Way Forward Commitment:

• The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador has announced priority sectors for economic growth and job creation. These sectors include mining, forestry, oil and gas, tourism, agriculture, community, social enterprises, aquaculture and technology (information technology, aerospace and defence, environmental industries and manufacturing).
• The Department of Fisheries and Land Resources (FLR) is currently working on a report to identify potential gaps in the Aquaculture Services and Supply Sector.
• In 2018-19 FLR entered into a new FPT Agriculture Framework Agreement, the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, to invest $37 million over five years for the NL agriculture and agrifoods industry.  Investment will support new entrants, secondary processing, economic growth, and food self-sufficiency.
• The Provincial Government, in partnership with the Newfoundland and Labrador Forest Industry Association and forest sector stakeholders, launched the Forestry Sector Work Plan – a roadmap of 32 actions intended to diversify the forest industry in Newfoundland and Labrador, strengthen the provincial economy and support job creation, on January 28, 2019.
• The Department of Natural Resources (NR) has launched Mining the Future 2030. An initiative of The Way Forward, this industry development plan was created through collaboration with Mining Industry NL, with the goal of strategically positioning Newfoundland and Labrador as a globally competitive, top tier jurisdiction for mineral exploration and development.
•  In January 2017, the Oil and Gas Industry Development Council was established to create a long-term vision for the province’s oil and gas industry, with a focus on promoting development, competitiveness and sustainability. The council began to discuss opportunities and actions required to grow the oil and gas industry, with a vision that is driven by an innovative, sustainable, local industry that is globally competitive, environmentally responsible, and maximizes benefits to the people of the province. In February 2018, the Provincial Government released Advance 2030 – A Plan for Growth in the Newfoundland and Labrador Oil and Gas Industry.
• In a globally competitive, capital-intensive industry where jurisdictions around the world compete for investment Newfoundland and Labrador supported the development of the national Canada Minerals Metals Plan with an anticipated launch at the upcoming 2019 Prospectors and Developer Association of Canada (PDAC) conference to align a number of priority initiatives to advance our sector competitiveness.
• The Department of Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation supported the Invest NL conference, with attendance of 135 people, including 20 speakers, over 25 startups and students, 20+ pitchers, and 20+ investors both local and from off the island.

News Releases:

Provincial Government Embarks on New Economic Growth Strategy Through The Way Forward