Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Committee members, good evening. Thank you for the opportunity to speak about the economy of Prince Edward Island and ACOA's work to foster economic growth. As the chair pointed out, I'm joined today by Lynne Beairsto.
P.E.I., as you well know, is Canada's smallest province, with a population of about 146,000. Outside of Charlottetown, the province is largely rural. Its primary industries of farming, fishing, and tourism reflect this. These industries, key drivers of the island's economy, have adapted in recent years to global trends and emerging market opportunities. ACOA was a central player in the transformation and growth of several sectors that have emerged to play key roles in the province's economy.
While the economy is performing relatively well, there are challenges, including access to skilled labour, an aging population, and not optimal levels of innovation and productivity. ACOA's investments target these challenges and foster continued growth in the priority industry sectors.
ACOA supports economic growth in three key ways: supporting business, with a focus on innovation; supporting infrastructure to nurture economic growth and R and D and build on community strengths; and representing P.E.I.'s interests in policy development and coordination of federal programs.
The food sector remains the primary economic driver for our province, accounting for 18% of GDP, over half of provincial exports, and 10,000 jobs in food production and manufacturing in rural communities.
PEI Mussel King is a rural family-owned business that grows, harvests, and sells over five million pounds of fresh mussels annually, more than half of which are exported. ACOA has helped the company increase productivity, create value-added products, and expand its workforce to 70 employees.
ACOA also supports food-focused R and D. A key driver of growth for this sector in coming years will be the Food Island Partnership, an industry-led initiative that brings together food producers, culinary experts, and researchers to create products, expand exports, and promote P.E.I. as a culinary tourism destination.
With roots in the food sector, the bioscience industry accounts for 3% of the province's GDP, employs about 1,400 people, and has more than tripled in size in revenues in the past 10 years. Growth in the bioscience sector will be accelerated by the $14-million federal investment to establish Natural Products Canada at the University of Prince Edward Island, announced earlier this year by Minister Bains.
Aerospace and advanced manufacturing are relatively new to P.E.I.'s economy, but employ over 900 people and account for 18% of total exports and close to 5% of provincial GDP. The main aerospace cluster is at Slemon Park, where Vector Aerospace is an anchor tenant with annual sales of $140 million and 445 employees. With ACOA's support, Vector develops state-of-the-art aircraft engine repair techniques to enable them to take on new work.
P.E.I. is a world leader in renewable energy, and home to the Wind Energy Institute of Canada. Wind energy currently supplies about 30% of the province's electricity.
Aspin Kemp & Associates, which started in 2010 with eight employees and now has 125, is a good example of ACOA's support in clean tech. The company is a global leader in the development of power management and energy storage solutions for the marine and oil and gas industries.
The last sector I will touch on is another traditional industry that has transformed itself. Tourism employs 15,000 people and generates close to 7% of GDP for our province. ACOA provides direct support to operators and communities to capitalize on trends and opportunities. For example, the strategic tourism expansion program brings community stakeholders together to identify their tourism potential and build a collaborative approach to developing local assets.
The program has worked well across Atlantic Canada, and is quickly becoming a best practice. It was developed by the Tourism Atlantic group, based in ACOA P.E.I.'s office, with a mandate to support tourism across Atlantic Canada. Tourism Atlantic also administers the Atlantic Canada Tourism Partnership, a $20-million three-year partnership between governments and industry that promotes the region to key markets in the United States and overseas.
ACOA also works with communities in a number of ways to support economic growth.
We help communities build on their strengths. For example, the rural town of North Rustico developed its waterfront area to showcase its marine and Acadian heritage and to provide commercial and performance space for local artists. We also work with P.E.I.'s indigenous communities to advance their economic development priorities.
ACOA's main partner in economic development is the province. Trade Team PEI is an example of a federal-provincial partnership that supports the international business development activities from export readiness to trade missions. This is a successful partnership, with P.E.I. leading the country in export in the last two years. The agency and the provincial government also work together to address challenges such as an aging population and skilled labour shortages by encouraging international immigration; and we work with post-secondary institutions on international student recruitment and retention.
Looking ahead, ACOA remains focused on delivering results for the province. With the Atlantic growth strategy reinforcing our collaborative approach, we see even more opportunities to address economic challenges and drive future growth.
Mr. Chair, thank you for the opportunity. I'm glad to speak.
