I spoke a little earlier about a Statistics Canada study. Canada Economic Development wants to have a good idea of how its investments are performing and ensure that they are appropriate, strategic and will yield good results.
We look at our leverage. In terms of business growth, each dollar invested will generate $4.93 in investments. For the development of the regions, the leverage is $6.77. When it comes to the ad hoc or targeted support of communities in need, the leverage is $1.93, but we are aware of the context. For example, in Lac-Mégantic, where the reason for intervening is different, the leverage is less important. The goal is instead to restore the growth and economy of the region.
For start-ups that we support directly, we assess whether they will be able to exist for a long period of time. Our figures indicate that they are still around after five years. In other words, we don't lose anything. Our goal is to create new businesses and to keep them. Do they increase their sales? We are seeing that 68% of businesses that we have helped have increased their sales and their productivity. We use indicators like these to ensure that the investments we make and the contributions we provide generate economic activity, jobs and growth.