Economic Development
Grand Falls-Windsor has grown significantly since being founded in the early 1900s, with a current population of 13,853 servicing a catchment area consisting of 74 communities extending from Central Newfoundland’s South Coast to its North East Coast and a population of 74,843 as per the 2020 Census.
Growth is being driven by our approach to economic development whereby we work with stakeholders across the Exploits Region and Central NL, including the Province, ensuring that our near term priorities and initiatives align with our long term goals and objectives, all within an increasingly diversified economy and population. There’s at least one significant initiative underway in each of our key economic sectors including but not limited to; education, immigration, health care, tech, tourism, recreation, mining, manufacturing, forestry, aquaculture, agriculture, warehousing and distribution, as well as commercial and residential construction.
Economic Development Department
The Economic Development Department consists of the Manager of Economic and Business Development, Lawrence Ducey, and our Economic and Business Development Officer, Stanley Singh, who report to the Director of Community Services, in turn reporting to the CAO and Council.
The Manager of Economic Development is responsible for strategic planning across all sectors, as well as supporting directly a number of initiatives within certain assigned sectors, as is our Economic and Business Development Officer. Currently the Manager of Economic Development is focused on initiatives which fall under municipal and regional planning, civic engagement, digital marketing, a proposed economic and business development services center, tourism, recreation, immigration, software development training and employment, mining, forestry, agriculture, manufacturing, as well as several proposed commercial and residential construction developments.
Our Business Development Officer continues to advance ongoing rural health innovation initiatives through the Excite Corporation, including the Genomic Research Project as well as a proposed Simulation Lab, which will aid in the ongoing training and development of health care professionals across Central Newfoundland. In addition to these initiatives, the Economic and Business Development Officer will continue to support the Aquaculture Industry, while working with the Manager of Economic and Business Development to foster the growth of the tech sector, with a strong focus on the offering of software development training in the community which will ensure we can fill remote work employment opportunities with existing and new residents.
Our Economic and Business Development Staff are here to help meet the needs of businesses, government departments and agencies, as well as various community organizations, in achieving their goals and objectives, ensuring they are well-positioned to meet the changing needs of residents, employees and customers, ultimately working to improve the quality of life of our residents.
Contact the Department of Economic Development
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