Program directory · Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
Diversified Communities
- Department
- Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
- Program code
- BED02 (ACOA)
- Core responsibility
- Economic Development in Atlantic Canada
- In Departmental Plans
- 2018-19 – 2026-27 · New since an earlier plan
What it does
Economic development in rural areas continues to be a challenge in light of the declining traditional industries, population shifts and infrastructure issues. These issues emphasize the need to support initiatives that increase competitiveness of Atlantic Canada's rural communities and businesses. Such initiatives include: strategic planning activities related to economic development of geographic regions and sectors of interest, and infrastructure required to attract and retain labour; transportation and other types of infrastructure that supports economic activity and specific sectors; and marketing and skills development. Basic infrastructure such as transportation access, water/sewage, broadband and telecommunication and community/recreational facilities are considered essential to the development of local and regional economies. The key purpose of these types of projects is to revitalize and strengthen rural community infrastructure by improving community facilities, including new construction that are or will be used, in whole or in part, for activities such as tourism-related events, trade shows, business meetings, training sessions, symposiums and conferences that will lead to diversified communities. This program is well aligned with the ACOA Act and the types of activities mandated under the Act, which include support for enterprises, and support for business associations and other activities related to improving the business environment.
Source: the department's Program Inventory, via GC InfoBase.
History and lineage
First appears in GC InfoBase's actual spending by program in 2018-19. The data does not record when a program was created; it may be older than its first appearance here, which is limited by the sources (program spending starts in 2010-11, Departmental Plans in 2018-19).
| Program | Relation | Years with data | Actual spending over those years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diversified Communities | This program | 2018-19 – 2028-29 | $595M |
No earlier or later program in the same department has a similar name.
Significant changes in scope and budget
Detected from the data: renames between plans, programs it appears to replace, merge with or split into (matched by name), year-over-year changes in spending of at least 25% and $5M, or in employees of at least 20% and 25 FTEs, linked budget measures, and results indicators added or dropped.
| Year | What changed | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2021-22 | Spending $105M, against $57.8M in 2020-21 (+81%). | Actual spending (GC InfoBase) |
Success criteria
The program's indicators from its department's Departmental Results Framework: the target set in each year's plan, and the result reported the following year. Source: GC InfoBase.
Historical: targets against results
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | ≥ $1 | 2019 | $3 ACOA has exceeded the target in 2018-19 because of its successful efforts to seek out partners to collaborate on Diversified Communities projects. | Met |
| 2019-20 | ≥ $2 | 2020 | $2 | Met |
| 2020-21 | ≥ $2 | 2021 | $1 Actual leveraging results for Diversified communities funding was below the target due to a surge in the overall demand for loans and lower cost sharing from funding partners due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This critical demand for business financing to help protect jobs, keep businesses afloat and ensure continued community development meant a surge in the number of loans and higher lending limits… | Not met |
| 2021-22 | ≥ $1 | 2022 | $1 | Met |
| 2022-23 | ≥ $1 | 2023 | $2 | Met |
| 2023-24 | ≥ $1 | 2024 | $1 Although its result was slightly below ACOA’s target of $1.00 leveraged for every dollar approved, the Agency delivered significant investments to support unprecedented economic shocks including Hurricane Fiona. In such instances, there is greater demand for financial support combined with fewer additional sources of funding. | Not met |
| 2024-25 | ≥ $1 | 2025 | $2 | Met |
Current: the 2026-27 plan's targets
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | ≥ $2 | 2027 | — | Planned |
Future goals: targets due after 2026-27
No targets with a later due date.
Spending and employees: planned against actual
Spending
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | $70.4M | $58.2M |
| 2019-20 | $72.4M | $63M |
| 2020-21 | $75.6M | $57.8M |
| 2021-22 | $107M | $105M |
| 2022-23 | $121M | $97.1M |
| 2023-24 | $99.2M | $112M |
| 2024-25 | $115M | $102M |
| 2025-26 | $82.4M | — |
| 2026-27 | $76.3M | — |
| 2027-28 | $75.7M* | — |
| 2028-29 | $71.4M* | — |
Employees (FTEs)
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | 84 | 71 |
| 2019-20 | 81 | 74 |
| 2020-21 | 76 | 71 |
| 2021-22 | 79 | 76 |
| 2022-23 | 81 | 69 |
| 2023-24 | 77 | 69 |
| 2024-25 | 75 | 62 |
| 2025-26 | 75 | — |
| 2026-27 | 70 | — |
| 2027-28 | 69* | — |
| 2028-29 | 66* | — |
Planned spending, plan by plan
Each row is one year's Departmental Plan and its forecast for the next three fiscal years; read a column down to see how the forecast for one year changed. The last row is what was actually spent. Click an amount for its source. Biggest changes in federal spending plans
| Plan | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | 2025-26 | 2026-27 | 2027-28 | 2028-29 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 plan | $70,434,817 | $70,387,003 | $70,387,003 | ||||||||
| 2019-20 plan | $72,403,118 | $72,403,118 | $72,185,334 | ||||||||
| 2020-21 plan | $75,648,154 | $72,670,826 | $72,682,467 | ||||||||
| 2021-22 plan | $106,583,461 | $74,714,402 | $72,743,134 | ||||||||
| 2022-23 plan | $121,382,745 | $72,707,943 | $72,659,710 | ||||||||
| 2023-24 plan | $99,235,799 | $72,749,612 | $70,542,687 | ||||||||
| 2024-25 plan | $114,555,783 | $81,324,540 | $68,032,604 | ||||||||
| 2025-26 plan | $82,378,356 | $68,132,949 | $68,132,949 | ||||||||
| 2026-27 plan | $76,292,838 | $75,659,669 | $71,433,434 | ||||||||
| Actual | $58,179,726 | $62,973,843 | $57,848,086 | $104,562,901 | $97,112,278 | $112,420,142 | $102,006,676 |
Actual spending is from Departmental Results Reports and the Public Accounts, as published in GC InfoBase. FTEs are full-time equivalents.
