Economic Partnerships

Background

In September 2000, the Government of Alberta responded to the need for greater Aboriginal participation in Alberta’s economy with the Aboriginal Policy Framework (APF) – Strengthening Relationships. The APF sets out the basic structure for Alberta policies to address Aboriginal issues in the province while balancing the interests of industry and other stakeholders.

Following a series of consultations with First Nations and industry, the Government of Alberta launched the First Nations Economic Partnerships Initiative (FNEPI) in 2005 to increase First Nation participation in the economy by:

• supporting the development of effective partnerships between First Nation, industry, government and other stakeholders.
• strengthening First Nations economic capacity.
• assisting in the development of a viable First Nations private sector.

Intergovernmental, International and Aboriginal Relations offers two funding programs:

• Economic Capacity Building (ECB)
• Strategic Economic Initiatives (SEI)

These programs, focused on partnership development and economic capacity building, are supported by labour force planning and entrepreneurship development initiatives delivered by Alberta's Ministry of Human Services. Please visit the Human Services, Employment and Immigration website for more information about their Aboriginal development programs.