Partnership Background
District of Kent is located on the unceded and Traditional Territory of Seabird Island Band and the Stó:lō peoples in the Upper Fraser Valley, approximately 120 km east of Vancouver. The communities share borders with each other.
The communities participated in CEDI Phase I from 2013 to 2016.
Key Milestones and Collaborative Community Economic Development Initiatives
Joint Business Attraction and Tourism Promotion Strategy and Joint Action Plan
Seabird Island Band and the District of Kent collaborated to develop a comprehensive Joint Marketing Plan for Tourism Promotion and Business/Investment Attraction, completed in September 2015. The initiative, based on a joint vision statement, aimed to promote collaborative economic development grounded in shared heritage and cultural values, and was based on credible, evidence-driven analysis. The action plan outlined targeted actions to attract business and tourism, such as creating investment profiles, developing a regional investment page on their website, implementing land use changes, and enhancing site readiness. It also identified key growth sectors like construction, manufacturing, agri-food processing, and eco-tourism, all tailored to the region’s size, resources, and economic potential at the time. The partners also planned to develop a protocol agreement to formalize their economic development collaboration and extend the strategy to other neighbouring First Nations. The process was rooted in early CEDI workshops, where the partners identified tourism and investment as shared priorities and built trust through mutual understanding of each other’s strategic goals. A consultant was then hired to guide the plan’s development. In October 2015, a joint council-to-council presentation and action planning session was facilitated by CEDI staff.
Agassiz-Harrison Aboriginal Business Forum
As part of their Joint Business Attraction and Tourism Promotion Strategy, the partnership held the first annual 2-day ‘Agassiz-Harrison Aboriginal Business Forum’ in collaboration with five neighbouring First Nations, showcasing to investors and businesses that the region is ‘open for business’. The CEDI partners presented their ‘Joint Marketing Plan for Tourism Promotion and Business/Investment Attraction’ at the forum. This led to two business opportunities coming to the on-reserve Seabird Island Band eco-business park, a modular home construction company and a nursery that supplies plants across the province to the forestry industry.
In the Media
Photo Gallery
Quotes
“It’s not an ‘us’ versus ‘them’ mentality, it’s a ‘we’, and when you get your priorities set to the ‘we’ perspective, it opens up the potential of what you can do. There is a greater knowledge between the communities, greater ability to garner funding through the provincial and federal government, and it always helps to have the security of adjacent municipalities and neighbours working with you to lend their support.”
“We are collectively the largest landowners in the Fraser Valley, and our lands are well situated near critical infrastructure required for development and transport. Now more than ever in history is an opportune time for partnerships between First Nations and the business community to flourish. Business relationships built on honesty, trust and respect will enrich our community and your organization.”