Partnership Background
The Town of Slave Lake, and the Municipal District of Lesser Slave River are located on the Traditional Territory of Sawridge First Nation. Town of Slave Lake is located on Treaty 8 Territory while the MD of Slave River is located on both Treaty 6 and Treaty 8 territory. These communities share a region along the shores of Lesser Slave Lake, approximately 250 kilometers northwest of Edmonton, AB.
The three communities participated in CEDI Phase I from 2013 to 2016.
Key Milestones and Collaborative Community Economic Development Initiatives
Friendship Accord
On May 23, 2014, during the Honouring the Fire Round Dance at Sawridge First Nation, the Town of Slave Lake, MD of Lesser Slave River No. 124, and Sawridge First Nation signed the Lesser Slave Lake Region Friendship Accord. This Friendship Accord formalized their existing Tri-Council relationship, originally formed in response to the 2011 wildfires. It provides a framework for ongoing collaboration grounded in mutual respect, consensus-based decision-making, and shared values. The Accord commits the communities to open communication, regular joint council meetings, and cooperative efforts to improve the region for all residents and visitors.
Joint Regional Tourism Strategy
During their time in the CEDI program, the Tri-Council completed a Joint Tourism Strategy focused on promoting the region’s natural and cultural assets, with a strong emphasis on Indigenous history and tourism, and alignment with Alberta’s economic diversification goals. The strategy featured coordinated marketing efforts and tourism readiness planning. Prior to the development of the Joint Tourism Strategy, the partnership initiated a Regional Economic Development Symposium to improve coordination between economic development initiatives and completed a regional growth plan to attract investors and. To support the Joint Tourism Strategy development, the partnership engaged marketing strategy consultants to lead a community engagement process, hosted joint tourism development sessions, and presented their collaborative model at both regional and national conferences.
To support implementation of the tourism strategy and broader regional economic goals, the three communities also jointly funded two new regional positions: an Economic Development Officer and a Tourism Officer. The Economic Development Officer played a key role in convening stakeholders for a joint planning workshop focused on youth training and employment. Although the stakeholders had overlapping mandates and shared target groups related to youth, they were previously unaware of each other’s programs or the potential for collaboration. This workshop led to the formation of a joint committee on youth training and employment as an early outcome of the initiative.
In the Media
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Quotes
“The most valuable over-riding theme throughout the full strategic planning process has been the strength of the collaboration—beginning with the Tri-Council partners, and the level of enthusiasm with which the majority of stakeholders participated. The input provided by each participant was invaluable from both data and anecdotal perspectives, but it also established that the timing to promote an expanded tourism sector is very good given general recognition for the importance of additional economic diversification”
“The successful implementation of this strategy relies heavily on the continued leadership of the Tri-Council members and their constituents. The participation and leadership of the Sawridge First Nation is a catalyst for integrated growth, and is establishing a national best practice in a coordinated approach to collaborative economic and sector development. This strategy assumes the strength of this partnership will continue to evolve as a bridge to prosperity that will support all three constituencies.”