Summerside's economic development committee has released a plan to grow the city -- in terms of numbers of residents, visitors and business, as well as physically.
The committee says the key elements of its Economic Development Action Plan are converging the city's industries and better communication of all Summerside has to offer.
In terms of convergence, the plan talks about bringing Slemon Park into the city's urban boundary.
"Our key objective in the development of this plan was that it be action-oriented," says Mike Thususka, director of economic development for the city. "We wanted a strategy grounded in solid research, but it was critical that it translated into concrete activities that could be carried out by our department and our partners."
The document acknowledges the city's emerging IT, health sciences and renewable energy sectors, as well as its long history in agriculture, transportation and aerospace.
The 134-page plan suggests the city needs to work with UPEI and Holland College to offer programs supporting those industries.
Other recommendations include establishing an interoperability lab for health IT workers, hosting a health IT boot camp and hiring a full-time staff person to work on attracting and retaining immigrants.
The full plan can be found here: Full Strategy
