Eco-West Canada

Since its creation as the green sector of the Conseil de développement économique des municipalités bilingues du Manitoba (CDEM) in 2008, Eco-West Canada’s (EWC) mandate has consisted of promoting the growth of small to medium-sized municipalities through the planning and implementation of sustainable local and regional economic development. In April 2014, Eco-West Canada was established as a three-year ‘project’ resulting from the collaboration of Western Canada’s four Francophone Economic Development Organizations (FEDOs) and, in 2017, EWC officially incorporated as an independent, national non-profit organization operating under the aegis of the Association of Manitoba Bilingual Municipalities (AMBM). Within the framework of its overall activities, Eco-West Canada seeks to establish partnerships with various stakeholders from all three levels of government, private enterprise as well as to encourage the participation of local residents in order to create a sustained dynamic for initiatives that deal with issues in the areas of energy, the economy as well as the environment. The establishment and sharing of best practices is likewise an important aspect of EWC’s activities, as data and results from various studies can be studied and used by other communities that might be interested in developing their own local or regional action plans. EWC is active in the following sectors: -Energy efficiency – GHG inventories / emissions reductions & energy audits -Transportation – Electric vehicles & charging infrastructures -Wastewater treatment -Waste management (local & regional), including organics diversion, composting, recycling, and waste to value-added -Low carbon emissions clusters (regional planning initiatives with municipal cohorts) -The circular economy