STRATFORD – Some 190 delegates met in Chatham-Kent at Southwest Economic Alliance (SWEA) 4th Annual Conference “Reinventing the Wheel: Building the Foundation for Economic Prosperity” to discuss future steps for transforming the economy of the region. Central to that transformation is the recent launch of the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario). Its new President and CEO, Dr. Bruce Archibald addressed conference participants on behalf of the Agency’s minister, the Hon. Gary Goodyear. FedDev Ontario is a five year, $1 billion commitment from the federal government designed to address the challenges faced by the region.

“We established SWEA four years ago with a simple goal: to help leaders in our region discuss the opportunities for regional cooperation,” stated SWEA Chair Dan Mathieson, Mayor of the City of Stratford. “Now, during our fourth year of development, we have all levels of government recognizing our needs and investing resources in our opportunities. There’s a clear sense that we can achieve our goals.”

Delegates at the conference attended a variety of plenary and breakout sessions that shared experiences learned in other jurisdictions. Topics ranged from manufacturing to agriculture and from tourism to workforce development.

“SWEA’s role is to get people talking and learning from each other,” according to SWEA’s recently appointed president, Serge Lavoie. “There’s an incredible amount of energy at work on solutions yet there’s a strong need for coordination and cooperation. Everyone recognizes the need for a strategic focus rather than a scattergun approach.”

SWEA represents an area of 15 counties and regions in the southwestern part of Ontario with a total population of over 2.5 million people. Its mission is to build the area’s economy through strong regional leadership and cooperation.

SWEA thanks its Gold Partners, Greenfield Ethanol and the City of London and London Economic Development Corporation for their generous support of the 2009 Conference.