ESTEVAN — Rural innovation means different things to different people, but maintaining and improving quality of life is key no matter where someone lives.
Attendees from across Canada at a conference earlier this summer examined the opportunities and roadblocks to innovation in their regions.
Innovate Rural conference organizer Gordon More, who is also executive director of the Southeast Techhub (SETH), moved to Estevan with his wife, a doctor, in 2022. He had retired but his background in technology and observation of what the city needed to boost innovation led him to SETH.
He said people often think of business and products when they talk about innovation, but it’s more than that to him.
“It’s the disruption of a process to make things better,” he said.
More said a group of farmers sharing a single piece of equipment could be an example of innovation.
In Estevan’s case, the city is based largely on power generation from coal, which was until recently supposed to be phased out. That forced people to consider what comes next.
The conference heard about other centres, such as Cape Breton, where the region has had to reinvent itself a few times after losing coal and then cod fishing.
More said communities have to work with academia, government and industry as well as its residents to decide how it can be innovative. What works in one place might not work in another.
When the tech hub was established in 2022, he heard people within Estevan question it by saying, “we’re not innovative.” Sometimes those comments come from outside communities doing bold things.
However, More said rural communities are innovative by nature. They can be far from services and have to solve problems on their own all the time.
One of the main issues he sees is the digital skills gap between urban and rural areas in a world moving headlong into artificial intelligence and more technology.
“The training that we provide rural communities is not what we need in 2026,” he said.
There was no computer science training available in Estevan when the tech hub started, and the community is still struggling to get what it needs.
Digital literacy is key for rural and remote regions, he said. The lack of such skills leads to finding misinformation, conspiracy theories and bad decisions.
“Decisions are now made on emotion, not looking at the hard data and understanding what you need to do, the community needs to do and your family needs to do,” More said.
The Rural Manitoba Economic Development Corp. in April published interactive regional profiles that provide data on demographics, the economy and more for seven regions, Winnipeg and the province as a whole.
It also collaborated with Brandon University to release The Pulse of Rural Manitoba, a report that examined 37 indicators in 125 rural municipalities.
Chief executive officer Margot Cathcart said people want information and they want to find it easily and quickly. For example, a business looking to locate somewhere in Manitoba could use the regional profiles to decide where to open up shop.
Stephanie Ortynsky, a Yorkton city councillor and associate researcher at the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association, encouraged communities to consider well-being when they talk about community resilience and innovation.
“It means that we kind of switch the paradigm around and think more about the conditions that allow the young people and the planet to live healthy, stable, connected lives as foundational economic assets,” she said.
New Zealand in 2019 announced its first Wellbeing Budget, which put well-being and environment at the centre. The idea is to incorporate social and environmental indicators along with economic and fiscal metrics, into financial decisions.
“Ultimately, how are we going to pass on our community in better shape to the next generation?” she said.
Lloydminster mayor Gerard Aalbers said regions should play to their strengths in attracting businesses and people.
“What does your community offer in quality of life?” he said, adding the first impression people have of a place is important.
Speakers discussed cleanliness, child care, recreational facilities and other amenities.
About the author
Karen Briere grew up in Canora, Sask. where her family had a grain and cattle operation. She has a degree in journalism from the University of Regina and has spent more than 30 years covering agriculture from the Western Producer’s Regina bureau.
