Home About Us Services ↳ Canada PR Visa (Permanent Residency) ↳ Work Permit Canada ↳ LMIA — Labour Market Impact Assessment ↳ Spouse & Family Sponsorship Visa ↳ Student Visa Canada ↳ Visitor Visa ↳ Business Visa Provinces ↳ 🏙️ Ontario ↳ 🏔️ British Columbia ↳ 🌾 Alberta ↳ 🌻 Saskatchewan ↳ 🌊 Manitoba ↳ ⚓ Nova Scotia ↳ 🍁 New Brunswick ↳ 🦞 Prince Edward Island ↳ 🐟 Newfoundland & Labrador ↳ 🌊 Atlantic Immigration Program Healthcare Blog FAQ Careers Canada Contact
"ID","NameEn","NameFr","LeadDeptNameEn","LeadDeptNameFr","yearfrom","yearto","DescriptionEn","DescriptionFr","PlanDescriptionEn","PlanDescriptionFr" "3","International Business Development Agreement (Formelly called : International Business Development Program)","Entente sur la promotion du commerce extérieur (auparavant appelé : Programme de promotion du commerce extérieur )","Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency","Agence de promotion économique du Canada atlantique","2011","2016","

Name of Horizontal Initiative:   International Business Development Agreement (IBDA)

Name of Lead Department:   Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA)

Lead Department Program Activity:   Enterprise Development (program sub-activity: International Business Development)

Start Date:   April 1, 2011

End Date:   March 31, 2016

Total Federal Funding Allocation (from start date to end date):   $7.0 million

Description of the Horizontal Initiative (including funding agreement):   In May 1994, ACOA entered into an agreement (Canada-Atlantic Provinces Agreement on International Business Development, also known as IBDA) with the four Atlantic Provinces, Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada, and Industry Canada to “undertake specific measures to optimize regional coordination on a pan-Atlantic scale and combine limited resources to coordinate trade-related activities.” Since its launch, the agreement has been extended five times (in 1997, 2000, 2005, 2010 and 2011) for a total investment of $35 million from federal and provincial contributions; the latest extension sunsets March 31, 2016. Funding is cost-shared 70/30 by the federal (through ACOA) and provincial governments. The commitment to renew this agreement for five years attests to both the IBDA’s positive results and its significance for the future of Atlantic Canada’s international business development.

More information can be found on the IBDA website.

Shared Outcomes:   The shared outcomes for the IBDA partners support ACOA’s trade-related activities and are:

  1. increased number of new exporters,
  2. existing exporters reporting sales to new markets, and 
  3. existing exporters reporting increased sales to existing markets.

Governance Structure:   ACOA is the lead organization for this initiative and houses the secretariat responsible for administering the agreement. A management committee (comprised of a representative from each of the partners) is responsible for the planning and management of the agreement’s strategic elements and the evaluation of projects.

Partners

Federal government (70% funding)

  • ACOA (lead department and funding partner)
  • Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada (non-funding partner)
  • Industry Canada (non-funding partner)

Provincial governments (30% funding)