SUMMERSIDE – September 15, 2026 – «The 26th year of operation of RDÉE Prince Edward Island has been very eventful and has generated fantastic results. We have seen project beginnings and project completions. Then we saw other projects reach new clientele and achieve new heights,» according to president Velma Leblanc.
In his report delivered by Raymond J. Arsenault at the Annual General Assembly, in Summerside on September 15, Ms. Leblanc also indicated that all of this was accomplished in an atmosphere far from perfect.
«As you well know, the American-Canadian political situation has not improved over the past year; in fact, it has rather deteriorated. We have therefore continued to work in collaboration with our federal and provincial governments to support our entrepreneurs and to encourage local trade and interprovincial exchange,» she reported. «The interventions of RDÉE and the Chambers of Commerce have also led to the reduction and sometimes even the elimination of certain barriers that complicated trade exchanges between provinces.»
CANADIAN MISSIONS
In turn, the general director Stéphane Blanchard reported that during the year, RDÉE IPE had conducted its 17th and 18th sales missions in Montreal. «We are always very impressed by the efforts of our entrepreneurs who participate and the results they achieve. Direct sales from these two missions amount to millions of dollars.»
He noted that with all the tariffs and trade barriers imposed by the United States, the national network of RDÉE encourages businesses to create Canadian supply chains rather than American ones. The network therefore further encourages interprovincial exchanges.
«The other RDÉE across the country, knowing well that we have been organizing sales missions in Quebec for years, have started to look to us to learn our magic recipe. It was an honor to be asked to help them. Who would have thought that the small Prince Edward Island would one day become the model for an initiative that continues to spread to other provinces as large as New Brunswick and Ontario. RDÉE Canada is also organizing a similar mission with an entrepreneur from each province and territory.»
NEW EMPLOYMENT SUPPORT SERVICE
"The general director believes, however, that the greatest achievement of the year was the establishment of the new Employment Support Service (ESS) in three locations on the Island, namely Charlottetown, Summerside, and Wellington, with employment counselors and in three locations, namely Rollo Bay, Rustico, and Deblois, with self-service centers.".
«Many Francophone individuals from our communities have already benefited from these wonderful services, which support them in their efforts to find employment; we also support employers in their recruitment efforts.»
"To deliver these services, three new people joined the team. After some back and forth with other individuals who had been hired, management reassigned a few people who were already part of the RDÉE family to ESS roles.".
«And speaking of staff adjustments, we have also continued to review our internal structure to better group our programs under the umbrellas of Entrepreneurship, Employability, Community Economic Development, and Administration. Each sector is equipped with a manager who oversees the programs and the team members under their charge,» he explained. «We have also started to implement a mentoring procedure to ensure succession when some of our senior employees take their well-deserved retirement in the months and years to come.»
OTHER SUCCESSES
"Mr. Blanchard also mentioned that during the year, we had:"
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- "launched a new website;";
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- "developed a customer relationship management (CRM) system;";
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- "completed the sustainable development training program IMPACT DD;";
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- «completed the training program »Promotion of Green Trades and Jobs';";
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- "continued the PERCÉ program with 35 post-secondary interns;";
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- "delivered the Young Millionaires program to 44 youth;" ;
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- "held a modified version of the 2026 Francophone Ignition Competition;";
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- "and continued the delivery of services from the Wellington Rural Action Centre and the Acadian and Francophone Chamber of Commerce of PEI.".
After several successful years, the Solutions Repreneuriat programs (for women entrepreneurs) and Faut que ça grouille (community engagement training for teenagers and young adults) are underway in 2026-2027 for a final year of funding. We are awaiting confirmations on whether their funding will continue or not.
OPERATIONAL FUNDING
The assembly president, Raymond J. Arsenault, indicated that RDÉE is currently in the third year of a five-year national agreement for its operational funding. «We will soon have to start planning for our next agreement. We are noticing that the federal government is tightening its belt these days and reducing its budgets for various programs and departments. Therefore, it is impossible to predict what our next round of negotiations will bring us; we are keeping our fingers – and toes – crossed.»
She added that RDÉE Canada, its provincial advisors, and the general management of the various RDÉEs continue to meet with federal representatives to discuss the massive positive economic impact of the national network on the country. «We hope that these efforts will help convince them to continue our funding.»
«Regardless of the amounts we will receive in the future, we will do our best with the funding we receive. We will continue to pursue our mission of actively contributing to community and entrepreneurial economic development and job creation within the Acadian and Francophone community of the Island, while collaborating on the economic growth of the province.»
ELECTIONS
During the elections at the AGM, members re-elected Janine Arsenault (Magasin Acadien in Abram-Village and Day’s Corner Store & Bakery in Day’s Corner) to a Western Entrepreneurial position and elected Dick Arsenault (Atlantic BioHeat in Abram-Village/Wellington) to another Western Entrepreneurial position, then Anne Poirier (Collège de l’Île in Wellington) to a Community position. These three positions are for three-year terms. For her part, Julie Monfette (Choco Gourmet in Stratford) was elected to an Eastern Entrepreneurial position to complete the last two years of an uncompleted term.
RDÉE thanked the outgoing advisors: Josée Gallant-Gordon from Elm Grove Centre in Alma, Simonne Cormier from Au Naturel Solutions in Montague, and Eugénie Parent from the Francophone Integration Cooperative of PEI in Charlottetown.