Community Data Training Retreat Package

May 8–9, 2025, in scenic Thunder Bay, Ontario

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Wednesday 7 May 2025 
Location – The Chanterelle: 206 Park Ave, Thunder Bay, ON 
19:00 - Mood Indigo Jazz (cash bar) – Welcome to Thunder Bay (Hosted by Northern Policy Institute (NPI)) 

Thursday 8 May 2025
Location – The Prince Arthur Waterfront Hotel

08:00 – Buffet Breakfast (Hosted by NPI)  

09:00 – Welcome to the Annual Learning & Networking Event (NPI, CCEDNet, CDP)

9:15 – Hello my PROJECT is – roundtable introductions and networking icebreaker

10:00 – Rural and Small Places Data Initiatives at StatsCan Presentation Slides (PDF)
Mahamat Hamit-Haggar will explain Statistics Canada’s rural and small places data mandate and will take a deep dive into a number of databases designed for rural and small communities. These databases focus on the topics of housing, proximity to facilities, trade and economic development.

11:30 - CDP Rental Housing Affordability Dashboard Project (CDP team) Presentation Slides (PDF)

12:30 – lunch (Hosted by NPI)

13:30 – The Community Transformations Project Presentation (Institute for Research on Public Policy) Presentation Slides (PDF)
The project includes an interactive map which ranks Canadian communities according to their susceptibility to market and workforce transformations that are likely to arise as Canada and the world move toward net-zero emissions.

14:00 – Project Presentations (CDP Members) 

• How to monitor the community impact of trade disruptions (CDP team) Presentation Slides (PDF)
  A number of data products are available to CDP members to inform local efforts to anticipate and measure the effects of potentially severe disruptions to international trade. The CDP team will provide an overview of these data products currently available in the CDP data catalogue - such as Canadian Business Counts, Employment Insurance Statistics, Consumer & Mortgage Debt, and Personal and Business Insolvency statistics – and explain how these can be combined with trade statistics such as Value-added Exports by Industry and the Canadian Importers Database to estimate the impact of community level disruptions for any municipality in Canada.
• Community Economic Development and Employability Corporation (Grant Myers, CEDEC) Presentation Slides (PDF)
  The presentation will explain how the Community Economic Development Corporation (CEDEC) uses a data-focused approach to drive strategy and planning necessary to address economic disparities and strengthen the contribution of official language minorities to growing and developing Quebec’s economy. Grant Myers is a senior employee with the CEDEC. He has over 20 years of experience in addressing economic and labour force challenges within Québec’s English-speaking minority population.

15:00 – Networking

15:30 – Project Presentations (CDP Members)

• The Use of CDP Datasets in The Regional Official Plan Geographics to Plan for Future Population and Job Growth (Graham Wilson, Region of Durham) Presentation Slides (PDF)
• Data Empowered Decision Making: Leveraging CDP Data to Inform York Region’s Programs and Services (Valentyn Kliuchnyk, York Region) Presentation Slides (PDF)
• Measuring Main Streets: Data-Driven Insights for Smarter Investment, Policy and Community Decision-Making (Alex Tabascio, The Canadian Urban Institute) Presentation Slides (PDF)
  What happens when main streets - their people, infrastructure, and businesses are well cared for and invested in? With the call for main street support being more important than ever, CUI is bringing together data-driven insights in one place for main street advocates, investors, and practitioners, leading to real impacts on community, resiliency, and equity outcomes.

16:30  – Day 1 Wrap-up (CDP team)

18:00 – Dinner (The Bight)

Friday 9 May 2025
Location – The Prince Arthur Waterfront Hotel

08:00 – Buffet Breakfast (Hosted by NPI)  

09:00 –  Northern Ontario Project Presentations

• Integrating CDP into (the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario) FedNor’s Toolkit:  Using community-level data to support strategy, engagement, and measurement Presentation Slides (PDF)
• Ontario Ministry of Northern Development (Dr. Martin Lefebvre) Presentation Package (ZIP)

10:00 –  Unlocking the Power of Artificial Intelligence (AI): Transforming Work, Learning, and Community Impact (CDP team) Presentation Slides (PDF)
We dive into how AI can make a difference in our communities and beyond. From free, beginner-friendly tools that simplify everyday workplace tasks to advanced applications pushing the boundaries of what’s possible, this session is designed for everyone!
Join us to exchange ideas, celebrate the power of AI, and discover how it’s transforming the way we work and live.

• New to AI? Discover how you can start using AI today—whether it’s proofreading emails, summarizing data, or tackling community-focused projects with no technical skills required.
• Looking to grow your skills? Learn how AI tools can help you level up your expertise and explore new possibilities.
• An AI expert? Share how you’re using AI to drive state-of-the-art innovations and inspire others to think big.

10:30– Networking

11:00 – Ask me Anything – (CDP team)

12:00 – Event wrap-up – and announcement of 2026 host community (CDP team)

Participants

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