As municipal election campaigns get underway across British Columbia and candidates increasingly identify economic development, business growth and investment attraction as priorities, Schaun Goodeve says communities have an opportunity for a more substantive conversation about what local governments can, and cannot do, to influence their local economies.

Goodeve said, “Candidates are talking about attracting businesses, creating jobs, expanding the tax base and supporting local businesses. The important question is how you actually achieve those objectives?

“Economic development is becoming a major theme in municipal election campaigns, but it is much more than saying a community is open for business or creating jobs. B.C. Municipalities can play a critical role in creating the conditions for investment by focusing first on supporting and growing their local businesses and developing a clear investment proposition to attract new investment,” he said.

Goodeve brings more than two decades of experience in economic development, municipal planning, investment attraction, business retention and expansion, tourism and community development. He has won prestigious awards in economic development and led economic development and planning departments in three municipalities in Alberta and B.C.

He is also Registered Professional Planner (RPP) and Member of the Canadian Institute of Planners (MCIP), giving him a perspective at the intersection of investment attraction and municipal land-use decision-making.

Goodeve, Principal of Goodeve & Associates, was elected to the Board of Directors of the Economic Developers Association of Canada (EDAC) during EDAC’s 2026 National Conference in Moncton, New Brunswick in September. Goodeve said his election to the national EDAC Board provides an opportunity to bring a rural and Western Canadian perspective to national discussions while continuing to share ideas and best practices with communities across the country.

During his two-year term on the EDAC Board he will be focusing on: 1) enhancing a communities disaster response with a focus on the business community preparedness and resiliency and;  2) addressing municipal gaps between economic development and planning to accelerate local investment growth.

These goals align with his two national conference presentations at EDAC 2026: one on aligning municipal planning and economic development to attract investment, grow local economies and create jobs, and a second on disaster preparedness, business resilience and the role of economic development before, during and after emergencies. The latter was based on Goodeve’s recent work and media coverage during the 2026 Evacuation Alert of Kimberley, due to wildfires.

Goodeve said, “Emergency management understandably focuses first on life and safety, but the economic impacts can begin immediately. Economic development professionals can play an important role before, during and after an emergency.”

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