Emily Plihal
Local Journalism
Initiative Reporter
Smoky River Regional Economic Development (SRRED) and the Village of Donnelly have joined forces with a Quebec business to participate in an exchange program that will provide great benefits for everyone.
SRRED executive director Diane Chiasson says they joined Forces francos municipale, an initiative aiming to bring together Francophonies in joint projects to unite the driving forces of the municipal sector. The Government of Quebec, through this initiative, is hoping to promote sharing expertise and creation and strengthening between Quebec and Francophone communities.
“We have to have something in common in order to participate in this project,” says Chiasson.
“In that region they have a secondary manufacturer of an insulation plant using hemp. We have a hemp decortication plant, and we want to learn from each other and share information to potentially expand both businesses in both regions.”
In this project, the MRC des Source (in Quebec) and the Village of Donnelly, will be focusing on production and first and second processing of industrial hemp as an economic lever for their two regions. Industrial hemp is an emerging sector that will help bring a high contribution of innovation through agricultural products, processing and development.
Chiasson explains the project will help both communities learn and share one another’s experiences, trials, and tribulations. She says Village of Donnelly will showcase the installation of Smoky Hemp Decortication Ltd.’s first defibration line (designed in Quebec) in 2025. The shared project will be with Val-des-Sources, the city where Nature Fibres produces hemp fibre insulation blankets. The two regions hope to strengthen their own economies and also help to strengthen the industrial hemp industry as a whole.
“We are excited to exchange our knowledge and expertise to help one another grow,” says Chiasson.
“There were two communities in Alberta picked to partner with a region in Quebec, Smoky Hemp Decortication and the Village of Donnelly were picked to be one of the communities and businesses.”
The project will begin with the two industrial hemp companies visiting one another’s operations in 2025. They will then present at the Hemp Canada Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance Conference and Expo in November in Winnipeg.
The hope with this project is both communities can expand their current hemp industry efforts, potentially creating hemp cluster businesses alongside their current operations.
Chiasson says she’s excited to share there is another region in Quebec that is already hoping to partner with them in 2026.
“This is helping to bring more recognition to our region and Smoky Hemp Decortication,” she adds, noting that the company is quickly being recognized for its innovative processing methodologies.
“It will give the region the opportunity to develop the market and we will grow as a result,” she concludes.