The City of St. Albert's head of economic development has left the position.
Cory Sinclair, city communications manager, confirmed in an email to the Gazette that economic development director Sean McRitchie is no longer working with the city.
McRitchie, who did not respond to interview requests before press deadline, became the director of economic development and tourism at Strathcona County in January, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Michael Erickson is now the acting director and will be working on plans moving forward, according to the city. Erickson had been working as the city's manager of investment, attraction and growth for the last year. Prior to that, he was the head of the City of Fort Saskatchewan's economic development office.
The city refused to address further questions about whether the city is looking for a replacement, when McRitchie's last day was and why McRitchie left.
"We are not able to arrange an interview on this topic, as it is an HR matter and we do not address questions about staffing decisions," Sinclair wrote.
The city has not publicly posted a job opening to head economic development in St. Albert, or released a statement notifying residents about the vacancy.
McRitchie became St. Albert's director of economic development last February, replacing Rod Valdes who took the position back in 2017.
During his time, McRitchie helped attract significant investment to St. Albert. He had a hand in securing shipping specialist Uline's decision to build a 600,000 sq. ft. facility at the Anthony Henday Business Park. The project broke ground in 2020 and is expected to employ nearly 100 people when it opens later this year, making the company one of the single biggest taxpayers and employers in the city.
In October, McRitchie also advised council to increase their annual contribution to the Edmonton Global economic development group to match a recent increase in the group's membership fees. Shareholders agreed earlier this year that they needed to boost the group’s fees and activities to draw more investment during the COVID-19 pandemic. Council will hear a report on the investment later this year.
McRitchie now returns to Strathcona County with his new role after less than a year with St. Albert, having previously been the manager of industrial development with Strathcona County for three years.
Prior to that, he also served as St. Albert's manager of investment attraction for three years back in 2013, where he had a hand in successfully attracting Landmark Cinemas and the associated restaurant options to north St. Albert.
When he first took the job, McRitchie told the Gazette he saw a lot of potential in St. Albert’s ability to capitalize on downstream industrial development. While not suggesting heavy industry was in the cards for St. Albert, McRitchie noted St. Albert could plug into development north of the city in Alberta's Industrial Heartland.
– with files from Hannah Lawson
