Feds give $1M to Leduc oilfield tool manufacturer through tariff impact-offsetting program

A worker demonstrates how Core Designs' products are manufactured in Leduc, Alta., on Dec. 19, 2025. (Darcy Seaton / CTV News Edmonton)

A Leduc manufacturer of specialized oil field equipment will be the first on the Prairies to receive federal funding from the Regional Tariff Response Initiative (RTRI).

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The $1 million will allow Core Design, a 30-year-old family business south of Alberta’s capital, to purchase a second wire wrapping machine and double its production.

Core Design’s products are used downhole to control sand and flow.

“With this expansion, we’ll be going from 30 to 45 employees, with an added 6,000 square feet of shop space,” president Jesse Kilmack, whose father founded the company, said at a news conference on Friday, where Edmonton Centre MP and PrairiesCan Minister Eleanor Olszewski announced the funding.

“This investment allows us to increase capacity for our local clients while positioning us to better serve global markets from right here in Canada. More importantly, it supports the creation and retention of skilled jobs in this region.”

The RTRI – a three-year, $450-million effort by the federal government to protect Canadian businesses from the impacts of tariffs – was announced earlier this year. PrairiesCan oversees the program.

Olszewski called it one part of a “plan to unlock millions of dollars in new domestic demand and ensure that our Canadian products can compete.”

The application portal is still open.