Agriculture
Alberta has long been an agricultural powerhouse. This thriving sector employs more than 75,000 Albertans and is responsible for over $12.4 billion in exports. Global connectivity and business-friendly policies open tremendous opportunities for agriculture processing facilities to establish Alberta as their North America hub – with preferred market access to 51 countries and nearly 1.5 billion consumers.
Targeted investment opportunities span emerging growth areas, including alternative proteins, indoor farming, and biomass utilization. Farmers and ranchers are collaborating with Alberta’s technology sector to develop and implement innovative technologies to produce higher yields, while maintaining quality and sustainability.
Energy & Clean Technology
As an emerging leader in renewables and lower emitting sources of energy – and home to the third largest global oil reserves – Alberta is harnessing its expertise with innovation to build a cleaner, more sustainable world. The province is opening doors for renewable energy, cleantech and advanced opportunities in Carbon Capture, Use and Storage (CCUS), affordable low-emission hydrogen, ammonia, and methanol fuel sources.
A pioneer in CCUS, Alberta is leveraging existing facilities and infrastructure to expand into low-carbon petrochemical products, such as blue methanol and blue hydrogen. Meanwhile, made-in-Alberta technology has the province on track to achieve a 45% methane reduction target by 2025.
Tech & Innovation
Alberta’s innovators and entrepreneurs are developing technologies to solve the world’s greatest challenges. The province has grown into a global tech hub, with over 3,000 tech firms now calling Alberta home. This has been enabled by a robust talent pipeline, academic collaborations and a collaborative ecosystem that has supported start-ups and attracted established businesses from around the globe.
For the fifth consecutive year, the province set records for venture capital investment. Projected spending on digital transformation (DX) is set to surpass $20 billion between 2021-2024 (forecast at 13% YoY growth). Alberta has become highly competitive in the emerging fields of artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), augmented reality (AR)/ virtual reality (VR), and cybersecurity and data.
Aviation and Aerospace
Alberta is quickly becoming a leading centre for aviation and aerospace firms seeking the right environment to start-up or scale-up. One of the key attractions is Alberta’s growing expertise in artificial technology, robotics, and machine learning – all sectors critical to success in Aerospace and Aviation. The Alberta Aerospace and Technology Centre in Edmonton not only acts as an aerospace training hub, but also as a world-class technology centre.
Fintech
Alberta’s financial services sector has seen exceptional growth over the past decade, exceeding the national growth rate. Our province has developed world-class expertise in niche sectors such as asset management, trading, mergers and acquisition, corporate banking, and equity issuance. Companies in Alberta are investing over $1.5 billion in digital transformation for financial services from 2021 to 2024, with specializations ranging from blockchain, cryptocurrency, insurtech, paytech, capital markets and investments, wealthtech, software and more.
Life Sciences
Alberta is becoming a world leader in digital health. Since 2014, biotech research and development spending has grown by 200% in the province, and an estimated $1.3 billion dollars are projected to be spent on digital transformation in the life sciences sector by 2024. Over 200 life sciences companies are located in Alberta, which supports over 15,000 jobs.
In addition to being the only province in Canada with a province-wide electronic health records system, Alberta is home to the world’s largest germ-free facility (the International Microbiome Centre) and two of the world’s most respected Cancer Centres.
Infrastructure
Infrastructure in Alberta continues to thrive. Capital projects have been delivered to support the province’s growing population, programs, services, and economic development. Since 2021, over $9 billion dollars of municipal, provincial, and federal funding has been committed to support infrastructure development. Major projects across health, transportation, rural, and post-secondary industries have created jobs, enhanced communities, and boosted the economy.
In the 2021-2022 fiscal year alone, approximately 34,000 jobs were supported through infrastructure development in Alberta. Notable upcoming projects include the $9 billion-dollar high speed rail link between Edmonton and Calgary, also known as the Prairie Link Rail Partnership, as well as the $1.5 billion-dollar high speed rail link between Calgary and Banff.
