Alberta’s “Make it Happen” attitude makes it an exceptional place to invest and do business. It’s a bold and ambitious province—a place that isn’t daunted by change, shifting markets, or even a global pandemic. Our mantra is to find solutions where others see problems. To roll up our sleeves and get to work.
Invest Alberta continues to be a part of that story. Since launching in 2020, this skilled, dynamic, global team has helped clients announce nearly $20 billion in investment to Alberta and more than 25,000 jobs. In 2022, our new CEO, Rick Christiaanse, brought broad expertise and an investor-first approach to ensure the organization delivered Alberta’s value proposition everywhere from Stampede to Singapore.
Last year, working with Invest Alberta, clients unveiled designs, celebrated sod turnings, and cut ribbons at the doors of new North American offices in Alberta. IBM, De Havilland, Mphasis, CGC, Global Shares, PACE, ITOCHU, Petronas, EY, and INCA Renewtech are just a few Invest Alberta clients creating new investment waves and full-time jobs across our province.
I’d like to congratulate the Invest Alberta team for raising the bar last year and driving global investment in Alberta from clients in the US, India, the UK, Ireland, Brazil, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and more. I’d also like to recognize all our partners who collaborated with us to make these high-impact, high-value investments possible.
This year’s annual report is a report card of that success. It shows what Team Alberta is capable of. It’s also a testament to the importance of showcasing innovation, the Alberta spirit, and how the province continues to be a destination of choice for global investors, no matter what challenges we face.
Successful global investment in Alberta’s diverse sectors like technology, agriculture, finance, cleantech, aerospace, energy and more is expected to continue. As the world opened its doors once again, Invest Alberta came knocking, pitching exciting global investment opportunities for our cities and rural communities. As a forward-thinking province that prides itself on its talent, ESG, competitive business cost, speed and ease, we can’t wait for what’s next.
R. Scott Hutcheson
Since launching in 2020, this skilled, dynamic, global team has helped clients announce nearly $20 billion in investment to Alberta and 25,000 jobs.”
This past year was all about momentum. The global investment space remained fiercely competitive, and once again Invest Alberta stepped on the international stage to show why investors, companies, and bright young people are choosing Alberta as a stable, diverse place to invest, grow their business, and live an exciting life.
Last year, we solidified our leadership team and expanded our international presence to target markets in Asia and the United States, including Singapore, Seoul, New Delhi, Hong Kong, San Francisco, Seattle and Houston. This allows us to meet investors where they are, showcase Alberta’s value on the ground, sign more agreements, and compete against other jurisdictions vying for global investment—a competition Alberta can win.
Our investor-first approach kept us focused on what investors want: competitive costs, speed, ease of doing business, and positive social impact – and it has paid off. Last year, we were pleased to welcome De Havilland’s state-of-the-art aircraft manufacturing facility and CGC’s wallboard facility in Wheatland County, INCA Renewtech’s net-zero hemp manufacturing hub in Vegreville, IBM’s Client Innovation Centre and Mphasis’ IT delivery centre in Calgary, PACE’s solar farms, fintech investments from Ireland’s Global Shares, agritech announcements from Phyto Organix in Strathmore, an agreement with IXON foods from Hong Kong, the expansion of Siwin Foods’ facility in Edmonton, and more. To date, IAC clients have announced more than 25,000 jobs.
As the world opened its doors again, we met with companies in Dublin, Munich, London, Hong Kong, Copenhagen, Singapore, New Delhi, Taipei, Tokyo, Seoul—about 31 investor visits and 11 investment forums—to tell Alberta’s unique story, join the global conversation on the future of energy supply, and attract job-creating investments. We supported more than 500 clients and are on track to support 500 more and attract thousands more jobs for Albertans in 2023.
Our unique global marketing efforts earned over 134 million impressions, 3 million clicks, drove almost 2 million users to our website and generated more than 3,000 leads.
At home, we’re supporting a strong provincial ecosystem so economic opportunities are spread across Alberta. We conducted hundreds of speaking opportunities, met with post-secondaries and municipalities, and worked with regions and communities across Alberta. Our investors are often amazed at how quickly and collaboratively Alberta partners come to the table to make big investments happen.
It’s an exciting time for Alberta. Tech and finance are flourishing, energy and cleantech are diversifying, agriculture is expanding with new technologies, and aviation and logistics are reaching new heights. We will continue collaborating locally to compete globally and build on this momentum to create more high-value, high-impact investment and jobs in Alberta.
Rick Christiaanse