Agriculture
Alberta’s robust talent pool, biomass availability, and easy access to global markets make it ideal to grow your bio-based product business.
Alberta, Canada’s agricultural sector is foundational to the province’s economy, contributing $9.68 billion in gross domestic product (GDP) in 2020 and employing 69,800 Albertans. The province offers a great supply of high-quality primary products and forages and is the third largest exporter of agri-food products in Canada.
Alberta has long been an agrarian powerhouse and will continue to lead the sector by developing and implementing groundbreaking innovations, all while preserving superior quality and sustainability.
The province’s fertile lands, copious sunshine and extensive irrigation network make it the perfect place to produce agricultural products. Alberta’s highly educated agribusiness workforce and post-secondary institutions with specializations in agriculture, science, and engineering alongside its global connectivity and business friendly policies create immense opportunities for agriculture processing facilities to establish Alberta as their North America hub.
Talent Pool
With a highly educated agribusiness workforce, Alberta, Canada has the talent to grow your business.
Alberta, Canada is home to a highly educated agribusiness workforce and post-secondary institutions with specializations in agriculture, science, and engineering.
The province has a strong applied research and innovation presence, with specialized agriculture and agribusiness programs at the University of Alberta, University of Calgary, University of Lethbridge, Olds College, Portage College, and Lakeland College. It is also home to more than 22 research and innovation facilities, specializing in biomaterials, crops and cereals, poultry and swine research, agronomy, and food safety. And the Canadian and provincial governments both offer significant tax incentives to conduct research and development.
With a highly trained and skilled labour market, food processing plants based in Alberta will find the specialized talent they need to operate and build capacity.
Biomass Accessibility
Alberta, Canada is growing and innovating in the bio-industrial space.
Alberta is an ideal environment to grow your business in food, beverage, and meat processing. Canada is the world’s top exporter of canola seed and dry peas, and in the top five in wheat, cattle and barley.
The province is leveraging its natural assets by developing and implementing innovative technologies to produce higher yields, while maintaining quality and sustainability. The Alberta government is investing in R&D in areas including smart farming and data analytics, indoor growing technologies and hydroponics, and improved product tracking and labelling. And its Bio Processing Innovation Centre (BPIC) provides essential product development and scale-up support for bio-based materials, chemicals, and natural health products companies and is the only government centre with a natural and non-prescription health products (NNHP) license.
Furthermore, Southern Alberta’s relatively warm Canadian climate, consistent sunlight, low-cost natural gas, availability of water, and reasonably priced land makes it ideal for green houses. And, with human consumption of plant-based protein projected to nearly double in the next five years, Alberta is uniquely positioned to fully capitalize and become a supercluster in protein production. As the industry is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.9 per cent between 2019 and 2023, the province’s agriculture ecosystem is committed to building Alberta as a premium protein provide globally, with net-zero carbon emissions.
Access to Market
Alberta, Canada’s infrastructure network supports business growth across North America and Asia.
Firms operating in Alberta, Canada benefit from the province’s world-class infrastructure.
Alberta’s extensive air, rail, and road networks grant access to more than just the North American markets. Business can also access the Asian markets through the Port of Vancouver and the Port of Prince Rupert. While connectivity to the CANAMEX corridor allows companies to reach tens of millions of consumers within a day’s drive and intermodal facilities and two of Canada’s busiest airports provide efficient access to consumer markets in over 100 destinations worldwide.
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