August 31, 2022

Alberta Stories

Making it happen: Future focused growth in Alberta

The past few years in Alberta have been filled with unique challenges. A major recession, a sharp decline in oil prices and a global pandemic created times of uncertainty. Despite the challenges, Alberta has remained resilient and strong, and through determination and effort, has carved a path to remain a significant player on the global stage. 

Alberta is slated to be a leader in Canada’s economic recovery in 2022. Doubling down on investment attraction throughout the pandemic has led to billions in private investment flowing into Alberta, creating new opportunities in emerging sectors like cleantech, fintech, agri-tech, renewable energy and much more.  

As Invest Alberta celebrates its two-year anniversary, we’re excited to be part of shaping Alberta’s future-focused growth and have been working locally and internationally with our team and partners to attract high-value, high-impact investments to Alberta. We truly believe Alberta is a special place to be, and we want to show the world exactly why that is.  

Rick Christiaanse, CEO, Invest Alberta speaking at Mphasis’ Calgary Office Launch (June 7, 2022). 

It’s been a busy two years working with international and domestic clients. Since Invest Alberta was created in July 2020, we’ve worked with hundreds of investors, including over 300 unique clients, to support their interest here.  

Success stories include Amazon Web Services’ $4.3 billion investment in cloud computing, Mphasis’s future-forward Quantum City partnership, INCA Renewtech’s new hemp manufacturing facility in rural Alberta, IBM’s new Innovation Centre and more.  

With international borders opening up and investment events taking place again, we’ve been out across the world in key markets sharing Alberta’s advantages with global investors.  We’ve engaged companies at the Farnborough International Airshow, Canadian Hydrogen Convention, CERA Week, London Tech Week, Collision and more.   

Invest Alberta hosts the Alberta Investment Forum at Calgary Stampede 

We also hosted the Alberta Investment Forum at Calgary Stampede in July 2022, which included a successful VIP Brunch bringing together global industry leaders, executives and senior government officials to network and engage about potential growth opportunities in the province. 

We conducted outbound investment prospecting missions to Ireland, the UK, South Korea, the U.S. and Singapore, which have resulted in several new MOUs and exciting investments for Alberta.  

To date, Invest Alberta clients have announced roughly $20 billion dollars in investments into Alberta and the creation of over 6,700 new jobs. 

With lower tax rates, top talent and affordable cities, Alberta is a great place to invest, live in and settle down. For example, Edmonton is one of the most affordable large cities in Canada, with the median home price being a fraction of competing cities such as Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal.  As well, Calgary has consistently been named as a top city internationally for many years, and in 2022 was tied for third place as the best city to live in, based on the Global Liveability Index. Alberta is also set to be the fastest growing economy in Canada, projected to lead all provinces in GDP growth this year. 

Invest Alberta joins delegates on a mission to Ireland. Photo credit: Ireland Alberta Trade Association 

It takes a team effort to deliver these results. To secure new investments, we’ve worked with over 100 stakeholders and incredible partners.  

While there is still a lot of work ahead, the progress made so far has been tremendous. We have many reasons to be optimistic about our province’s future, and we will continue to do our part to sustain Alberta’s economic diversification and growing global presence, showcasing why Alberta is a great place to live, work and invest.  

  

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