Business Leaders and Employees See Calgary As A City Of Opportunity

A strong, diversified economy, a growing tech sector with more career options, and a quality of life out of reach in other cities have more business leaders and employees in tech seeing Calgary as a city of opportunity, according to new research from Calgary Economic Development (CED). 

“People are taking notice of what is happening in Calgary because they can see a future for themselves and their families here,” said Brad Parry, President and Chief Executive Officer, CED.

“We’ve seen the momentum build over the last few  years, but we also know we’re competing with other cities, and we cannot afford to take our  foot off the pedal now.” 

Research firm Stone-Olafson surveyed 1,875 business leaders and workers from October 4-18, 2022 across 10 markets in Canada, the United States and United Kingdom and found the following:

• Ninety per cent of the business leaders surveyed have a positive impression of Calgary (up one per cent from 2021) and almost three-quarters (74 per cent) say Calgary is quickly becoming a new hub for tech and innovation (up six per cent from 2021).
• Seventy-five per cent of business leaders say Calgary is better for doing business than other markets they work in and 55 per cent would consider moving or expanding to Calgary (up seven per cent from 2021). 
• Seventy-six per cent of business leaders (up six per cent from 2021) and 51 per cent of workers (up four per cent from 2021) say Calgary has a diverse economy.  

“The upward trend in perceptions was evident in 2021 and that continued in 2022 as more  people see Calgary as a city of opportunity and potential,” said Mathew Stone, partner at Stone-Olafson. “Talent mobility increasingly revolves around the promise of an improved  quality of life and Calgary offers that to a lot of people.”  

Telling the Calgary story in Canada and key markets worldwide is a key focus for CED. Their award-winning talent attraction campaign Live Tech, Love Life was launched in 2020 and is a focal point of the city’s marketing.

In addition to major investments in tech and other sectors in the last two years and positive economic news, Calgary was ranked the third most livable city in the world (tied with Zurich) and number one in North America by The Economist Intelligence Unit last June.