Alberta Shows ‘Resilience with Job Growth’ as Blue Sky City Lures Tech and Talent

In January, Alberta gained nearly 42,000 full time jobs.

The Province’s Minister of Jobs, Economy, Trade and Immigration calls this figure “massive.”

“Once again,” said Joseph Schow, “Alberta is showing resilience and leading the country in job creation.”

The numbers are particularly impressive, Schow posits, ” in the face of global economic uncertainty that is having significant impact on other parts of Canada.”

Alberta’s government, the minister remarked, “has been focused on diversifying our economy, attracting investment and in turn creating new opportunities for those who call our province home.”

As a result, “we led in employment growth over the past 12 months, with an increase of 3.4% compared with 0.6% nationally.”

Schow describes this as “a positive sign that employment is catching up with our rapid population growth.”

Wages are also keeping up, according to the minister, who believes that “Alberta stands out as the best place to live, work, and raise a family.”

Schow says he is “optimistic we will see even more growth with businesses choosing to invest in Alberta, thanks to our low taxes, highly skilled workforce, and presence on the global stage.”

Driving much of the skilled workforce growth in Alberta is the region of Calgary, which is eager to attract “companies, capital, and talent” in tech and beyond.

In fact, this is already happening: Synapse Data Center recently announced plans for a one-gigawatt facility in Olds.

The $10B facility—which would be ten times larger than existing data centres currently operating in Canada—would fuel the creation of 2,000 construction jobs during the development process, plus 1,000 long-term skilled technology jobs once fully operational.

And as for the location? Synapse chief executive Jason van Gaal said the “strategic location between Calgary, Edmonton and Red Deer” provides “unparalleled access to a skilled workforce.”

“By creating over 1,000 long-term, high-skilled technology jobs,” van Gaal remarked, “we are ensuring that the benefits of the global AI boom are felt directly here.”