What it takes to be on top: How Alberta leads Canadian Entrepreneurs

Since then, the oil industry has allowed for Alberta’s sustained growth over the years.

While business in Alberta has now branched out into many different kinds of business, oil remains at the heart of the province. As stated by the Government of Alberta, oil remains a key factor in the province’s continued growth: “When the price of oil is high, Alberta prospers. When it drops, as it did in the mid-1980s, times may be difficult […] Improved oil prices and the growth of new industries helped make Alberta’s economy one of the strongest in Canada. Alberta is now a vibrant, prosperous province, with a high quality of life.”

As capital grew within the province, government, academics and business owners came together to ensure that growth continued and progressed. The result has meant that research initiatives, like Alberta Innovates, have cut red tape in order to allow for the most welcoming atmosphere for entrepreneurs. The Alberta Innovates website (an innovation and research initiative conducted by the Albertan provincial government) recognizes the importance of cooperation for economic progress. According to them, Alberta has largely been able to achieve success because they have benefitted from the highest economic growth in Canada, ensuring a proper environment for research and innovation.

Justin Riemer, Assistant Deputy Minister of the Economic Competitiveness Division for the provincial government, explains how the combination of factors has helped entrepreneurship in Alberta:

“We’ve had a low tax environment, good funded infrastructure, well funded education and health care system which are things that investors look for to build the economy of off,” says Riemer. “Also, government has had a lot of great relationships with industry within the province.”

Riemer says these relationships (specifically within oil extraction, petrochemical, forestry and agriculture industries) go on to foster businesses, which in turn lead to supply chain businesses or support and equipment businesses.

While the relationship between government and business is crucial in creating an inviting atmosphere for entrepreneurs, the government of Alberta also recognizes the key role education plays in developing these relationships. The Alberta Innovates website highlights the role of education in the province’s sustained growth: “Our strong legacy is also based on Alberta’s top universities and academic programs that are ranked among the best in the world and have attracted some of the world’s best researchers. Our success has extended into business where we have attracted some of the world’s largest and most successful corporations and to partner with us.”

Education

The Haskayne School of Business at the University of Calgary is hoping to further solidify the relationship between academia, innovation and entrepreneurship. Launched last February, the Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship will be taking students out of the classroom to real-life problem solving scenarios, or “action-based learning”. Neutens, director of Haskyane’s Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, says this kind of active learning provides students (and future entrepreneurs) with invaluable experience, as earning their degree allows them to experiment with members of the industry and in various academic competitions:

“The centre is looking at non-traditional ways of teaching entrepreneurship. Many schools offer programs […] where they teach students how to do a business plan, or how to finance a new venture and that’s all great,” she says. “But what we’re doing is this whole concept of entrepreneurial thinking that goes beyond a traditional business plan. We’re trying to figure out what are the characteristics, the behaviours that drive people to constantly innovate and challenge the status quo, but also how to continue innovation within the confines of big business.”

Riemer and Neutens both agree that education has been of the utmost importance in ensuring Alberta’s entrepreneurial success.