Updated 28 April 2022/2 May 2022
In July 2021 Abpolecon.ca ran a story A coup for Invest Alberta? that suggested or predicted that the De Havilland Corporation would bring jobs to the Calgary area. On 31 March 2022, the Globe and Mail published a Canadian Press story providing some information about an announcement that 500 jobs would be created by the aircraft manufacturer in Calgary. According to the story, De Havilland has launched the De Havilland DHC-515 Firefighter program to build on its Canadair CL-215 and CL-415 aircraft. De Havilland Canada acquired the Canadair CL program in 2016. The company already has signed letters of intent purchase the first 22 aircraft, and expects to make its first deliveries by 2025. Final assembly of the aircraft will take place in Calgary, where support for CL-215s and CL-415s already in service takes place. Firefighting in western North America and in Europe will likely continue to be in heavy demand as the planet heats up.
Oddly, I could find no announcement from the company. There was nothing about the deal on Invest Alberta’s website nor on Albertanews.ca. It is highly unusual for a government minister, in this case Doug Schweitzer, to ignore the opportunity to highlight another success of Alberta’s Economic Recovery plan or Alberta’s Job Creation Tax Cut. What gives?
On 22 April Minister of Jobs, Economy and Innovation Doug Schweitzer issued a statement on Alberta’s economy. The update was predictably upbeat and did mention the growth and expansion of companies in the province including Walmart and De Havilland. The boosterism was on display including Alberta’s high paying employers even though Alberta’s average wage relative to the Canadian average has fallen significantly over the past five years, due in part to the oil price crash and restraint in public sector wages.
Consistent with past claims, Schweitzer reiterated his leadership role in guiding Alberta towards a more diversified economy pointing noting “in every sector from logistics to aerospace to renewable energy, finance and technology. Diversification is not just a buzzword, it is happening.” Readers are left with the impression that 13,000 new business formations are way up but only by 4.9 per cent- . The common refrain that Alberta was pulling Canada out of an economic rut with its energy exports was repeated. How this is consistent with Alberta’s “diversifying economy” is anyone’s guess.
The full statement went on to say..
“The jobs we are seeing created in our province across sectors also show that Alberta continues to lead the country in good-paying jobs. More than 13,000 businesses have incorporated over the past three months, an increase of 4.8 per cent compared with the same period last year. Alberta’s average weekly earnings increased by 2.0 per cent in January 2022 compared with January 2021, to $1,254. Nationally, average weekly earnings were $1,162.
“New jobs also demonstrate the diversification of our economy. Companies growing into Alberta – in addition to local businesses – are coming
“Alberta’s reputation in the technology and innovation sector continues to grow. We have incredible talent here and, when paired with Albertans’ entrepreneurial spirit, success is born. In the first quarter alone, Alberta-based startups including Wyvern, PainWorth, Syantra, Avanti, Summit Nanotech, Drink Partake, Virtual Gurus, Validere, Reach, Helcim, Athennian and Arcus Power announced successful financing rounds. In addition, new Alberta-based startups including Entos Pharmaceuticals, Intelliwave Technologies, Stellaralgo, Interface Fluidics, and Tetra Trust announced new partnerships. The real strength of Alberta’s tech sector is in its early-stage deals, which bodes well for the future. All this momentum is helping to make Calgary the top city for tech talent growth in North America with Edmonton not far behind.
“Our manufacturing sector is seeing growth across sectors. Alberta is one of the top provinces for manufacturing sales growth, with sales totalling $16.1 billion in the first two months of the year – up 30.2 per cent from this time last year. Energy products and fabricated metal product sales grew by 63.7 per cent and 44.3 per cent respectively. Over the same period, Alberta’s wholesale trade increased 23.4 per cent from last year, with growth in every product category.
“Alberta is also leading the country in growth in merchandise exports. Alberta exported more than $28.6 billion in goods during the first two months of this year, up 54.4 per cent from last year. This was led by growth in energy products, which was up by 72.8 per cent year to date.
“Our work to create a business-friendly environment by lowering taxes on job creators and reducing red tape is helping to restore business and investor confidence and attract significant job-creating investment to the province.
“In turn, this is attracting more people to move to Alberta. Edmonton and Calgary are the two most affordable cities in the country, according to a recent report. Globally, that puts Edmonton at No. 4 and Calgary at No. 10 for affordable cities. The most recent net migration numbers, released last month, show positive growth. Alberta’s housing markets are booming and overall building permits are up 7.7 per cent, comparing the first two months of this year with January and February 2021.
“The province’s economy is expected to fully recover to 2014 levels this year, expanding by 5.4 per cent, and be among the nation’s growth leaders. I’m confident that Alberta’s future is bright and we’re just at the beginning of what will be Alberta’s decade.”
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On 2 May 2022, Statistics Canada reported estimated GDP growth for 2021. Alberta’s growth rate of 5.1 per cent, while higher than the national rate of 4.8 per cent was below growth in British Columbia (+6.2 per cent). The maritime provinces (P.E.I., New Brunswick, Nova Scotia) and Québec also had rates of GDP growth higher than Alberta. This is somewhat surprising since the last quarter of 2021 saw significantly higher oil and natural gas prices. Alberta’s oil and gas extraction posted a relatively modest 6.3 per cent rise in 2021. Statistics Canada also noted that growth was primarily driven by the services producing industries, particularly public services. Continuing public sector spending restraint in Alberta was a factor in GDP growth being just above the national average. Saskatchewan and Manitoba’s weaker performance than Alberta was mainly due to drought causing decline in the prominent agriculture sectors of these economies. Stats Canada also reported: “Following three years of decline, construction grew in Alberta, with an increase in residential building construction (+16.8%) and renewable energy projects which contributed to electric power engineering construction (+55.3%).” |
Canadair CL-215 firefighter Source: WIkipedia