A city with a limitless future and endless opportunities
Calgary is the place where bright minds and big ideas come together with an unmatched spirit to help solve global challenges. Like the mountains that surround us, big things are happening here. In Calgary, the possibilities are everywhere. What’s in the water in Calgary is a signature entrepreneurial spirit, a supportive business environment with some of the most affordable Class A downtown office space in North America, and an enviable lifestyle with a Rocky Mountain playground just one hour’s drive away. It’s no wonder Economist Intelligence Unit ranked Calgary as the third most livable city in the world.
Economy in Depth
Calgary has more than 100 corporate head offices, the most per capita of any Canadian city, and is home to more than 700 startups, many in tech. Go in depth on Calgary’s economy, labour market, demographics, real estate and industries with Why Calgary: Our Economy in Depth report.
Economy snapshot
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Lowest Corporate Income Tax Rate
At 8%, Alberta has the lowest corporate income tax rate in Canada.
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One of the Most Livable cities
Calgary was ranked in the Top 20 most livable cities in the world.
Source: Economist Intelligence Unit, 2020 -
5G Ready + Connected City
Calgary is 5G-ready with carrier-agnostic dark fibre networks.
3RD MOST DIVERSE CITY
Calgary is the 3rd most diverse city in Canada with 120 languages spoken.
Source: Statistics Canada, Census 2016
AFFORDABLE
Housing is affordable with the median price of a single-family detached home at $399,000 CAD.
Source: 16th Annual Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey Q3 2019
SECTORS DRIVING OUR ECONOMY
A digital transformation is happening across all of Calgary’s industries. Our digital transformation spend is projected to grow by 13% from 2021 to 2024, representing $7.5 billion (in spending by Calgary businesses). Calgary is driving towards the next generation of a sustainable, inclusive and resilient innovation ecosystem. From fueling and feeding to healing and moving, Calgary has a long-established innovation ecosystem that’s attracting international investment.
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Aerospace & Logistics
Calgary is a gateway to regional and global markets. Home to several commercial and logistics clusters with close to 5,000 transportation and logistics businesses. This critical mass of freight, transportation and distribution activity makes Calgary an attractive market that continues to see strong investment.
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Agribusiness
Agriculture has been a staple of Alberta’s economy for well over a century. With proximity to high value land, access to distribution channels and a focus on innovation, Calgary is a centre for agribusiness in the province. The sector continues to evolve thanks to an established strength in food processing, precision agriculture, specialized research and training and the growth of niche crops.
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Creative Industries
Calgarians are creators, storytellers and innovators. In Calgary, creative products and services contribute over $2.1 billion to the local GDP. Calgary is a hub for thriving performing and visual artists, gaming development and leading digital agencies.
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Energy & Environment
Calgary is the undisputed centre of energy in Canada. With over 70% of Calgary’s head offices in the energy sector, the economic opportunities are significant and driven by research and innovation. More than 140 companies develop clean tech products for the oil and gas industry.
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Film & TV
Anson Mount of Hell on Wheels said it well, “Alberta, simply put, is a film and television maker’s dream.” As Canada’s fourth largest filming jurisdiction, Calgary is home to award-winning talent and crews, world-renowned locations, and a purpose-built film studio.
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Life Sciences
It is predicted that the majority of the global population will be impacted by health issues related to chronic disease and brain and mental health in the future. Calgary is home to leading researchers and over 90 companies in these areas, putting it in a unique position to address these global health issues.
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Technology
Home to a thriving technology and innovation sector, over 760 private tech companies are located here (that’s 62% of Alberta’s total). Calgary has the highest concentration of high-tech workers of Canadian cities.
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Calgary Tech Stories
Calgary's game-changers, innovators and visionaries are putting our city on the map for solving the world's greatest challenges — right here.
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Aerium Analytics: Flying a new course
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HELCIM: Fintech that’s old-fashioned—In a good way
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Syantra: Revolutionizing breast cancer detection
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Xerris: Made in Calgary, taking on the world
That’s the nice thing about Calgary: if you ask, someone is there to help or point you in the right direction.
Local intel
Use our LocalIntel microsite to discover Calgary’s business climate, research industry trends, analyze competitors and customers, and much more.
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Access to support and funding
All levels of government are committed to welcoming new businesses. With the lowest tax rate in Canada and one of the most generous R&D tax incentives of G7 countries, Calgary is your best bet.
- Innovation Employment Grant: Receive up to 20% toward qualifying R&D expenditures
- Opportunity Calgary Investment Fund: $100M program to attract innovative, catalytic and strategic projects to Calgary
- SR&ED Tax Credit: Provides 15% for foreign companies and 35% for Canadian companies tax incentives for R&D in Canada
- Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP): IRAP supports SMEs with R&D projects at various stages of the innovation cycle, receive up to 80% to offset project labour expenses
- Canada-Alberta Job Grant: Employers can get up to 100% of training costs reimbursed (up to $15,000 / employee) when hiring and training eligible newly employed Albertans
Investment Trends in Calgary
In 2020, Calgary saw venture capital investments totaling $353M, a 160% increase in value over the previous year. Notable large investments in Calgary over the past few years include:
- Attabotics: Provider of 3D robotic warehousing and fulfillment system, raised $66M in Series C round
- Benevity: Global software social enterprise that develops workplace giving and volunteer management software solutions, raised $40M in Series C round
- Blackline Safety: Designer, developer and manufacturer of connected safety wearables and Industrial IoT software raises $36 million to accelerate connected worker market growth
- Eavor: A leader in scalable geothermal technology has completed a $50.7 million funding round
- Symend: Customer engagement platform remediating consumer debt using data science, closeda total of $127M in a Series B round of funding
Notable Expansions
- Morgan Stanley: One year after Morgan Stanley acquired Calgary-based Solium Capital, the American financial giant is expanding further in Canada with the launch of a wealth management division
- AMD: AMD, an American multinational semiconductor company based in Santa Clara expands to Calgary focusing on the development of its GPU software engineering talent
- Cisco: Further growing its team in Western Canada with new senior artificial intelligence jobs that will support the company’s Western Canadian operations
- Finger Food Advanced Technology Group: Finger Food Advanced Technology Group selected Calgary as the location for its first advanced technology centre to accelerate the incubation of new digital technologies and development of Calgary’s tech and business ecosystems
- Royal Bank of Canada: RBC launches Calgary Innovation Hub with plans to create 300 technology roles over the next 3 years
- Mphasis: Mphasis plans to set up its Canadian headquarters in Calgary and establishing a Quantum Centre of Excellence creating over 1,000 jobs over the next 2 years
- Lovingly Made Ingredients: Lovingly Made Ingredients, a subsidiary of UK-based Meatless Farm, opens a plant-based protein manufacturing facility in Calgary
- Infosys: Infosys is a global leader in next-generation digital services and consulting, and commits to bringing 500 jobs to Calgary by 2023
Where is Calgary
Calgary is connected to everything — connecting over 18 million people per year to over 140 destinations globally. Canada’s sunniest and most liveable city is home to 1.5 M people in the Calgary Metropolitan Area (CMA) and is conveniently located within a 60-minute drive to Banff and the Rocky Mountains and a one-hour flight to Vancouver, Seattle and the Pacific Ocean.
A vibrant, multicultural city of 1.5 million people, Calgary’s strengths are rooted in our values - innovative, entrepreneurial, and inclusive. Home to diverse industries, we are a city that embraces change and change-makers. Whether it's feeding, fueling, healing, or moving, Calgary is helping solve the world's problems through the adoption of transformative technologies. For any company embracing digital transformation, Calgary is the ideal city to grow your business.
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