This article is part of the Bright Leaders of Calgary series, which features prominent corporate leaders from our Team Calgary program and their insights on the local business community and vision for the future.
In times of uncertainty and complexity, Krista Rabidoux is someone who local and national businesses turn to.
As Managing Director at Andersen LLP, Krista and her team advise clients on U.S., Canadian and cross-border tax matters — a timely resource for Calgary businesses in the present economic landscape. With near-daily headlines about tariffs, trade and instability, businesses are moving faster than ever to diversify beyond the U.S. market.
To scale and expand into new markets, local businesses lean on resources like the Trade Accelerator Program as well as companies like Andersen to guide them through the intricacies of international compliance.
Amid the global turbulence, Krista is anchored by Calgary’s community, which was quick to welcome her when she landed in the Blue Sky City for a work relocation. In many ways, her Calgary story reflects the city’s vision for its economic future; one that includes vibrant, inclusive communities and a thriving, collaborative business environment.
We connected with Krista for a conversation about her first impressions of Calgary, the city’s arts and culture scene, how businesses are responding to global volatility and what strengths she sees in Calgary that make her optimistic for the future.
You moved to Calgary in 2021. What has it been like putting down roots in the city?
Moving to Calgary was an interesting experience because I was 20 years into my career, so I was a little apprehensive to rebuild my community. Calgary's community astounded me, though. There was a willingness to share names and ideas, support each other and grow each other — it truly reflects the entrepreneurial spirit that I see in Calgary.
Within a year or two, my network far outgrew what I’d had in Edmonton for those 20 years. In a business community, that's cool to see and it’s actually very unique in Canada. I work with a lot of people relocating from other countries who are trying to pick a place for their home and Calgary is like a secret — unfortunately, Toronto and Vancouver are the ones people know about.
Since landing in Calgary, you’ve become involved in its arts and culture through organizations like Contemporary Calgary and Calgary Stampede. How would you describe our arts and culture scene to someone from outside the city?
Calgary has an extensive arts scene that integrates its entrepreneurial scene. You have Theatre Calgary and the Jubilee, and all of these different facilities that put on world-class productions. There’s a level of sophistication because the business community rallies behind the arts, so the funding is there. Calgary is quite philanthropic in its ways, in how our businesses and leaders show up to support.
Why do you think arts and culture matter for a city’s economic health?
For an economy, arts and culture really matter, because the people who come here are going to want that. To attract talent and bring people to the [downtown] core, they need a reason to go there in the evening when the office towers are closed. When you have big shows coming through, people come downtown, the restaurants do better — everybody does better when you have a strong arts presence and community. That’s really what drives the culture. It's not a stamp or an add-on; this is actually embedded in us, and you can see it from end-to-end of the city. It's a part of the economy, a part of who we are and who we want to be.
Over the past year, Canada-U.S. trade relations have been volatile. Through your work at Andersen, what impacts are you seeing most acutely for Calgary-based companies, and how are they adapting?
Companies can deal with cost increases; we can move things around, we can change contract terms. But the hardest thing for a company to deal with is uncertainty. The companies that can pivot are those who will weather the storm. The stronger companies are really good at scenario planning, pivoting quickly and thinking outside the box to ask themselves, “Where else can we go? What else can we do?”
That’s what Calgary has going for it, because we've been through this before. Since Calgary is entrepreneurially driven, the people here know what to do and that puts us in a really good spot. That adaptability of Calgary is unique. When you look at other economies right now in Ontario and B.C., they're struggling because they haven't adapted as quickly and they've had major markets taken out from under them.
Another thing that we have going for us in Calgary and Canada is that we’re seen as a place of stability. There’s been an increase in migration of people and wealth from the United States to Canada over the 25 years of my practice. By far, those coming here from the U.S. are doing so because they see Canada as stable and consistent during times of economic uncertainty. That American money is opening doors for a lot of my clients as they look to adapt, because there's more funding available to explore different markets and strategies.
You provide guidance to businesses that are expanding into new markets. What are you seeing in Calgary’s business environment that gives its companies the confidence to grow beyond our borders?
The investment made in Calgary’s technology sector a number of years ago was an important one to get more resources here. We have really smart people here, and it allows our tech innovation to go to the next level. Canadians are inherently risk-averse, whereas when you come to Calgary, you find a lot more people are willing to take a risk and try something new. That helps grow innovation, solutions and technologies because there are so many more people who are willing to give it a shot and see what happens.
What gives you optimism for Calgary’s future?
We have really good business fundamentals in Calgary, both in our arts community and the for-profit community. We weathered what could have been a really gross recession and that should provide optimism to where the possibilities lie. At the end of the day, we're still an energy city; we're still oil and gas. However, there's so much more to that now. We have technology, we have great arts, we've got more food and agriculture starting to come in and we have a lot of financial services. If we can grow those, it creates that diversification that’s been worked on for the past number of years.
Plus, we're ambitious here. We don't take “no” easily.
About Team Calgary: Calgary Economic Development's corporate partnership program engages our community’s visionary thought leaders to influence Calgary’s economic growth and create long-term prosperity and opportunities for all Calgarians.
Together, we advance the economic strategy, Uplook: An Action Plan For Our Economy, as the path to make Calgary the place where bright minds and big ideas come together with an unmatched spirit to help solve global challenges.