Alberta innovation strategy aims to strengthen tech sector, attract capital and diversify economy

The Alberta government is taking steps to shift the province’s economy away from its heavy reliance on oil and gas with a new Technology and Innovation Strategy aimed at increasing the commercialization of post-secondary research, and attracting the talent, business and investment needed for a resilient post-pandemic recovery.

“Alberta’s technology sector is already seeing record growth and now is the time to build on that momentum,” Doug Schweitzer, minister of Jobs, Economy and Innovation, said last week in announcing the strategy, a key pillar in Alberta’s Recovery Plan. “This is the beginning, I believe, of an amazing decade for Alberta with huge opportunities for us.”

The strategy, the work of a number of government departments, envisions the creation of 20,000 new jobs with the province’s tech companies generating an additional $5 billion in annual revenue by 2030. In 2021, venture capital invested a record $561 million in Alberta, up from $37 million in 2017, Schweitzer noted.

In its recent budget, the government provided $73 million over three years for implementing the Technology and Innovation Strategy with funding to accelerate commercialization of technologies in the areas of artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum science.

The strategy aims to reassure investors that the government will stay focused on economic diversification, even with the recovery of the oil and gas sector, Deborah Yedlin, president and CEO, Calgary Chamber of Commerce, told Research Money.  “This policy says very clearly that the government understands the importance of diversification [and] they understand the importance of technology to support companies being able to be better, faster, more profitable, and more productive.”

A strong technology innovation strategy “helps us determine the most appropriate investments that we need to make for Albertans — meaningful investments, investments with demonstrable impacts and measurable outcomes,” Rollie Dykstra, executive vice-president, Impact for Alberta Innovates, said at the news conference.

Some 60-70 percent of the initiatives in the strategy have already been implemented or are in the process of being implemented, said Schweitzer. An additional 20-30 percent will be rolled out either through the budget or this spring and into the fall.

The strategy has five goals:

Expand the tech talent pool

To support Albertans rapidly gaining the education and skills they need for high demand jobs, the government is working with industry and post-secondary institutions to develop micro-credential programs while increasing access to post-secondary programs such as computer science and engineering, information technology and data modelling.

“Talent development is a crucial component in supporting an evolving innovation ecosystem, enabling a stronger workforce through targeted investments in people but also making sure that we develop the companies in Alberta so they're ready and capable of accepting those people when they're ready,” Dykstra noted.

The government plans to establish a public sector AI lab as anchor tenant to develop talent, produce new AI solutions for the government and enable innovators to create commercialization opportunities.

Attract more private and public investments

Greater access to early-stage capital is vital and the government has provided an additional $175 million to the Alberta Enterprise Corporation, said Schweitzer. With a total of $350 million, it will leverage private venture capital dollars coming into Alberta.

The Alberta government also sees opportunities to collaborate with its federal counterparts to leverage federal research dollars that are coming into many areas where Alberta has an advantage over other regions of Canada, said Schweitzer. “We want to make sure that we fund those research projects to get that done for Alberta.”

Increase support for commercialization

“Commercialization of research is the driver for generating economic value from knowledge and ideas,” says the strategy paper. The government wants to ensure that the money being spent on research in post-secondary institutions is converted into companies and job opportunities in Alberta, said Schweitzer.

To help the scale-up of start-up technology companies, the government will introduce business accelerators to support local entrepreneurs to grow the technology start-up sector through Alberta Innovates. It also will work with technology and innovation partners to establish and fund a central entity to build and provide commercialization and entrepreneurship capabilities system-wide.

As intellectual property is closely tied to research, the government will support implementation of an IP framework that will include fostering industry/institution collaboration, providing a more consistent approach to IP.

Optimize Alberta’s tech and innovation ecosystem

An effective and cohesive technology and innovation ecosystem is essential to attracting and retaining talent and helping entrepreneurs grow their companies, according to the strategy.

While many organizations are providing these supports, some entrepreneurs struggle to navigate the system and still report gaps, it states. To address the issue, the government wants to improve system efficiency, working with Alberta’s innovation agencies to ensure that entrepreneurs and innovators are receiving targeted and timely support.

“That collaboration is absolutely critical because you don't want to reinvent the wheel,” said Yedlin. “We have to make sure that everything we have, we use as productively as possible.”

Promoting Alberta as a tech and innovation leader

Advancing the goals of the Technology and Innovation Strategy will be a key part of building the province’s reputation as an attractive location for innovators and entrepreneurs to innovate, invest and grow, says the strategy. That will include exploring new investment incentives to attract anchor companies to build out the province’s technology and innovation ecosystem. As well, through the Invest Alberta Corporation, the government will continue to “tell Alberta’s story, improve investor awareness and attract investment from global technology firms.”

“People now know that they need to be here,” said Schweitzer. “They know that there’s job opportunities and they know as well that there's investment opportunities here in Alberta.”