In the 1800’s Edmonton was given the nickname Gateway to the North, due to the gold rush taking place in Alaska. Even though Alaska was thousands of miles further north and west, over the years, the name stuck, and Edmonton is proud to be the largest Canadian city with over a million people in the most northern reaches of Canada. In a recent conversation CCN had with Gail Powley, President of Technology Alberta, she referred to tech as the new energy driving Alberta forward. So maybe a gold rush of sorts is back.
Gail also paid tribute to the oil and gas sectors, identifying the sector as what has allowed Alberta and cities like Edmonton to fund innovative technology education and business programs throughout the city creating balance between investments crucial to Canada’s economy.
Edmonton of course for most Canadians is known for its extremely cold winters and the Edmonton Mall, which used to be the world’s largest shopping mall. But Edmonton is so much more than that. Have you ever met or heard of Amii? Amii is one of Canada’s preeminent centres of artificial intelligence, which bridges world-leading research and industry. As we all know, AI is critical to all aspects of cybersecurity as we move forward, so Edmonton’s growing AI ecosystem is a key component of strengthening Edmonton’s cybersecurity posture. Telus World of Science was also established here to support STEM education and research. There is so much more here but our report on June 4th will go into that detail.
Young technology and cybersecurity talent is heading to Edmonton, because Edmontonian’s have more disposable income than most Canadians. Due to better home affordability and much lower taxes in Alberta it’s a great place to accelerate your lifestyle, career and or business.
One interesting fact that should not be lost on governments and Canadians is that Alberta is doing a great job for Canada’s technology sector, as it provides a choice for Canadians and businesses who want to have more disposable income and want to stay in Canada. Alberta is helping to reduce our technology brain drain. Go to Alberta (west) young people may become a new mantra. Let’s keep the brains in Canada and not have them go south.
CCN wanted to give a shout out to the government and technology associations in Alberta, as they were some of the few government agencies who reached out to CCN to see how we could work together to promote cybersecurity, technology, education, and business growth. Believe me we tried with most governments and cities but heard almost nothing back. We can see Edmonton’s energy and passion in driving business and progress forward and we now better understand the success they are having.
Edmonton is on its way up as a technology community with low overall costs, lots of start-up and funding opportunities and access to more and more talent relocating there. If the Government of Alberta, the city of Edmonton and Calgary can continue to work together to strongly integrate their strengths and work on making the Edmonton/Calgary corridor even stronger, the opportunity for growth is significant. The key is to balance out the needs of business, academia, costs, healthcare, and global growth into a cohesive system as they look to emulate and surpass innovation taking place in larger centres. Other provinces, communities would be well advised to learn why Edmonton is doing so well. Get in touch, collaborate and let’s make sure cybersecurity in Canada stays strong and thriving.
Our CyberTowns 2024 report on June 4th will share more on what makes Edmonton great. To become a report sponsor or for a media story, reach out to CCN directly.