Opportunities

Warning! Opportunities Blowing In From the Southeast!

Southeast Alberta offers ideal growing conditions for businesses in the key areas of energy (oil and gas and alternative energy), information technology, machinery, food processing and agriculture. This geologically-rich and agriculturally-rich region includes some of Canada’s major gasfields and vital irrigated and dryland farming, as well as livestock operations. Wind development is an opportunity being aggressively pursued.

Thriving businesses include leading manufacturers in oilfield equipment, unmanned aerial vehicles, tires, clay bricks, playground systems, modular homes, home furnishings, consumer goods and value-added agriculture.

“Southeast Alberta and Southwest Saskatchewan continue to see record oil and gas activity levels. Shallow gas development in particular looks like it will be very busy, not only in the short term but also well into the future. Medicine Hat sits very much in the centre of this activity and because of our population and work force; all the major players in the oil and gas service sector have operations here. Medicine Hat is a great community to work and live in, thanks in part to our climate and prairie lifestyle,” states Randy Humphrey, President of the 450-member strong Medicine Hat Oilmen’s Association in the Nickle’s Profiler where Southeast Alberta was profiled as an “Oilfield Capital of Canada.”

Oil and Gas

We offer:

  • Year-round drilling
  • Low-cost and quick drilling
  • Shallow sweet natural gas
  • Medium and heavy crude
  • Growing oil and gas industry (see this map)

Alternative Energy

We offer:

  • Steady winds
  • Ready access to land
  • Supportive environment
  • Expansion of transmission lines

General Investment

We offer some of the lowest business costs in the world and one of the lowest tax systems in Canada. Alberta has no provincial sales tax, provincial general capital tax or payroll taxes, and no machinery and equipment tax.

Some of the major investors in our area include:

  • EnCana Corp.
  • PetroCanada
  • City of Medicine Hat Gas & Utilities Department
  • NaturEner

Technology, Research and Development

We offer:

 Military Training

One of Canada's four Canadian Forces Bases is located in the Palliser Region. C.F.B. Suffield is an army base established during World War II and has three major components:

  • The Canadian Forces Base
  • Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC) - Suffield
  • The British Army Training Unit Suffield (BATUS)

With about 500 people employed directly by the base, and professionals, technicians, military personnel and support staff totaling a couple hundred at DRDC Suffield, the economic impact of the base is large. This sector is dynamic with projected growth and the establishment of new training programs.

For a detailed description of the Defence Industry in Canada, Alberta and the Region, click here. Palliser Economic Partnership has developed an overview for the Region. To BID on Defence Industry projects see this page.

Unmanned Vehicle Sytems

The Canadian Centre for Unmanned Vehicle Systems (CCUVS) is a not for profit company whose purpose is to facilitate sustained, profitable growth in the Canadian unmanned systems sector. CCUVS is governed by a Board of Directors, drawn from across Canada, representing academia, industry and government and working in air, ground and maritime unmanned systems environments. Head Office staff members are based at Medicine Hat Airport, Alberta, with other staff positions in Ottawa and elsewhere.

CCUVS activities and services include: unmanned systems standards work, influencing research, applications and technology solutions development, training, provision of facilities (such as access to test ranges and UAS launcher services), publishing studies, consultancy, promoting civil and commercial use of unmanned systems and stimulating Canadian economic growth.

For more information, see http://ccuvs.org/index.html and here.