Calgary BIG INFO Page (A VERY BIG Page of Calgary Information)

Calgary has established a reputation around the world for offering a complete package of competitive advantages such as:

3     Today, Calgary is Canada's number one economic performer & has an unprecedented diversity in an array of industries.

3     Calgary's employment rate & per capita income are both ahead of the national average.

3     During the past seven years, Calgary region experienced a population growth more than 16 per cent higher than any other city in Canada & 125,000 new jobs have been added in the past five years.

3     Calgary has no provincial sales tax, no capital tax, no machinery & equipment tax & reasonable property tax on l& & buildings.

3     Calgary has the youngest & one of the most highly educated populations in Canadas’ 10 major markets.

3     Calgary was ranked as the “best place in Canada” to work by the Globe & Mail, & Today's Parent magazine ranked Calgary amongst the “top five best cities for families”.

3     Calgary continues to enhance its reputation as a world-class city playing host to internationally renowned events such as the Calgary Stampede, The Spruce Meadows Masters & the G8 Summit.  Browse through www.calgaryadvantages.com & discover the dynamic spirit & endless opportunities in Calgary - Heart of the New West.

Calgary’s Key Advantages

3     Calgary's reputation as Canada's Energy Capital stems from its thriving oil & gas industry, & from the energy & enthusiasm of its business community.  With Canada's youngest & most highly educated population, it is easy to see why Calgary has such vitality & spirit.  It’s this combination of optimism & opportunity which continues to draw both companies & entrepreneurs to Calgary.

3     Calgary is home to 89% of Canada's oil & natural gas producers & 64% of coal producers.   Companies involved in the energy sector, & its supporting industries, have flocked to Calgary & sparked the emergence of new growth leaders.

3     Aside from oil & gas companies, Calgary has internationally recognized firms involved in finance, engineering, food production, transportation, & telecommunications.  As an established advanced technology centre, Calgary is also home to dynamic information technology, health services & environmental sciences firms.

3     Calgary’s proximity to key national & international markets has made it an important distribution hub for western Canada.  With skilled labour, reliable & inexpensive energy & an advantageous tax climate, Calgary has a lot to offer the modern entrepreneur.

3     A further attraction of Calgary is our enviable Rocky Mountain lifestyle.  A recent study from Switzerland ranked Calgary as twelfth in the world for the highest quality of life!

3     With a strong entrepreneurial spirit & an ability to get things done, Calgary remains one of Canada's most consistently growing economies.

3     Sixty percent of Alberta exports originate from Calgary.

3     The population of Calgary's main trading area is well over 2.5 million people.

Location

3     Calgary, Alberta, Canada, is located at: latitude 51 03' 07" North; longitude 114 22' 14".  The City's elevation is 1,048.43 meters [3,439.71 feet] as taken at the fundamental benchmark, Central Park. The area of the city is 721 square km [278 square miles] making Calgary the second largest city in Canada by area.

3     In Calgary, you don't just think east-west. It is wise to also think north-south.  Because of the close ties between Calgary's oil industry & the American energy sector, the city's transportation links stretch south of the border as well as to other Canadian destinations.  By road, the Trans Canada Highway provides easy access to eastern Canada & the Pacific coast.  A modern airport keeps the Calgary in close contact with the rest of the world.

Economic Base

Calgary's cooperative, entrepreneurial-minded business community has encouraged many major companies, whose activities are clearly international in scope, to locate here. Major firms, like Trans Canada Pipelines, Canadian Pacific Ltd., BW Technologies, Petro-Canada & Shell Canada Ltd. have established their head offices in the city.  Some of these firms consciously chose Calgary as a location while others grew in the thriving Western climate.  In fact, Calgary is ranked second as a major head office centre in Canada, only behind Toronto.  Some of the new arrivals on the Calgary business scene are the headquarters of CP Rail, Suncor Inc., Imperial Oil, Shaw Communications & Dow Chemicals.

Energy

Since the discovery of oil & gas in the Turner Valley area, just south of Calgary, the city of Calgary has become known as the energy capital of Canada.  This is due in large part to the fact that over 89% of oil & gas producers are headquartered in Calgary.  As a result, Calgary has a large concentration of expertise in oil & gas technologies, petrochemical engineering construction, natural gas compression & heavy oil development & engineering. Calgary is also home to a large portion of Canada's energy service industry, including engineering, geological & data processing.

The energy industry in Calgary is a highly competitive, capital intensive industry.  The industry demands high quality & fast service from its own industry & from the companies which serve to supply it.  These high standards have helped ensure Calgary businesses offer high quality products, with prompt service.

Agriculture

Calgary is a significant agricultural centre as well as a major energy centre.  In 2001, total farm cash receipts were $8.3 billion.  The majority of agricultural revenue is derived from three commodities: cattle, wheat & small grains.  Although Calgary is not a producer of these goods, it benefits from a wide range of agricultural-based industries & services.  These include food processing, farm equipment & supply marketing, livestock & grain marketing, a wide variety of agri-services, numerous agricultural publications, livestock shows & sales, & regular agricultural conventions.

Manufacturing

The manufacturing industry in Calgary, although traditionally oriented toward products for the agricultural & oil & gas industries, continues to diversify - notably into food processing, clothing, furniture & high technology.  This diversification is attributed to Calgary's excellent transportation infrastructure, with an inland container port & an international airport; a well-trained, capable & available work force, with one of Canada's best records of management/labour relations & a central location within the Western Canadian market.

Calgary's manufacturing industry has five major sectors in terms of contribution to employment & value of manufacturing shipments. These are:

(1)    food & beverage,

(2)    wood products (value-added wood processing)

(3)    fabricated metal products

(4)    electrical & electronic products

(5)    printing, publishing & allied industries

Other strong sectors in Calgary manufacturing include transportation equipment, chemicals & chemical products.

The outlook for continuing growth in Calgary's manufacturing industry is excellent, given the city's central location in the Western Canadian market & ready access to the Western United States & Pacific Rim.

Western Canada's Technology Capital

During the past 16 years ago, the annual output from Calgary's advanced technology sectors (information technology, telecommunications & life sciences) has quadrupled to more than $7 billion while employment has tripled to nearly 29,000 jobs.  As of July 1997, Calgary was home to more than 1,100 high-tech companies, earning the city a reputation as an innovative North American centre for advanced technology.

Pillars of Calgary's high-tech community includes:

3     SHAW COMMUNICATIONS

3     NORTEL

3     TELUS

3     Hughes Aircraft

3     IBM/ISM

3     Pelorus Navigational Systems Inc.

3     QC Data

3     Hewlett Packard

3     Smart Technologies

3     BW Technologies

High Tech Infrastructure

Calgary's high tech industries are complemented & supported by a number of organizations, including:

3     The Alberta Research Council (Calgary office)

3     Alberta Microelectronic Centre (AMC)

3     TRLabs

3     WurcNet

Technologically Advanced Culture

The creation & success of Calgary's high technology industry can, in part, be credited to a large population of knowledge-based professionals & a "culture of use" environment.  Calgarians are highly educated: more than 60% of the adult population has some post secondary education. Among Canadian cities, Calgary has the highest concentration of employees in science, engineering & mathematics, 44 per thousand population, compared to the national average of 22 per thousand population.  The city's "culture of use" is reflected in its percentage of computer users; at 76% it rates as the highest in the country. Furthermore, Calgary has the highest Internet connectivity rate in North America at 67.4%.

Developing & Training Knowledge-Based Professionals

Calgary's post secondary institutions continually increase the concentration of knowledge-based professionals in Calgary. Calgary's primary post secondary institutions are committed to training, education & research, & focus on developing high quality, career-oriented graduates in a variety of high tech areas.

Companies & Entrepreneurs Relocating to Calgary

Calgary Economic Development assists companies & entrepreneurs in developing or expanding their operations in Calgary.  A joint partnership of The City of Calgary, the Calgary Chamber of Commerce & the University of Calgary, its mission is to diversify Calgary's economy by attracting, growing & developing business organizations.  Calgary Economic Development fulfills its mission to assist businesses & entrepreneurs by promoting Calgary's advantages, services, facilities, human resources, lifestyle & infrastructure to individuals & corporations around the world; & providing support, services, facilities & information to high tech companies & organizations located in -- or interested in relocating to -- the Calgary area.

Retail Trade

Calgary is home to eight regional shopping centres, totalling approximately 5 million square feet. There are also 110 neighbourhood, community, strip, & power centres, totalling approximately 9 million square feet.  There is approximately 2 million square feet of retail space in the downtown core, with the largest centres being Bankers Hall, Calgary Eaton's Centre, Toronto Dominion Square, Scotia Centre & the Eau Claire Market.

Calgary's retail sector expansion can be attributed to high consumer demand evidenced by Calgary's changing demographics, strong population growth & strong retail sales figures.

In April, 2001 almost 60% of the city's population was within the 25-64 year old age group.  This age group is the most economically active & stable segment of the city's population.

Calgary has consistently maintained strong retail sales.  In 2001, Calgary accounted for $12.1 billion in retail sales, a 7 % increase over the previous year. The outlook for Calgary’s retail sector is expected to continue to be very positive.  

Calgary’s continued strong economic performance will continue to create new jobs that are expected to attract a large number of new migrants.  The greatest increase in retail construction is underway in areas that are experiencing the strongest residential growth.  

These projects, when completed, will add over 1 million square feet of prime retail space to Calgary’s inventory. In addition, there are 27 projects totalling over 4.4 million square feet in the planning or marketing stages.

Tourism

The tourism industry in Calgary & Alberta represents a major opportunity for economic development.  A range of businesses benefit from direct visitor sales.

In 2001, more than 4 million people visited Calgary & area & spent nearly $1 billion dollars.  Visitor spending helps sustain an estimated 22,000 equivalent full-year direct & indirect jobs.  Alberta remains the largest market for Calgary, followed by British Columbia, the United States, Saskatchewan, Ontario, & other parts of Canada & off-shore countries.

Professional sports franchises in the city include the National Hockey League Calgary Flames, the Canadian Football League Calgary Stampeders Football Club & the Calgary Hitmen Professional Lacrosse League.

Calgary is recognized worldwide for the annual Calgary Stampede, known as "The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth".  Annual festivals also include the Calgary Winter Festival, the Calgary International Children's Festival, the International Native Arts Festival, the Calgary Folk Festival & the Calgary International Jazz Festival.

Tourism Calgary coordinates the promotion of Calgary & area's visitor industry. 

Film Industry

Calgary is a major film industry centre for both Canadian & international feature film, television & commercial production.  The diversity of spectacular locations including mountains, foothills, plains, prairies & badlands within an hour of the modern city skyline (Metropolis in Superman III) is the primary magnet.  Experienced crew & talent, major supply houses, talent, no provincial sales tax, a favourable US exchange & long hours of sunshine help attract several major features, made for television movies, corporate videos, educational videos & rock videos & commercials every year.

The Calgary Film Services Office markets & sells Calgary & area for filming.  It offers direct contact & experienced location assistance to Producers, liaison with the City of Calgary Permits & Permissions office & advice on availability of crew, talent & service companies.  In terms of revenue generated, Alberta attracted $150 million dollars in feature film, television & commercial production in 1996, of which $100 million dollars worth of activity was in the Calgary area.

Real Estate

Industrial Real Estate Market

In 2002, the Calgary Industrial Real Estate market reported some of the lowest vacancy rates in Canada. Currently, less than 3.5% of Calgary’s almost 90 million square feet of industrial space is vacant. New inventory totalling over 1.7 million square feet was brought on stream in 2002, mostly for build to suit applications.

Examples of new industrial projects on the near horizon for 2003 include a national retailer currently negotiating a land acquisition for a Western Canadian distribution centre & a 1 million square foot distribution facility for Westfair Foods in northeast Calgary.

Office Market

Calgary’s inventory of office space currently stands at slightly over 33.5 million square feet of which almost 9% is vacant. Approximately half of this space is sublet space.

IBM completed their new building in 2002 & for 2003 new owner/user buildings are expected for the Vintage Square II project, Mission Commercial Centre & One Executive Place.

Calgary continues to have one of the strongest economies in Canada resulting in a very strong investment market. The total transaction volume for 2002 reached over $1.7 billion, with the number of transactions tapering off toward the end of the year due to a lack of investment opportunities.

Housing

The continued strength of Calgary’s economy is most obvious by reviewing the current state of Calgary’s housing market.  The latest housing trends indicate very strong growth in the number of new dwelling units, declining vacancy rates & increasing ownership rates.  The April 2002 City of Calgary Civic Census indicates that there are now over 360,000 dwelling units in the city with an increase in inventory of over 11,230 over the previous year.  At the same time, the vacancy rate fell below 2.3%, with just slight more than 8000 dwelling units vacant.  This is the lowest vacancy rate experienced in Calgary over the past 5 years.  The Calgary Real Estate Board reported an average home price increase of 13% between June 2004 and June 2005.

Financial Institutions

The importance of Calgary as a financial centre was brought about as a result of the oil & agricultural industries in Southern Alberta.  As the industry grew, so did the need the financial resources.  This growth created a substantial capital market in Calgary resulting in chartered banks locating their western, regional (Prairie Provinces) & Alberta head offices in the city.

Multinational Banks in Calgary

Calgary's business community now enjoys the advantages of direct local access to the vast international money markets & services provided by 4 multinational banks:

3     Bank of America Canada Ltd. (U.S.A.)

3     Citibank Canada Corp. Ltd. (U.S.A.)

3     Credit Lyonnais Canada Ltd. (France)

3     HSBC (Hong Kong)

Calgary's Retail Banks

Royal Bank of Canada (34)

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (22)

Bank of Montreal (38)

Bank of Nova Scotia (38)

TD Canada Trust (25)

Canadian Western Bank (4)

Bank of Canada

Calgary is the location for the Bank of Canada in Alberta. It has long been the practice of the bank to locate in a province's financial centre. The Calgary office employs approximately 35 workers.

ATB Financial

ATB Financial (originally the Treasury Branches of Alberta) was set up by The Alberta Government in the 1930s to expand the scope of financial services to Albertans, particularly in rural areas.  In Calgary, there are 24 Treasury Branches, a large divisional office, including a department for independent business & rural development, offering a complete range of banking services to the Calgary public.

Investment & Stock Brokers

With the burgeoning financial market in Calgary, many investment & stockbrokers have established offices here. Over 115 companies of a local, national & international nature are located in the city.

Trust Companies

Calgary has become an important regional centre for trust companies.  There are now 46 branch offices representing local, regional & national trust companies.

Credit Unions

Calgary has 18 credit unions with 36 branches in the city. Calgary is also the site of Alberta's centralized Credit Union Processing Centre.

International Foreign Exchange Services

Currencies International Foreign Exchange Services offers foreign denominated drafts & wires in over 40 different currencies.  They can also supply foreign cash (in 120 foreign currencies) or American Express Travelers Cheques for any corporate or personal travel.  They offer a complete corporate foreign exchange service at competitive rates or exchange.

For further information call Currencies International at tel: (403) 290-0330, Fax: (403) 263-3693.

Mortgage Companies

While mortgaging is a service that is provided by most financial institutions as well as real estate & insurance companies, there are now over 80 such companies in Calgary that specialise in this business.  Most of these firms cater to homeowners who generally do not qualify for mortgages through regular channels.

Insurance Companies

General Insurance Companies:

Over 125 general insurance companies maintain offices in Calgary.  Some of these are quite large & maintain sufficient staff to provide extensive services to their agents & customers.

General Insurance Agents:

There are over 370 general insurance agencies in the city, ranging from small one owner operations to nation-wide brokerages employing a large staff & providing a complete range of insurance services.

Insurance Brokers & Adjusters:

Over 80 Insurance adjusters & 65 brokers have offices in Calgary.  There is enough diversity in these services to accommodate any insurance need from home to life & business insurance.

Source: Calgary Electronic Corporate Directory, 2002.

Utilities

Electrical Power

Alberta is the first province in Canada to deregulate its electricity industry.  Alberta’s retail electricity market was deregulated effective January 1, 2001 to give Albertans increased choice of service providers, encourage construction of new sources of generation & reduce regulatory costs.

Power generated in Alberta is sold through the Power Pool of Alberta, which is an open access competitive market for electricity. The Power Pool co-ordinates all electricity sales & purchases in the province, as well as all energy imports & exports, & real-time control of the provincial electricity grid.

Source

About half of the electricity in Alberta is generated through coal-fired plants. Natural gas-fired plants account for about one-third, with the remainder produced by hydroelectric, biomass & wind-powered plants.

ENMAX

ENMAX Corporation is an electricity transmission, distribution & energy supply & services company that has served customers in the Calgary area for more than 95 years.  ENMAX is a wholly owned subsidiary of The City of Calgary & provides electricity, natural gas & value-added services to more than 400,000 residential, commercial & industrial customers in Alberta through its subsidiary companies.

Today, ENMAX serves the energy needs of customers across the province. We’ve grown with the evolving competitive energy market, expanding to offer customers managed network services, natural gas & expertise in electronic communications.

ENMAX's vision is “Exceptional people reinventing the Canadian energy & services industry: the choice of customers & investors, every day.” This goal is pursued through three primary wholly owned subsidiaries:

3     ENMAX Energy Corporation (ENMAX Energy) provides electricity & natural gas to residential & business customers across Alberta.

3     ENMAX Power Corporation (ENMAX Power) delivers electricity to homes & businesses in Calgary & some surrounding areas. We own, operate & maintain the regulated power delivery system (transmission & distribution).

3     ENMAX Encompass Inc. (ENMAX Encompass) provides billing & customer service for ENMAX & several Alberta municipalities. This service is provided through a call centre, billing group & adjustment services team.

Greenmax

In 1998, ENMAX launched Greenmax, the first program of its kind in Canada designed to provide customers the opportunity to support renewable wind-generated power.  Greenmax has been certified as an EcoLogo green power source under Environment Canada’s Environmental Choice program.  This designation is only granted to green power sources that have superior performance & meet, or exceed all government, industrial safety & performance standards.

Since the program’s launch, Greenmax has had the same positive environmental impact as the CO2 absorbed by almost 25 million trees.  ENMAX is increasing its commitment to the environment through our wind power investment in McBride Lake Wind Farm, south of Fort Macleod. The 114 wind turbines will generate enough energy to power 32,500 homes annually & will be the largest wind farm in Canada.

Natural Gas

Source

All gas requirements can be met in Calgary even during maximum use periods.  In addition to the city's supply of gas from nearby wells & pipelines, the system is boosted by storage fields that are re-pressured in off-peak periods for use during periods of heavy demand.

Supplier - Canadian Western Natural Gas Company Limited, Head Office, 909 - 11 Avenue, S.W., Calgary, AB T2R 1L8 (Phone: 403-245-7110).

In 1996, the Company served more then in 115 communities in Southern Alberta including Calgary. The following are the customer year end figures for 1996:

Residential - 326,500

Commercial - 29,200

Industrial & Other - 300

Total - 356,000

Source: Canadian Western Natural Gas, June 1997

PLEASE NOTE:  Information in this profile has been provided from various internet resources, therefore the accuracy, currency & reliability of the content & data cannot be verified.

© Robbie O’Leary 2005