From high-paying jobs and charitable donations to using office space and purchasing products and services from other businesses, head offices are a valuable asset to local and regional economies.

In this regard, Alberta does quite well with 123 of the head offices of Canada’s 800 largest* businesses (as measured by annual revenue) located in the province in 2021. Only Ontario has more head offices at 363.

When population size is taken into account, Alberta leads all provinces with 2.77 head offices per 100,000 people compared to 2.45 in Ontario and 1.96 in BC. Atlantic Canada has the fewest number of head offices at 0.85 per person.

At 99 out of 123, the head offices in Alberta are concentrated in Calgary. Of the 99, 71 were listed as either an “energy” or “oil field services” company.

The Edmonton area was home to 21 head offices with the remaining three located in Lacombe, Okotoks and Vegreville.

With revenue of $47.1 billion in 2021, Enbridge Inc.was the largest corporation in Alberta and the 8th largest in the country. Cenovus Energy Inc., Suncor Energy Inc., Imperial Oil Ltd., and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. round out the top five largest businesses in Alberta.

The CMA of Toronto had the most head offices of any metro area in Canada at 281 in 2021.

*Source: The Financial Post 500

Answer to the previous trivia question: The theory of comparative advantage is explained by David Ricardo (1772–1823) in his book On the Principles of Political Economy and Taxation.

Today’s trivia question: Which economist is known for advocating government spending to mitigate the adverse effects of economic downturns?