Alberta is known for its entrepreneurial spirit, but the latest edition of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) Alberta Report reveals a complex reality: while Albertan entrepreneurs are outperforming the rest of the country on several metrics, the province’s overall entrepreneurial ecosystem is trailing the national average on others.

What’s working?

According to the 2025-26 GEM report, Alberta’s Total Early-Stage Entrepreneurial Activity (TEA)* rate now exceeds the national average and rose again last year. Business incorporations rose modestly, while corporate insolvencies fell significantly.

Angel investment—where individuals provide early-stage funding to startups, typically in exchange for an ownership stake—tells another encouraging story. Participation rates in Alberta are above the national average and have improved since 2024.

The diversity of the entrepreneurial base is also worth examining. For example, Indigenous entrepreneurs play a role that is “above the national average, and greatly exceeds contributions anticipated based simply on population.” Minorities appear to be making considerable contributions, exceeding what would be expected by their share of the population, as well.

*Total Early-Stage Activity includes those in the process of starting a business (nascent entrepreneurs), and those running a young business (3 to 42 months old) but excludes those in the established business phase (firms older than 42 months or 3.5 years).

What needs attention?

A more complicated picture emerges when you look at what happens later in the entrepreneur lifecycle. Alberta is generating lots of early-stage entrepreneurial activity, but those businesses aren’t scaling into established enterprises at a similar rate. The report flags a gap between how many businesses start and how many mature into durable firms. Early-stage entrepreneurs in Alberta also reported lower growth expectations relative to prior years.

A compounding factor the report explores is the exit market. Business exits—where a founder sells their company and it continues operating under new ownership—are well under the national average. This matters because the opportunity to sell the business is a key metric for the entrepreneurial lifecycle; this is how entrepreneurs ultimately extract wealth from the value they have created. When that option isn’t as easily accessed, capital doesn’t recycle back into the ecosystem and risk-taking becomes less attractive.

On innovation

Most early-stage ventures in Alberta are built on existing products and services rather than new, disruptive technologies. About a quarter of ventures in Alberta focus on “geographic innovation”—bringing an existing product or service to their local market for the very first time. Disruptive, “new-to-the-world” innovations make up a small percentage. The percentage of Alberta firms offering new products has actually dropped since last year, pushing the province below the national average. 

The bottom line

What we can take away from this report is that Alberta remains an incredible place to start a business, fueled by ambitious founders, diverse communities, and a supportive financial framework. But starting a fire isn't the same as keeping it burning.

If Alberta wants to translate business starts into high-impact outcomes, the ecosystem has to evolve. That means throwing as much or more support behind scaling businesses, enhancing innovation, and building viable exit pathways as we currently do for getting ideas off the ground.

Answer to the previous trivia question: Brazil has won the most men’s FIFA World Cups, with 5 titles (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, and 2002).

Today’s trivia question: What is the largest public company by market capitalization that is headquartered in Alberta?