Last week, we released a report on Alberta’s tech sector entitled An Innovation Revolution: How Alberta is Building the Future of Tech. In today’s edition of The Twenty-Four, we get the inside scope on the report via an interview with the report’s author, ATB’s own Miranda Mantey.

Letting the secret out

Why was this report needed? There has been commentary surrounding Alberta tech that its recent growth has seemingly come out of nowhere. We were struggling to find the data to validate the history of tech in Alberta, the depth of its recent growth, and its economic impact. So we jumped in!

Defining tech

How did you go about telling the story? On the data front, we partnered with The Business Data Lab at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce to generate Alberta-specific numbers. One of the challenges, and a key finding, is that there isn’t an easily-identifiable tech “sector” in Alberta or elsewhere. Tech weaves itself throughout the economy—it’s an enabling force—so we had to figure out how to capture that in a meaningful way. I think it’s a mistake to see tech as a standalone industry when it is embedded so deeply across the economy. What we ended up doing was taking a people-based approach by defining the tech sector based on the concentration of tech workers in specific industries.

For the rest of the story, we went to the source and talked to people involved in tech in Alberta—all of whom were excited to describe what’s been happening and share their insight, for which I am very thankful.

Long time running

What surprised you most? I was struck by how far back in time the story goes. Tech has been a vibrant and growing element of the Alberta economy for decades. It’s not new.

It takes an ecosystem

You’re in an elevator, what’s a key takeaway from the report? I would highlight that the growth of tech in Alberta has been a group effort. It was the combined impact of entrepreneurs, established businesses, investors, academic institutions, non-profit groups, and government working together. We use the word “ecosystem” in the report and I think it’s fitting because the interaction among different players has been key. I also like the term because it points to the dynamic nature of the process—it has evolved and needs to keep evolving. In the early days, it was about organizing around access to seed capital; now it‘s about scaling up to compete internationally.

Homegrown

What is something from the research that inspires you? The fact that it is truly happening here in Alberta—that people have chosen to stay here and build things here using our unique strengths.

Be part of the energy

When people think of the Alberta economy, oil and gas tends to come to mind? How did that factor into the evolution of tech in the province? It’s a core part of the story. We call it EnergyTech in the report and it is one of the special circumstances that sets the Alberta story apart from other places. The energy sector drove tech development in order to improve its competitiveness—the development in Alberta of steam assisted gravity drainage systems for extracting bitumen is a prime example—and to tackle environmental challenges. It also provided a strong economy to drive further investment and a talent pool in the form of a high concentration of scientists and engineers. As the report stresses, EnergyTech is not the only game in town—AgriTech, FinTech, HealthTech, and RuralTech present ongoing diversification opportunities in the province—but it has been and will continue to be a pivotal driver.

People power

What’s next for tech in Alberta? I think it comes down to people—to talent. I heard again and again that we need more access to talent, including at the executive level and in terms of building a sales force. This isn’t a problem unique to Alberta, but it’s one we have to grapple with along with every other region. You need the right people with the right skills and experience to scale-up and commercialize. It comes down to developing and attracting more talent. We have a strong foundation in this area as the increase in tech employment shows [see the chart below], but future growth will require more investment in the talent piece of the tech puzzle.

Answer to the previous trivia question: Five federal electoral districts were added in 2022 (three in Alberta, one in B.C. and one in Ontario).

Today’s trivia question: True or false: You can vote online in the federal election?