Alberta is calling skilled workers from Toronto

The Alberta is Calling advertising campaign offers motivated professionals from Toronto a glimpse into the kind of life that awaits them out west.

 TORONTO, Sept. 21, 2022 /CNW/ - The first phase of the Alberta is Calling advertising campaign launched in Toronto and Vancouver in mid‑August and was designed to draw skilled, educated and ambitious talent to Alberta. In Phase 2, the campaign continues to spread the news about why workers in both cities may consider a future in one of Alberta's vibrant communities.

Miranda Rosin, MLA for Banff-Kananaskis, and R.J. Sigurdson, MLA for Highwood, joined Premier Jason Kenney at the W Toronto hotel to provide more details about the campaign. At the Bloor-Yonge TTC station, transit riders will be surrounded by images of Alberta's breathtaking landscapes and unique cityscapes, as well as key facts about life in the western province. The ads will be up for one month.

Alberta is experiencing unprecedented economic growth and diversification that has resulted in rewarding jobs across numerous sectors, including technology, finance, renewable energy, film and television, agriculture, transportation, aviation, manufacturing and logistics. Job seekers in Alberta can look forward to expanding their skill sets and succeeding in their chosen fields while enjoying everything the province has to offer.

The campaign highlights the many cost-of-living, career and lifestyle advantages of life in Alberta, including:

• Highest average wages and lowest taxes in the country.
• Home ownership in a major city for a fraction of the cost.
• Shorter average commute times.
• Career opportunities in emerging and growing industries.
• Easy access to world-famous mountain parks for year‑round hiking, skiing, biking, and more than 300 days of sunshine per year.

"After several tough years, Alberta is back in a big way. One of the challenges we're facing is not having enough people to fill all the jobs that are being created. Alberta is friendly, affordable and offers limitless opportunity, and we're here to make our case to skilled professionals in the Greater Toronto Area."
Jason Kenney, Premier

"Alberta is already home to some of the best and the brightest, and is rapidly becoming a destination of choice for people throughout Canada and around the world. We offer high wages, lower costs and a lifestyle that is unsurpassed anywhere else." 
Tanya Fir, Minister of Jobs, Economy and Innovation

The Alberta is Calling campaign will cost a total of $2.6 million.

To learn more about the opportunities and advantages of living in Alberta, visit albertaiscalling.ca.

Quick facts

• Job vacancy rates are high, with more than 100,000 open jobs.
• 78 per cent of Alberta businesses report shortages restricting their ability to meet demand.
• Alberta has seen the highest employment growth in the country in 2022.
• Between December 2021 and August 2022, employment in Alberta increased by 61,700 compared with an increase of 28,600 in Ontario, despite it having a larger population.

• Alberta workers continue to have the highest earnings across all provinces.
• Alberta's $1,245 average weekly earnings (June 2022) are the highest in the country (Ontario is second highest at $1,186 per week).
• According to Statistics Canada's 2020 Canadian Income Survey, released in March 2022, Alberta families earned a median after-tax income of $104,000 in 2020, which is more than $7,000 higher than Ontario families.
• Housing is more affordable in Alberta than in Toronto.
• The Demographia International Housing Affordability study, released in March 2022, named Edmonton and Calgary among the top 10 most affordable housing markets when compared with 92 major cities around the world.
• According to Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) data, the average home sale price over the last three years in Edmonton was $383,000 – 38 per cent of the price of a home in Greater Toronto.
• The average home sale price in Calgary was $484,000 – 48 per cent of the price of a home in Greater Toronto.
• CREA data shows that home prices are significantly more stable in Alberta as well:
• Over the last 10 years, home sale prices in Edmonton have grown by 18 per cent and in Calgary by 21 per cent.
• Over the same period, home sale prices in Toronto increased by 135 per cent.
• The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) February 2021 Rental Market Report shows that rents are more affordable in Alberta. Over the last three years:
• Average rent in Edmonton was 79 per cent of that in Toronto.
• Average rent in Calgary was 82 per cent of that in Toronto.
• Alberta families generally pay lower personal taxes (for 2022, considering annual family incomes of $75,000, $150,000 and $300,000).
• Compared with Ontario, an Alberta family with two children will pay, on average, $3,800, $8,700 and $20,700 less in taxes, respectively.
• Alberta has no provincial sales tax, payroll tax or health premiums.
• Workers in Edmonton and Calgary spend less time commuting.
• In the 2016 census, workers in Edmonton* and Calgary* spent, on average, 25.9 and 26.5 minutes commuting to work (one way), respectively. This compares to 34 minutes in Toronto.*
• Alberta saw the highest net interprovincial migration in Canada, at 5,351 people, in the first three months of 2022.
• Calgary was recently named the world's third most livable city by the Economist Intelligence Unit's rankings

* City definitions are 'Census Metropolitan Areas,' which include the cities and surrounding municipalities that are closely integrated.

Related information

Alberta is Calling
Affordability programs

SOURCE Office of Communications and Public Engagement for the Alberta Government

Media inquiries: Justin Brattinga, [email protected], 780-203-0177, Press Secretary, Office of the Premier