Opinion: Rising tech sector a precedence for subsequent Alberta authorities

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It’s more and more clear that the pandemic is casting an extended shadow over the 2023 Alberta election. Simply 4 days into the marketing campaign, the World Well being Group formally declared the COVID-19 public well being emergency over, however the financial hangover, deep social divisions and reminiscences of the previous three years loom massive.

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However the pandemic additionally modified Alberta in one other method, which can be trigger for cautious optimism. In the present day, each one among us resides a extra digitally related life and leveraging know-how greater than ever in our work and private lives.

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That is true of the Alberta financial system writ massive, too. As extra worth is created by the knowledge-based and data-driven financial system than ever earlier than, it’s plain that the tech sector is extra necessary than ever to Alberta’s future prosperity.

The excellent news is that Alberta’s tech sector has been on fireplace in recent times — 2022 marked 5 years of the province constantly breaking its enterprise capital attraction data within the tech house.

Alberta’s tech entrepreneurs are emblematic of our assured provincial identification — they’re formidable, aggressive and punching above their weight. And at a time when inner-city communities are grappling with the consequences of the pandemic, tech firms are attracting younger, well-educated professionals who will assist maintain vitality in our cities as they return to work.

What’s extra, Alberta’s tech sector has largely grown from the province’s can-do spirit, with out a lot in the way in which of presidency help. However to attain our full potential, that should change. In a distinct era, the Alberta authorities was a valued accomplice of the personal sector in constructing the province’s power financial system, creating mandatory establishments and regulatory buildings, and offering strategic funding the place mandatory. The SAGD know-how that helped unlock the oilsands is among the many inventions made doable by the Lougheed authorities having the imaginative and prescient to face up the preliminary Alberta Oil Sands Know-how and Analysis Authority.

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Alberta’s tech sector has all of the elements to be an engine of prosperity for the twenty first century on par with the power sector (and in co-operation with that sector), and it may assist the province climate the volatility of the pure useful resource increase and bust cycle.

Now’s the time to be asking each Danielle Smith and Rachel Notley; what’s your plan to construct the province’s digital financial system, which already employs greater than 200,000 folks? What’s the plan for guaranteeing that probably the most promising startups and high-growth scale-up revolutionary firms can thrive in Alberta?

There’s numerous work to be finished. A single current coverage places the province at a major drawback relating to attracting high expertise. Due to an archaic quirk within the province’s labour laws, there’s confusion about whether or not firms are permitted to make use of the time period “software program engineer” when hiring workers. Alberta governments of all stripes have traditionally prided themselves on transferring on the velocity of enterprise. Whichever social gathering kinds authorities after Could 29 ought to take away this pointless pink tape to maintain Alberta firms aggressive with these in different jurisdictions.

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We additionally constantly hear that the Alberta authorities does a poor job of buying from native innovators, which might increase the native financial system whereas additionally offering Albertans with rather more environment friendly digital authorities companies.

And, frankly, we’d like to see the Alberta authorities borrow a number of the profitable innovation methods we’ve seen in different Canadian provinces — reminiscent of British Columbia’s devoted tech expertise immigration stream below the provincial nominee program, or Ontario’s consolidated mental property company.

There’s nonetheless time within the Alberta election interval to debate many necessary points, however given how basic it’s to all the pieces else, the financial system ought to be top-of-mind.

By any measure, that dialog ought to embody asking what the plan is to help Alberta’s tech sector. 1000’s of innovators are keen to listen to a solution.

Jess Sinclair is director of authorities affairs, (Alberta) for the Council of Canadian Innovators.