The Edmonton Metro Region Economic Recovery (EMRER) Working Group will be chaired by Searle Turton, MLA for Spruce Grove-Stony Plain, and is made up of representatives from numerous sectors. Malcolm Bruce, CEO of Edmonton Global, and Lisa Baroldi, president and CEO of Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) Edmonton, will serve as vice-chairs.
EMRER members will engage with Edmonton-area leaders, businesses and organizations to get their views on how Alberta’s government can support the recovery and growth of the metro Edmonton economy. Edmonton’s metropolitan region is closely linked and engagement will focus on the economic vibrancy of both Edmonton and its surrounding communities.
“Edmonton is more than just Alberta’s capital city, it is a centre of innovation and entrepreneurship. We are committed to ensuring Edmonton remains a choice destination for private sector investment and businesses looking to relocate, start up and grow. I look forward to the recommendations on how we can leverage the new and emerging opportunities that our capital city has to offer.”
After engaging with Edmontonians, the working group will bring forward recommendations for revitalization and attracting investment that can be worked on by both government and industry leaders. These recommendations will focus on ensuring the capital region remains one of the best places to invest, do business, raise a family and thrive.
“The Edmonton metro region has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the region is full of innovators and has foundational strengths we can build on. Ensuring the region’s economy continues to rebound and grow will be a team sport, and I look forward to working with members of the working group to determine how Alberta’s government can help.”
“Working together to attract and sustain investment in our metro region and Edmonton’s downtown is critical for our economic future. So is getting our stories and our companies into new markets. I look forward to our work over the coming months and hearing from many people during the process.”
“The recovery working group will help us build upon our region’s historical economic strengths in energy, manufacturing and agriculture, while also helping us take fuller advantage of the incredible opportunities that exist in AI, technology, life sciences, global logistics, agritech and food processing, and hydrogen. We have what the world needs – talent, innovation, resources and an ability to produce at a global scale.”
The working group is expected to submit a final report to the government in summer 2022.
Secretariat support for the working group will be provided by the Ministry of Jobs, Economy and Innovation.
Working group members
- Searle Turton, MLA for Spruce Grove-Stony Plain (chair)
- Lisa Baroldi, president and CEO, BOMA Edmonton (co-vice chair)
- Malcolm Bruce, CEO, Edmonton Global (co-vice chair)
- Grand Chief George Arcand Jr., Confederacy of Treaty Six First Nations
- Ashlyn Bernier, COO, SamDesk
- Joseph Doucet, interim dean, College of Social Sciences and Humanities, University of Alberta
- Shalene Jobin, associate professor, faculty of Native Studies, University of Alberta
- Hubert Lau, CEO, Trustbix
- Andrew MacIsaac, CEO, Applied Pharmaceutical Innovation
- Puneeta McBryan, executive director, Downtown Business Association
- Tina Naqvi-Rota, CEO, Cameron Developments
- Scott Nye, head of game studio operations, Improbable Canada
- Marlea Sleeman, associate, Creative Destruction Lab
- Heather Stewart, CEO, BBE Logistics
- Dave Young, executive vice-president, CBRE
Quick facts
According to Statistics Canada:
- In December 2021, there were 51,500 businesses with employees in the Edmonton census metropolitan area (CMA), 30 per cent of Alberta’s total.
- In 2018, the Edmonton CMA’s gross domestic product was $90.5 billion, 27 per cent of Alberta’s total.
- In 2021, the Edmonton CMA’s population was 1.42 million, an increase of 7.3 per cent from 2016 and 33 per cent of Alberta’s total.
- The Edmonton CMA’s unemployment rate averaged 6.6 per cent between November 2021 and January 2022. This is the lowest unemployment rate for the Edmonton CMA since January 2019 and is lower than the rates for the Calgary CMA (8.5 per cent) and Alberta as a whole (7.4 per cent) during that same period.
