In 2022, billboard ads promoting Alberta were put up across Toronto that read: “An engineer, accountant and plumber walk into a province. They all get jobs.” Let’s check in on that.
Driving the news: According to recent jobs data, Alberta’s third-largest city has the country’s highest unemployment rate, falling slightly to 9.7% in January. The rise in unemployment has been driven largely by record population growth in the province.
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Between 2022 and 2024, the 105,000-person city added nearly 8,000 residents, more than the full decade before that.
Why it matters: Red Deer might be the most extreme example of a city grappling with more people than jobs, a phenomenon that’s picked up across Canadian cities over the past few years. Since mid-2022, the national unemployment rate has risen from less than 5% to 6.6%.
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But unlike most places, cities in Alberta have been at the centre of a recruitment campaign to bring more people to what’s become the fastest-growing province.
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The Alberta is Calling campaign pitched newcomers on the promise of high-paying jobs combined with affordable housing, which the province has struggled to deliver.
Bottom line: Alberta still punches above its weight when it comes to creating new jobs: 72,000 jobs were added in the last quarter of 2024, about 46% of new positions in the country. All that’s needed to stay on track is to avoid potential U.S. tariffs on energy.—LA