Provincial Employment Potential Information

The following table identifies employment conditions within Alberta.

Labour Market Bulletins

An analysis of the local labour market and an assessment of local employment-related events.

• April 2013 | (PDF, 294 KB)
• March 2013 | (PDF, 437 KB)
• February 2013 | (PDF, 241 KB)
• January 2013 | (PDF, 435 KB)
• Annual Edition 2012 | (PDF, 227 KB)

Provincial / Territorial Labour Market News

Week of Apr 29 – May 03, 2013

• The Government of Alberta is investing $503M over three years for the construction of 22 new and replacement schools in high growth communities throughout the province. The first new schools are expected to be opened in 2016.
• Craton Construction Inc. and Dezota Construction Inc. are hiring for the Blackspring Ridge Wind Power Project in southern Alberta
• Capital Power has selected Genesee as the site for a natural gas powered electricity generating plant. Construction is planned to start in 2015.
• The Calgary Zoo will be spending $162M over the next 20 years on upgrades and new facilities
• The Canadian Pheasant Company, in Brooks, is cutting hatchery production for 2013 and laying off approximately 12 employees. The facility will permanently close when all of its inventory is sold.
• Denny's will be hiring up to 40 employees by the end of June 2013 for its new restaurant in Brooks
• Kal-Tire is moving its planned $25M tire plant from Regina to the Edmonton area
• Construction has started on Shell Place in Fort McMurray
• Chestermere Remedy's RX pharmacy has opened in West Creek Plaza
• Doodie Dudes opens for business in High River
• The University of Calgary and the Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute for Child and Maternal Health have received $1.6M in funding to establish a new research laboratory
• Brooks Asphalt and Concrete has been awarded a $2M contract for paving and construction by the Town of Stettler
• Richardson Bros. Ltd., of Olds, has been awarded a $4.6M contract for road work in Mountain View County
• Daycare in Peace River is short on spaces and employees
• The City of Grande Prairie is spending $700,000 to upgrade the Muskoseepi Park Pavilion
• Alberta Transportation is spending $8.8M for highway upgrades between Lethbridge and Coaldale over the summer

Week of Apr 22 – Apr 26, 2013

• Coalspur is expected to begin construction on the Vista coal mine near Hinton within a few months. The mine is expected to be operational by 2015.
• Holiday Inn Express and Staybridge Suites are spending $25M to build two new hotels in Red Deer. Construction is expected to begin this summer and finish by 2014.
• The Town Of Canmore is seeking lifeguards for the newly opened Elevation Place
• The Medicine River Wildlife Centre is starting construction on a new education centre and wildlife hospital; it is expected to be completed by 2014.
• BBC Contractors won the bid to construct the $1.6M Carseland Lagoon earthworks and piping modifications
• The Calgary Catholic Immigration Society's oil and gas training programs have launched a fast-track power engineering training program
• Construction will begin shortly on the new $3.7M gym for Hugh Sutherland School in Carstairs
• The Town of Cochrane will begin construction on the $1.4M first phase of Riverfront Park by fall of 2013
• Grande Prairie Regional College will host a career expo on April 30
• New Horizon Co-operative will be opening two new gas stations this year
• Grande Prairie Regional College recently laid off 27 employees
• Edmonton-based steel fabricator, Waiward Steel, recently laid of approximately 50 workers
• Imperial Oil Ltd.'s Kearl oil-sands mine, located north of Fort McMurray, will begin production shortly

Week of Apr 15 – Apr 19, 2013

• The Government of Alberta is providing $31M for upgrades to seniors accommodations across the province during 2013
• Lakeland College is cutting programs and services at the Vermilion and Lloydminster campuses for the 2013-2014 school year. It is estimated that 43 permanent jobs will be eliminated.
• STEPS Bridgeland, a new inner city condo development in Calgary, will begin construction in the fall of 2013
• Tutti Frutti Frozen Yogurt opened at Park Place Mall in Lethbridge on April 13, 2013
• The Town of Banff is spending $960,000 to upgrade its water system
• A new 107-unit seniors care facility is under construction in Olds and scheduled to open by spring of 2014
• The Ponoka Agricultural Event Centre Society has received $50,000 in funding to developing the Calnash Ag Event Centre
• Infrastructure contracts have been awarded to Al-Terra Engineering and Border Paving for work in the Town of Sylvan Lake
• Mount Royal University in Calgary will layoff 7 employees due to funding cuts in 2013
• The Alberta Health Services closure of the long-term facility at Strathmore Hospital will affect 19 employees
• CN Rail opens the $200M Calgary Logistics Park
• South Rock Ltd. is to begin construction of the Dunmore Road overpass in Medicine Hat on April 29, 2013
• Red Deer College is planning to reduced programs and staff as a result of a budget deficit for the upcoming school year
• Ground breaking for the new Quad Ball Diamond Facility in Brooks occurred on April 15, 2013
• The Town of Innisfail will begin Phase 2 of its downtown revitalization project on May 6, 2013
• Brookfield Residential is launching an inner city housing development in Calgary. The project is expected to be completed in early 2014.
• The Municipal District of Willow Creek has received funding for construction of a wireless internet tower
• Two more warehouses will be completed in the Stoney Industrial Centre in northeast Calgary within the next few months
• Portage College in Lac La Biche will lay off 15 people. The school will also close its campus in Vegreville and halve the size of the Bonnyville campus.
• Alberta Oil Sands is hoping to expand production at its Algar Lake facility
• Staff in some NAIT programs are being asked to consider leaving the institution through voluntary redundancy; approximately 36 vacant positions will not be filled
• McDonalds held its third annual National Hiring Day on Thursday. The company is seeking 300–400 employees in Edmonton and the surrounding area.

Week of Apr 08 – Apr 12, 2013

• EDF EN Canada will begin construction on a $600M wind farm in southern Alberta. The projected is expected to be complete by mid-2014 and will create 250 construction jobs.
• Siemens AG is moving its Canadian headquarters from Oakville, Ontario to Calgary
• New Walmart warehouse coming to Balzac
• McDonald's Restaurants hiring more than 700 new employees in Alberta
• Value Village is expecting to employ 60 people when its new store opens in Calgary on April 11, 2013
• Residential development with 700 units proceeding in Sylvan Lake
• Samson Cree Nation pilot program for entrepreneurs started March 4, 2013
• Grande Prairie Regional College planning to spend $1.7M to expand its Hinton campus
• Coalspur Mines to build railway extension east of Hinton for the Vista Coal Project
• Best Canadian Motor Inns building 49-room hotel in Blairmore
• Hope College to launch in Drumheller in fall 2013
• The Whitesand Hutterian Brethren are constructing farm dwellings east of Stettler
• Tollestrup Construction (2005) Ltd. has been awarded a $1.3M contract for road construction and underground utilities in Lethbridge
• Employee turnover is a key challenge for business in Banff and Canmore
• Platinum Communications Corp. is expanding wireless infrastructure in southern Alberta
• Construction begins on new Rotary Youth Centre in Camrose with completion planned by July 1, 2013
• Slumland Theatre, a downtown music venue for teens in Red Deer, is closing at the end June 2013
• Bow Valley College is offering new health care programs at its High River campus starting in May 2013
• New video and game rental store, Level Up, opens in Edson
• Auto racing planned for the Fort Macleod Aerodrome from April to October 2013
• The Tri-County Job and Career Fair will be held in Killam on May 7, 2013
• University of Alberta worried that they may be forced to close Faculty of Arts due to budget cuts
• Wood Buffalo municipal council approves expropriation of seven downtown properties to make room for sports and entertainment complex
• Study from the Petroleum Human Resources Council of Canada expects to see almost 32,000 job vacancies over the next 10 years in the oilsands