This year has marked transition and growth for Calgary, with investment and momentum across sectors highlighting why the city is a place where community meets opportunity.
Despite a year of increasing global economic uncertainty, civic and community organizations, post-secondary institutions and the private sector celebrated milestones with company expansions, international accolades and new talent development initiatives. Fueled by this progress, the Calgary region is working towards building a diversified and resilient economic future — a shared vision of the community’s economic action plan, Uplook.
With the recent civic re-branding to the “Blue Sky City,” Calgary is embracing its identity as the place for unexpected possibilities and blue sky thinking, where talent and entrepreneurial minds come together to make dreams a reality.
As the year comes to a close, we handpicked a few inspiring stories that celebrate the Blue Sky City’s wins these past twelve months across sectors.
Home to bright minds
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TalentED YYC was launched in April 2023, and in its first pilot year, has created over 800 work-integrated learning opportunities for students in partnership with local employers. Executive director of the program, D’Andre Wilson-Ihejirika, was recognized as one of the Black People Making History in Calgary by the Calgary Region Immigrant Employment Council (CRIEC).
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The launch of OCIF Express joined the ecosystem to fuel growth of Calgary’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and bridge talent gaps to foster workforce growth by simplifying the process of accessing funding.
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Boasting a 78 per cent growth rate, Calgary rose to the top of North American cities for tech job growth, showcasing the opportunities available for workers across sectors to build a career in the city.
Calgary is one of the best places to build a life
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Calgary has risen in the ranks once again as the fifth most livable cities in the world, in 2024, receiving top marks in education, healthcare and stability.
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The city was also named a top 10 destination for film and TV talent by MovieMaker magazine, with the city’s film-friendly practices, globally competitive incentives, locations and infrastructure.
A top location for business
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Fueled by investments from the Opportunity Calgary Investment Fund (OCIF), organizations like, TECHNATION, The Knowledge Society and Platform Calgary are better equipped to scale our skilled workforce and startups in the city.
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In the past year, Calgary’s business environment has experienced growth with the Blue Sky City welcoming tech investment from various companies including GoodLeaf Farms, who invested $52 million to establish their headquarters. VeriPark, Metlen Energy and multinational firm Fortinet also cemented their presence in Western Canada with expansions to the city.
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Alberta-filmed productions won nine Emmys, and earned 31 nominations, including The Last of Us, Prey and Fraggle Rock. The films exemplify the Blue Sky City’s film-friendly atmosphere as Canada’s fourth largest film and television jurisdiction along with our highly skilled film talent, set designers, production assistants and vendors. The Calgary region has no plans to stop here, with its eyes set on the development of its creative industries with its creative economy strategy.
Becoming a hub for creativity and innovation
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The city continues to gain international acclaim as a destination for investors and visionaries as it rose in rank to now place among the top 50 ecosystems in the world, according to Startup Genome. With its innovation ecosystem now valued at $8.2 billion, the city is seeing continued trends of strong venture capital investment.
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Bow Valley College has opened the city’s first esports arena, positioning the Blue Sky City to be a leader in the digital media industry and gaming, while nurturing up-and-coming talent.
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The new Arthur J.E. Child Comprehensive Cancer Centre expands Calgary’s capacity for patient care and positions the city as an international destination for research and development in health and life sciences.
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Researchers, startups and industry can increasingly collaborate as new innovation hubs such as the University of Calgary and Innovate Calgary’s Aerospace Innovation Hub (AIH), Platform Calgary’s National Bank Investor Hub, and Southern Alberta’s Institute of Technology’s (SAIT) Aerospace Composite Materials Lab and Alternative Construction Technologies Hub opened their doors.
An iconic city
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This has been a special year for Calgary, as community partners unveiled our new civic brand - Blue Sky City, after years of research and engagement with our community. As the city continues to evolve and attract new people, business and visitors, the new brand was created to tell Calgary’s story as a city of blue-sky thinking and innovation, a place of unexpected possibilities and place of confluence for people from all backgrounds.
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To identify opportunities for collaboration, community leaders convened on Calgary’s economic action plan, Uplook. As a future-focused city, leaders and organizations across the private and public spheres are intentionally driving initiatives forward to shape a diverse and resilient economic future for Calgary.
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