Yesterday Consultiq attended a presentation at the Canadian Consulate office in San Francisco. Representatives from the Consular office and the Edmonton Economic Development Corporation provided information on the booming Alberta economy, due to rising oil prices and the vast proven reserves of northern Alberta in the tar sands.

Alberta is looking south to find best practices in advanced manufacturing, cleantech (tar sand oil is not the cleanest source of crude) and for professional services as well. Canadian Direct Investment Abroad (CDIA) was over CAN $500 billion in 2007 and is increasing – and the U.S. is the biggest recipient, capturing 43% of that. Two-way trade between Canada and the U.S. was CAN $712 billion in 2007, and Statistics Canada is estimating Canadian GDP growth to be 1.9% for 2008-2009.

Opportunities abound in Alberta for U.S. firms that can support the petrochemical industry and also help Alberta diversify their economy beyond oil and gas – Alberta went through a boom-and-bust cycle in the past, and they don’t want to repeat the mistake.

Two starting points for connecting to opportunities in Alberta are the Edmonton Economic Development Corporation and TEC Edmonton.