Competitiveness, Jobs & Investment Strategy

Competitiveness, Jobs & Investment Strategy for Alberta

For generations, Alberta led the country in private and public sector capital investment, in GDP, and in high wages. It is positive that our GDP and exports rebounded in 2022 on the strength of our energy sector and global commodity markets, but to ensure high-paying and sustained job growth we have got to increase our competitiveness, productivity, and levels of capital investment across the economy.

The energy sector investment is down at a time when cash flows are high. Overall investment levels are also flagging. This means Alberta is losing investment, losing out on economic growth and losing well-paying jobs. We need to have a strategy to reverse this.

The Strategy outlined below provides the certainty and incentives needed to maximize potential investment and build a diverse and resilient jobs economy.

“The policies presented in this strategy will support strong economic growth in Alberta’s Industrial Heartland. Specifically, Alberta stands to greatly benefit from increased flexibility and further expansion of the Alberta Petrochemical Incentive Program." Mark Plamondon Executive Director of the Alberta's Industrial Heartland Association

Our Proposal 

  • ALBERTA’S FUTURE TAX CREDIT

Alberta’s Future Tax Credit is a refundable tax credit of 20 per cent on capital investment in new
emerging sectors. An incremental refundable amount of up to 10 per cent will be awarded for new capital investment that generates key outcomes, like high-skilled job opportunities, new technological capacity in our province, or new sectoral skills and know-how.

  • SUPERCHARGING THE ALBERTA PETROCHEMICAL INCENTIVE PROGRAM

Alberta must continue to build on its strengths. We will expand the Alberta Petrochemical Incentive Program (APIP), a highly successful Petrochemical Diversification Program brought in by the NDP. The current program is working well, but it could work better with the right investment.

  • CONSULT ON EXPANDING THE ALBERTA INDIGENOUS OPPORTUNITIES CORPORATION

We have heard initial feedback that the Alberta Indigenous Opportunities Corporation is working. We would launch broad consultations and incorporate Indigenous perspectives on potential expansion into a greater number of sectors across the economy, and, in some cases, at a
smaller scale than large energy projects.

  • PERFORMANCE FAST PASS & NAVIGATORS

We propose establishing a regulatory Performance Fast Pass. This pass would be available to companies that have a proven track record of compliance with all rules and regulations applying to the company. 

  • REPEAL THE SOVEREIGNTY ACT

We will repeal the job-killing Sovereignty Act. It has no place in Alberta, where we must value our stable and secure investment environment. At minimum, the Act creates instability and uncertainty in our economy at a pivotal time when every signal must be clear and aligned to attract business growth and investment.

"We are at a pivotal moment. The decisions we make today will have long-lasting implications for future generations. We cannot afford to simply look to the past. We must build on it and look towards the future with ambition and hope." Rachel Notley

Please click the link below to read the full report. These policies are not final. Please let us know your thoughts by signing up for the upcoming consultation or by commenting below.

Leave a Comment

Cassandra Tataryn

Posted

Will this party give any incentives to make it easier for low income people to get into home ownership? Or to get low income people into higher income bracket jobs? #sick of being stuck at the bottum. You used to only need a little education. Now you need a full degree and I'm finding its too hard with out generational money to back me up. Economic issues keep cropping up at the worst times. Why Is it so hard to climb the economic ladder comming from a broken relationship? We give money to governement organizations that only support you briefly and superficially... instead of for the pockets and futures of the ones strugeling. I'm also feeling that " corporate welfare " is just a bandage on too big of a problem. And essentially like feeding off the sickness in broken communities.

Jan Martin

Posted

In general I like your proposals and I also appreciate that you can not include everything. I would like to see more environmental protection built in to your proposals. For example there are many ideas that have been put forth that would make the agricultural sector more environmentally sustainable and friendly. I agree that young voters are looking for environmental protection policies. Economic growth and environmental protection need not be at odds.

Jason Caumartin

Posted

First off get my money out of the completely toxic oil industry, tax that industry until they are just profitable after forcing them to doing a complete environmental cleanup. Next get on super environmentally friendly latest generation nuclear with closed fuel loop technology. Start construction now of a bunch of thermal plants around Canada, a few SMRs for remote area including marine transportable and a few fast neutron reactors for waste reprocessing to electrify Canada. With nuclear power you can also streamline recycling of plastics by having the ability to turn them all, mixed, including Styrofoam to base building blocks for remanfacture. You can also use marine nuclear to make fresh water and recover all sea bourne minerals in the process. All flat/low pitched roofs should be used for rooftop gardening or planting (carbon sink) if actually inaccessible, higher pitched roofs could be used for solar. Mass solar fields should be ended in favour of native environment rewilding. Mass wind power could be ended when nuclear comes online, vertical axis turbines could be used on high rises in the cities decreasing windshear on the streets and on rooftops. In other areas marine wave and wind may have value in reef building as much or more that required power generation. In Canada high capacity nuclear power plants would also give us the ability to have massive greenhouses and grow much of our own fruit, vegetables and mushrooms, these greenhouses could also teach/use permaculture growing principles and could provide aquaculture food crops and sport fishing opportunities. In addition to revolutionize the education and working world offering thousands of jobs ranging from doctorate level to floor sweepers and all in-between. Nuclear would also support massive high speed rail connections to all major cities in Canada with feeder lines coming to hub points. Nuclear is completely safe, there is very little actual nuclear waste (chair, tables, ladders and such) close to the reactor; the actual fuel should be called "first run fuel" as it can be recycled about 5000 times before being nearly completely depleted.

Donna Ewen

Posted

Reading your proposal sounds like reading a UCP add. How about Seniors? How about getting programs in AHC covered by Insurance that are covered in Ontario and the UCP will not cover. How about affordability of groceries and Property Taxes. The UCP will get business going but it is the NDP that people look to for protection and social programs. As NDP you need to do it all. The Doctors and Nurses are not in our system because the government allowed Physicians in Alberta to restrict the number of students going into the college. That way they make more and have a monopoly on the system. Allow our Alberta kids to get into the medical program and you will have lots of Doctors This proposal of what you are going to do has no substance and leaves me wondering if your party will do anything. Please come up with some concrete proposals

Sky Hunt

Posted

This is really great to see details before the next election. I would love to see a series of plans for the other issues like our affordable housing crisis. Sooner than later we are either going to need rent controls or incentives to build rental units faster

Shane Fraser

Posted

NetZero and electrification are key points in this plan, and utility capital investment was the single greatest area of capital growth in Alberta over the last 4 years, offsetting 35% of the reduction in oil & gas extraction investment. Given that the electrical grid is the 'road and highway' infrastructure that enables the growth above, plus many of the NetZero and electrification goals, what is the NDP's plan to invest in the grid or encourage investment in the grid? How do you intend to balance these plans with the need to keep rates low? (In specific, can you please speak to the regulated wires providers (not generation), who take direction from the AUC, which serves the government's goals.) Does the NDP have plans to encourage and support the implementation of non-wire alternative (NWA) innovations in the electrical grid to support increased electrification, while mitigating the costs associated with traditional wires growth?

Mike and Enola Alsterlund

Posted

We really like the comment and support the ideas in the comment by Tony Krazanowski. We desperately want to see something done about the rapid disappearance of the boreal forest in northern Alberta when we know it has great potential to help stabilize a rapidly unstable climate. It’s replacement, agriculture, although considered “green” isn’t nearly as good as the forest for sequestration of carbon. We would really support a government program that paid landowners to keep trees and to plant them.

Doug Sanden

Posted

Economists say don't tax good things --like labor-- tax bad things --like GHG. BC chose to recycle carbon tax revenue to personal income tax cuts - 5% vs AB 10% - which economists say stimulates GDP growth --more incentive to work-- and BC has had great GDP growth. BC offsets regressive effect on low-income through current social assistance programs. A hybrid approach could work well in AB - if tax cuts are maxed out, rebates would finish the job. I don't know the quality of the GDP growth in BC -- is it people flipping real estate, or is it something more exportable?

Bill Van Barreveld

Posted

I have read the above. This sounds like a positive start to Alberta's economic future. I would like to hear more about encouraging new technology growth. Ex: battery related mining and manufacturing. More investment in Hydrogen production and Hydrogen use eg: vehicles and home heating. Chip manufacturing. Electric vehicle production. Solar panel manufacturing. More green research at all areas including agriculture, timber, fishing. Environmental protection and increased outdoor recreational areas for non motorized use.

Irene Gouin

Posted

Need to educate Canadians about the Petrochemical Incentive program and what products are being developed out of this program. Investigate what start up companies could start developing and producing carbon fabric from the oil sands. Also need to educate Canadians how emissions are going to be reduced in the production of new products. Can we move away from industries that use excessive amount of energy and producing a lot of GHG emissions, such as bitcoin industry? We need a further plan as to how Alberta will expand clean energy to increase the electricity to meet future demands.

Peter Mickelsen

Posted

This Province should be hiring more Enforcement Officials to ensure that the Polluters Pay, in the Oil and Gas sector. Oil companies should not be let off the hook for the mess that has been left behind in this Province. Taxpayers should not be Subsidizing Oil and Gas clean up work. They are making record profits and they should be held responsible with a clean up fund of their own, to protect the interests of all Albertans.

Alison

Posted

Educate people on all the other byproducts of oil and gas. It is far more diverse than just “single use plastics” and oil. Also explain that currently we do not have anywhere near the power grid to support a total electric car society. You cannot install enough solar farms, or wind farms (not mentioning the amount of birds these kill) to power the province and keep agriculture land at the same time. We need an affordable food supply. If you take away all the land for alternative power, we will be extremely dependent on imports for basic food. Not to mention Alberta beef is the best there is.

Anne Packer

Posted

I would like to be able to download this and read it as a pdf doc. My comment: We are in an environmental crisis. I don't see this document acknowledging this. The proposals on page 7 mention meeting our net zero commitments, but the word sustainability doesn't pop up anywhere, nor does protecting our environment. These things ought to be front and centre, and advancing technologies that support the environment need to be given more prominance. Do we want young people to join the NDP? We have to engage them. Back to the drawing board with the present proposals.

Paul

Posted

Stop selling the public’s resources for less than $0.05 on the dollar. I would also love a provincially run insurance company, and maybe a telecom company. Didn’t we used to have these things.

James-Dean

Posted

An inquisitive Albertan

Robin

Posted

I like the tax credit for emerging sectors. I’m curious why there is not more discussion around SMR’s and nuclear power to provide clean affordable energy? I know there has been a lot of interest in the oil sands and would like to see the NDP support these projects or at least acknowledge and discuss all alternative energy sources. As a long time conservative voter I am relieved to hear that the NDP would like to focus on policy and not personalities this election. Alberta needs an honest government with clear policy, I think that will win this election. I look forward to learning more about the NDP’s vision for the future in the coming months.

Leigh Darby

Posted

Need more thought (and details) on the Feds' "just transition"; its principle is good, but what is the timing? And we must think that regardless of how many "clean energy" jobs are created, which will likely be in more urban areas, how do we transition the rural folks who are more likely to lose typically traditional O&G jobs? I think more education is a good part the answer, but a hard sell among the science-denying rednecks currently working the sector. There is probably a good decade or two of traditional O&G production left, less do for exploration, so can we label the current workforce as the end of the line, and start preparing the current pre-teen population as those who will be living and working in the new world order of cleaner energy?

James Peterson

Posted

Why not cut all corporate welfare? I would be all over that. But if you have to, why not invest in nuclear energy? It will be 20 years before fusion power is feasible, but nuclear is still a good option with the new technologies. We live in an incredibly stable geological area of the world. And your fast track will actually fast track the end of the O&G industry because of pending federal regulations that would strangle it Why not just be forthcoming that it's your goal? APIP can't work because we have no means to get to market. Because of the NDP/Liberal coalition that is blocking it. So it goes... there is nothing here that I see as in the best interests of the people... The NDP is becoming the party of the corporate elite and I don't see that as a positive. It might garner you more donations. It might grant RN a position at the UN, but I don't see any benefit to me and mine.

Gurpreet singh

Posted

Need a job where should I apply..

John Smith

Posted

In terms of economics, fascism incorporates elements of both capitalism and socialism. Fascist economists advocate for self-sufficiency and individual profit, but promote government subsidies of corporations. Fascist economics thus supports a blend of both private and public ownership over the means of production—there is an emphasis on private profit, but at the same time, the national interest is ultimately more important.

Tony Kryzanowski

Posted

Develop an agroforestry industry to expand the fully dedicated forest resource, for carbon sequestration, carbon credit income for landowners, an alternative feedstock for bioenergy and bioproduct development, while enhancing wildlife habitat and biodiversity.

Lucretia Martenet

Posted

Accidentally turned onto CPAC last week and caught the NDP member from Powel River, BC, on a third reading of her bill. She said something I have thought vital for some time. She spoke of the importance of working with the rural communities, sitting down with them and helping them work out how they and their community would address the problems facing them. This used to be called community development, but funding disappeared in the trickle down era. It is time to bring it back! Train some of those enthusiastic young people who want to change the world (was I ever that young?) and send them out to learn from ‘the people’ and work with them to develop local, ground up solutions. It’s also called democracy. Maybe it’s time to bring that back, too. Did it for years. It’s slow, but it works.

Malley Charles

Posted

Keep doing what you are doing , Looking out for AB and this great country of Canada

Patrick

Posted

We need oil to go to the market I don't like electric vehicle because if you do accident you die inside I like hybrid cars We need to separate Alberta from Canada We need Government insurance for car Climate change is a lie you should kick out World Economic Forum You should do taugh on crime

Reynold Reimer

Posted

Diversify! Diversify! Diversify! We can not continue to profit from fossils. At present we are all war profiteers because the present windfall profits enjoyed by the fossil industry are largely due to war. Also, at a time of increasing climate chaos the sensible thing to do is to transition.

Mary Nokleby

Posted

Everything we can do to foster a clean and renewable economy will benefit my 6 grandchildren; doubling down on unconventional oil and gas, not so much so. It's past time we had some honest public conversations about the state of the world and the role Alberta's economy plays in the global situation.

Melanie Hoffman

Posted

How will we bring visionary work such as regeneration.org/solutions to life across Alberta’s communities? What does Alberta beyond extractionism, a regenerative Alberta, look like?

Bruce Trautman

Posted

Has to be a method of rewards on investment that STAYS in Alberta and doesn't get syphoned off to the U.S. or elsewhere ! A lot of effort also has to be put into getting better support for Pipelines ! We could also use another Upgrader plant and another Refinery too !