Billion-dollar firms on the rise in Alberta

Alberta accounts for just over 11 per cent of Canada’s population but it is home to nearly 31 per cent of the country’s billion-dollar firms, says a study by the Centre for Digital Entrepreneurship and Economic Performance.

Of the country’s 169 public firms generating more than $1 billion in revenue per year, 52 are based in Alberta.

On a per capita basis, the report said the province has three times as many of these firms as Ontario.

“To be able to build a business and make it to the one-billion-dollar revenue threshold, you need a comparative advantage,” said Pierre Cleroux, chief economist and vicepresident of research for the Business Development Bank of Canada, which was one of four organizations that commissioned the study.

“And I think Alberta has one in energy. There’s a strong advantage in Alberta.

“Having said that, it’s one thing to have the resource but it’s another thing to grow a business to that level. So it’s also because entrepreneurs are talented and they are also eager to build the business. It’s a combination of both.”

Together the 169 companies employ nearly 1.4 million Canadians.

The report said 41 of Canada’s 50 billion-dollar energy and natural resources firms are headquartered in Alberta.