Small business investments to lead way

The owners of small and mediumsized businesses in Alberta expect to invest more in their companies than entrepreneurs anywhere else in the country, a new survey shows.

Alberta executives say they anticipate average capital spending will reach $330,000 in 2018, up 12 per cent from last year and far above the national average of $280,000, said a report released Tuesday by the Business Development Bank of Canada.

“Business people are seeing the growth in Alberta right now. Last year was a better year. As the oil price is improving, we’re seeing more economic activity in the energy sector, and I think this reflects confidence in the economy,” bank chief economist Pierre Cleroux said.

“I think they’re catching up … When the recession hit three years ago, people stopped investing. It’s hard to know, if we didn’t have a recession, what would have been their investment.”

It’s not all good news for Alberta. While 68 per cent of respondents in the province think revenue will grow in 2018, that’s below the 72 per cent Canadian average. Uncertainty about the country’s economy is the main obstacle to more investment in Alberta. However, the report states Alberta and British Columbia will likely grow the fastest in Canada this year.

The telephone survey of 4,019 business owners was done between Aug. 1 and Sept. 26. The margin of error for all respondents is two per cent, 19 times out of 20.