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The Alberta Small Business Guide:

Your Complete Resource for Launching and Growing a Business in Alberta

Congratulations on taking the first baby step toward building a successful business in Alberta. Welcome to your indispensable guide for founding, managing, and expanding a business in Alberta. The CanadianSME Small Business Hub’s mission is to bring you crucial tools and resources with valuable insights to support each stage of your business’s lifecycle. The Alberta Small Business Guide has been meticulously curated to be adept at offering efficient solutions to all the entrepreneurial challenges your business might face in Alberta.

Renowned for its prosperous entrepreneurial ecosystem and friendly business environment, Alberta is one of Canada’s most commercially dynamic provinces. The energy-rich province abounds a distinct blend of resources, market penetration & access and government support, making it an ideal locale for setting up startups and small businesses.

Driven by strategic sectors like energy, agriculture, technology, and manufacturing, Alberta’s economy is also a hub of meat & primary goods processing, chemicals and wood items. Hence, the province is capable of providing a wealth of business and employment opportunities. These factors render Alberta one of the primary energy sources for the whole of North America.

Alberta enjoys strategic proximity to markets across the continent due to its geographical location in Western Canada and its robust transport infrastructure. This includes major highways, railways, and airports, along with a sophisticated digital network that provides ease of business connectivity.

With its immigration-friendly policies and strong educational underpinning, Alberta is home to some of the most skilled and educated workforce. With a significant percentage of the working population at their prime age and a master’s degree. Alberta also boasts a significant chunk of highly qualified immigrants who are eager to make a living once their education is completed.

With Alberta leading the economic front of the Canadian economy, its provincial government is committed to abetting an exclusively supportive environment for entrepreneurial activities. The government extends various tax incentives, grants, and funding opportunities to stimulate business growth and innovation that is consistent. Alberta is also a center for tech innovation, offering a dynamic startup ecosystem along with numerous accelerators and incubators.

Aside from its business-friendly aspects, Alberta offers a high quality of life, which is also quite affordable. Despite being one of Canada’s strongest economies, Alberta enjoys a fairly affordable lifestyle which is also safe and secure. This translates to lower business running costs and saving thousands of dollars, which may not be plausible in other provinces.

Explore the Best Available Resources for

SMBs and StartUps in Alberta

Alberta Chambers of Commerce

Alberta Chambers of Commerce

On behalf of the business community and the entrepreneurs, the Alberta Chamber of Commerce represents the challenges and problems faced by small-scale businesses in the province. With over 20,000 members, “the Alberta Chambers of Commerce (ACC) has worked to complement the advocacy, networking, and membership benefit efforts of local chambers members.” As a leading voice representing the queries of many Albertans, ACC also actively works on providing resources for its members.
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Canadian Federation of Independent Business

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business is another excellent option to turn to when you feel you need some help with your small-scale business in Alberta. Dedicated to helping small firms and entrepreneurs, CFIB is the largest non-profit organization with more than 95,000 members. 

The CFIB plays a vital role in advocating for small-scale businesses, whether with the government or politicians. Additionally, they provide specific business tools and practical resources plus on-call counsellors if you still have a doubt.
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Edmonton Chamber of Commerce

The Edmonton Chamber of Commerce, previously known as the Edmonton Board of Trade was established in the February of 1889 when 33 visionaries came together and laid the foundation for what later came to be known for its efforts in the development of the water, railways, and sewage facility in Edmonton. Ever since then, it has contributed towards the immense development of the economy and market in the city.
In 2021, the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce completed 132 years since it started serving the city and furthering the interests of the residents and has been true to its mission of representing “small, medium, and large businesses, and every sector of the economy.”
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Alberta Business Grant Ltd

Alberta Business Grants, a full-service grant writing agency, to help businesses find government grants, meet grant agencies, and write winning applications.
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Our team of experts are here to provide personalized support as you start and run your business in Alberta. Reach out to us today to get the expertise you need to help your business thrive.
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Alberta Business Family Institute (ABFI)

The Alberta Business Family Institute (ABFI) was conceived through the collaborative efforts of a group of Alberta business families, members of the Alberta School of Business at the University of Alberta, and founders of the Business Families Foundation. These motivated parties identified the need to offer research-based educational programs to family-owned businesses in Alberta.
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Alberta Innovates

Alberta Innovates is the province’s largest research and innovation agency. From funding to commercialization, we are Alberta’s innovation engine.
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Alberta Women Entrepreneurs (AWE)

Since 1995, Alberta Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) has provided tools and resources to women across the province to help them achieve their entrepreneurial goals to start or grow their businesses. For over 27 years, AWE has built a network of successful educational and mentorship programs built around our core values: Capital, Connection, and Capacity
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Alberta Small Business Resources

Alberta Small Business Resources – A government website that provides a range of resources for entrepreneurs looking to start or expand their business
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Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC)

At BDC, we know business owners. We’ve been working with them for more than 75 years. We know their challenges and we understand their needs. And we want them to grow and succeed.
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Futurpreneur Canada

Futurpreneur has been fueling the entrepreneurial passions of Canada’s young enterprise for over two decades. We are the only national, non-profit organization that provides financing, mentoring and support tools to aspiring business owners aged 18-39. Our internationally recognized mentoring program hand matches young entrepreneurs with a business expert from a network of more than 2,600 volunteer mentors.
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Startup Edmonton

Startup Edmonton began in 2009 as an entrepreneur-led nonprofit working to grow Edmonton’s emerging creative and tech economy through events connecting the next-generation of entrepreneurs, investors, developers and creatives.
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