The Canadian province better known for its oil-rich resources is now looking to become an international destination for the cryptocurrency industry.
Alberta is placing itself on a path to host all aspects of the crypto world including digital token mining, data centres and access to a high-tech workforce.
“This is an area of huge disruption and we want to make sure we’re there in that market,” said Doug Schweitzer, Alberta’s minister of jobs, economy and innovation, in an interview on Thursday.
“It doesn’t seem like any jurisdiction in Canada actually wants to own this opportunity. And we’re here in Alberta – we want to talk to people, we’re looking at setting up a regulatory sandbox on the securities side. We’re more than welcome to having conversations on the power market. It’s a big opportunity for us.”
A number of crypto-related firms have already made Alberta their home base including Blockchain Guru, Terraform and Bitcoin Well.
Schweitzer touted the province’s abundance of natural gas, its private sector-driven electricity market and environmental offset credits that “well position” Alberta for the energy-intense crypto industry.
Alberta has been marketing itself globally as a tech-friendly hub to diversify its economy and become less dependent on the volatile oil and gas sector, especially as the world shifts away from fossil fuels. Economic diversification has been under development since the 2014 oil price collapse but that has intensified in recent years.
To help attract crypto companies, the province has been working to lure technology workers.
“It’s an international race for talent. In Alberta, just as last month, we announced a brand new immigration stream to accelerate tech talent coming into Alberta,” Schweitzer said.
While he acknowledged the current narrative on oil is positive in light of the crude price rally, he said building the province’s tech industry will benefit its economy in the future.
“When you take a look at the whole [decentralized finance] space, crypto, you know, this area is not going away. We know what’s going to be here long term,” he said.
TORONTO – Strength in the base metal and technology sectors helped Canada’s main stock index gain almost 100 points on Friday, while U.S. stock markets also climbed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 93.51 points at 23,568.65.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 297.01 points at 41,393.78. The S&P 500 index was up 30.26 points at 5,626.02, while the Nasdaq composite was up 114.30 points at 17,683.98.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.61 cents US compared with 73.58 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down 32 cents at US$68.65 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was down five cents at US$2.31 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$30.10 at US$2,610.70 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents US$4.24 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says wholesale sales, excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain, rose 0.4 per cent to $82.7 billion in July.
The increase came as sales in the miscellaneous subsector gained three per cent to reach $10.5 billion in July, helped by strength in the agriculture supplies industry group, which rose 9.2 per cent.
The food, beverage and tobacco subsector added 1.7 per cent to total $15 billion in July.
The personal and household goods subsector fell 2.5 per cent to $12.1 billion.
In volume terms, overall wholesale sales rose 0.5 per cent in July.
Statistics Canada started including oilseed and grain as well as the petroleum and petroleum products subsector as part of wholesale trade last year, but is excluding the data from monthly analysis until there is enough historical data.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 150 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in the base metal and energy sectors, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 172.18 points at 23,383.35.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 34.99 points at 40,826.72. The S&P 500 index was up 10.56 points at 5,564.69, while the Nasdaq composite was up 74.84 points at 17,470.37.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.55 cents US compared with 73.59 cents US on Wednesday.
The October crude oil contract was up $2.00 at US$69.31 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up five cents at US$2.32 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$40.00 at US$2,582.40 an ounce and the December copper contract was up six cents at US$4.20 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
