Headhunters Alberta - Staffing and Recruitment Agencies

Alberta is the largest producer of conventional crude oil, synthetic crude, natural gas and gas products in the country. Alberta is the world’s 2nd largest exporter of natural gas and the 4th largest producer. Two of the largest producers of petrochemicals in North America are located in central and north central Alberta. In both Red Deer and Edmonton, world class polyethylene and vinyl manufacturers produce products shipped all over the world.

Building stones mined in Alberta include Rundle stone, and Paskapoo sandstone.
Diamonds were first found in Alberta in 1958, and many stones have been found since, although to date no large-scale mines have been developed.

The Edmonton area, and in particular Nisku is a major centre for manufacturing oil and gas related equipment. As well Edmonton's Refinery Row is home to a petrochemical industry.

Several companies and services in the biotech sector are clustered around the University of Alberta, for example ColdFX.

Owing to the strength of agriculture, food processing was one a major part of the economies of Edmonton and Calgary, but this sector has increasingly moved to smaller centres such as Brooks, the home of Lakeside Packers.

Edmonton is a major distribution centre for northern communities, hence the nickname "Gateway to the North". Edmonton is one CN Rail's most important hubs. Since 1996, Canadian Pacific Railway has its headquarters in downtown Calgary.

WestJet, Canada's second largest air carrier, is headquartered in Calgary, by Calgary International Airport, which serves as the airline's primary hub.Prior to its dissolution, Canadian Airlines was headquartered in Calgary by the airport.Prior to its dissolution, Air Canada subsidiary Zip was headquartered in Calgary.

In the past, cattle, horses, and sheep were reared in the southern prairie region on ranches or smaller holdings. Currently Alberta produces cattle valued at over $3.3 billion, as well as other livestock in lesser quantities. In this region irrigation is widely used. Wheat, accounting for almost half of the $2 billion agricultural economy, is supplemented by canola, barley, rye, sugar beets, and other mixed farming.


Agriculture has a significant position in the province's economy. Over three million cattle are residents of the province at one time or another,and Albertan beef has a healthy worldwide market. Nearly one half of all Canadian beef is produced in Alberta. Alberta is one of the prime producers of plains buffalo (bison) for the consumer market. Sheep for wool and lamb are also raised.

Wheat and canola are primary farm crops, with Alberta leading the provinces in spring wheat production, with other grains also prominent. Much of the farming is dryland farming, often with fallow seasons interspersed with cultivation. Continuous cropping (in which there is no fallow season) is gradually becoming a more common mode of production because of increased profits and a reduction of soil erosion. Across the province, the once common grain elevator is slowly being lost as rail lines are decreased and farmers now truck the grain to central points.

Alberta is the leading beekeeping province of Canada, with some beekeepers wintering hives indoors in specially designed barns in southern Alberta, then migrating north during the summer into the Peace River valley where the season is short but the working days are long for honeybees to produce honey from clover and fireweed. Hybrid canola also requires bee pollination, and some beekeepers service this need.

The vast northern forest reserves of softwood allow Alberta to produce large quantities of lumber, oriented strand board (OSB) and plywood, and several plants in northern Alberta supply North America and the Pacific Rim nations with bleached wood pulp and newsprint.

In 1999, lumber products from Alberta were valued at $4.1 billion of which 72% were exported around the world. Since forests cover approximately 59% of the province's land area, the government allows about 23.3 million cubic metres (820×106 cu ft) to be harvested annually from the forests on public lands.

Despite the high profile of the extractive industries, Alberta has a mature economy and most people work in services.

Calgary is head office for many major oil and gas related companies, and many financial service business have grown up around them.

Edmonton is the headquarters of the only major Canadian banks west of Toronto: Canadian Western Bank, and ATB Financial.

Despite Alberta's reputation as a "small government" province, many health care and education professionals are lured to Alberta from other provinces by the higher wages the Alberta government is able to offer because of oil revenues.