Smith says she wants to make Alberta most business-friendly Canadian jurisdiction

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said her government is prepared to put in the work and do whatever it takes to become the most business-friendly environment in Canada.“We want job creators to succeed so you can do what you do best — create jobs and grow our economy,” said Smith in a Wednesday State of the Province Address at the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce.Smith acknowledged the Alberta government is a few days away from the new legislative session, with the Speech from the Throne spelling out its plans. While she could not go into details, she said it is no secret she is looking to increase competitiveness in new, effective ways. The Alberta government will be working to ensure it stands out across Canada and the world as the best destination for investment and talent. More importantly, it is going to continue ensuring everyone knows Alberta is open for business. She said she wants investment dollars in Alberta and people working quickly, building businesses, services, and technologies and creating jobs and opportunities. Therefore, it wants to remove as many obstacles to investment, growth and job creation as possible to create the best conditions for success. To achieve this, she said it starts with lower taxes. Alberta’s corporate tax rate of 8% is 30% lower than the next lowest Canadian province. The combined Canadian-Albertan income tax rate is lower than the combined ones in 44 American jurisdictions. One of its priorities after it was elected in 2019 was creating a low tax environment. However, she said this is one step. The Alberta government wants to ensure industries can move quickly. To get there, it collaborated with industry to identify where trimming the regulatory burden would be most effective. This year, it is on track to reach its goal of a one-third reduction in red tape, saving job creators an estimated $2.6 billion since 2019. One area she said it is focusing on is energy. Alberta is Canada’s leader in oil and gas production. While industries are producing more, they are diversifying up the value chain to further process hydrocarbons. The Alberta government created the Alberta Petrochemicals Incentive Program to further encourage it. She said organizations “recognize that Alberta isn’t just open for business: it’s by far the best place to do business.” With all of this success, she said she wishes the road ahead was clear. But there remain obstacles to its success, with some of them created by the Canadian government. This is because of its proposed electricity regulations. The Alberta and Canadian governments are united in reaching carbon neutrality by 2050. She said her side disagrees with the accelerated federal timelines for electricity, which will be risky changes to the power grid by 2035. If the Canadian government follows through, she said it could hurt the economy, reduce reliability and make life more expensive for families. She called its approach “rushed, reckless and unrealistic.” While people might say the Alberta government is moving slow on emissions reductions, she said it is not. In fact, it is moving faster than the Canadian government. It released its Emissions Reduction and Energy Development Plan in April. It is spending money on technology to help the oil and gas industry and remove greenhouse gases. Other spending commitments it has made include on carbon capture, utilization and storage. It is working to build a hub for hydrogen it in Edmonton. When the Alberta government sees further interference with emissions reduction from the Canadian government, she said it will counter this ideology with the truth, such as with the public awareness campaign it launched against the electricity regulations. It will keep coming up with informed, thoughtful decisions to protect the environment and economy. Smith concluded by saying the crowd she was addressing in Edmonton knows this better than anyone. “I appreciate your work as partners with Alberta’s government to continue building a strong future for Albertans,” she said. “A strong future that includes a strong Edmonton and Capital Region.” Alberta will outpace all other provinces and territories in terms of real gross domestic product (GDP) growth this year and buck a broader economic slowdown in the rest of Canada, according to a September 13 report conducted by RBC. READ MORE: BACK IN THE SADDLE: Alberta expected to lead economic growth despite ‘headwinds’RBC Chief Economist Craig Wright said the Alberta economy is expected to grow by 2.2% in 2023 despite headwinds from higher interest rates that could lead to a mild recession in the rest of Canada. British Columbia and Saskatchewan will not be as lucky, with growth rates of 0.5% and 0.8%.

Smith says she wants to make Alberta most business-friendly Canadian jurisdiction

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