The city of Edmonton became the capital of Alberta Province in 1905. Then, in 1947, the discovery of oil in the nearby town of Leduc began transforming the city into a different kind of metropolis: the Oil Capital of Canada. For decades, government and petroleum were the principal drivers of an economy and population that surged upward – until the boom-and-bust cycle of the oil and gas industry proved to the city it needed to diversify into such industries as manufacturing, education, finance and technology.
By 2024, 13% of employees still worked in public administration and only 1% in oil and gas, while 86% were employed across nearly 20 other sectors. In the 21st Century, that taste for innovation and diversification has helped the community adapt to the continuing waves of change that keep sweeping across Canada and the world.
New Drivers
Being a provincial capital brings its privileges, and access to good infrastructure is usually one. The regional incumbent wired the most attractive markets on its own, and Edmonton’s government complemented it with an Open Access Initiative: a partnership with multiple providers to expand access to underserved areas. As a result, by 2022, 92% of the population had access to broadband at a minimum of 50/10 Mpbs (upload/download). The city’s free Wi-Fi network meanwhile logs 14,000 device connections per week.
Equipped to compete in a digital economy, the city focuses on accelerating growth through its innovation agency, Edmonton Unlimited. Founded in 2020 with a mission to create a vibrant innovation ecosystem, EU is a partnership with MacEwan University’s School of Business that supports students, graduates, post-doc researchers and faculty in turning ideas into enterprises. It offers workshops, co-working space and partnerships with three accelerators that can guide startups in scaling up their customer base, products and services. Its annual Startup Week is a highlight of the business calendar that focuses attention on the newest crop of innovative new businesses – which total more than 240 alumni company in the first three years of the agency’s existence.
For existing companies, the Business-Friendly Edmonton team guides owners through permitting, licensing and grant programs. To reduce the bureaucratic workload, the city has introduced AI-enabled permit approvals for property development, virtual permit inspections and online business license applications, which has reduced the time it takes to issue a business licenses by 30 percent.
Edmonton also invites companies to use city infrastructure as a testbed for innovative technology. Successful testing opportunities become case studies that help companies market their products, while city departments gain access to innovations that can benefit their work. One example of this “City as a Lab” service is a pilot project enabling a company to test, on city-owned land, its advanced tree seedling production for reforestation. The project provided a proving ground for the company’s business model while improving carbon storage on city property.
Partners in Positive Change
As Edmonton grows, the city is careful to listen to what its residents care about and to keep them informed about the actions it plans. The Edmonton Insight Community is a platform where more than 15,000 subscribers – residents and property owners age 15 and up – provide feedback on city issues.
Engaged Edmonton is a hub for city-led engagement. It offers residents information on proposed projects, ranging from planning to safety, transportation and arts and culture. The platform invites their feedback and makes it easy to connect directly with city staff leading the projects and to receive notifications as the project develops.
Lifting Up its Citizens
Change brings both gains and losses. According to the Edmonton Social Policy Council, from 2006 to 2019, Edmonton had a poverty rate of 12-13% due to a continuing preponderance of low-wage jobs in agriculture, education, health care and tourism. The pandemic made things worse.
The EndPovertyEdmonton Strategy began in September 2014 with 200 Edmonton residents from diverse backgrounds and sectors divided into working groups to analyze poverty issues and develop recommendations for action. With approval by the City Council in 2015, the organization developed an Implementation Road Map to provide specific direction for combating poverty, including making all Edmontonians aware of its realities in the city and the steps they can take to help. This program wound down its operations in 2024, and the city replaced it with a Community Mobilization Task Force on Housing and Homelessness. In 2025, the City Council budgeted more than C$3 million for its programs, including housing retrofits, aid in moving from homelessness into housing, and support for vulnerable tenants.
Another Edmonton institution, the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT), focuses on qualifying people for better employment. NAIT has created numerous programs designed to give students the skills most needed by regional employers, including classes to address climate change and to help the region make its cities smarter and its industry more efficient. NAIT operates a fleet of mobile semi-tractor-trailer education units known as NIMs (NAIT in Motion) that bring state-of-the-art equipment directly to communities most in need. It is one of seven post-secondaries in Edmonton, with the University of Alberta ranking 8th in the 2025 Times Higher Education Impact Ranking.
The Edmonton Public Library (EPL) loans portable Wi-Fi hotspots with unlimited data to adult library cardholders. These hotspots enable cardholders to access the Internet anywhere they take the device. “We know many Edmontonians don’t have home Internet access, and EPL is committed to providing people the skills and support they need to participate in the digital world,” said Pilar Martinez, EPL’s Chief Executive Officer.
From Petroleum to Sunlight
Turning from its petroleum legacy, Edmonton is encouraging an energy transition among its residents and businesses with a Community Energy Transition Strategy and Action Plan. By 2030, the plan targets a 50% reduction in community-based net GHG emissions and a 35% reduction in per-capita energy use, compared to 2005 levels, with continuing progress through 2050. The keys to the plan are investment and economic development of renewable energy, the energy-efficient retrofit of buildings and more stringent building codes, and the development of low-emission transportation. Edmonton now has a Green Economy Coordinator on staff and programs helping to finance energy retrofits and solar panel installation. While adding to government expenditures and regulation, these moves are also enhancing quality of life and generating investment, business starts and new employment.
To help with this transition, NAIT has invested heavily in its Alternative Energy Technology program, which provides training and research in alternative energy technology. The program has achieved a 92% employment rate for full-time student within nine months of graduation. NAIT also offers 13,800 apprenticeship seats and is one of the largest apprenticeship trainers in Canada with 33 distinct registered trades programs.
Edmonton has made an impressive pivot from its economic past to a future that holds greater opportunity as well as major uncertainties. Of all the skills the city and its people have learned, the ability to experiment, learn and adapt may be their greatest asset.
Population: 1,190,000
Website: www.edmonton.ca
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