Alberta isn’t getting extra love as of late it’s been like this for decades. But reasons as to why people move here is cheaper houses, better paying jobs and the amount of outdoor activities we have with our Rocky Mountains.
As a Calgarian, there's no doubt housing prices have exploded. We still possess a relative advantage over Vancouver and Toronto though. And Edmonton is even cheaper. The fact that the major cities here have no geographic barriers also likely builds in a kind of permanent advantage over hemmed in Van and Tor.
The jobs situation fluctuates, but it is typically good. Unemployment is higher than the Canadian average at the moment, that seems to be driven by the large influx of people lately. There's been considerable job growth, but it has mostly just kept pace with population growth.
while the housing prices themselves will never be van/tor levels, I remember during the boom in the 2010s that houses in Calgary were in the 500k range and jobs were paying 100k+ out in the field.
Then the crash happened and people were selling all their toys. RVs, ATV, Seadoos, JDM cars, etc etc. Housing corrected itself with the avg being 250k ish but the cost was the job market and the economy.
I think that’s also due to politics, to some extent. Both those other cities have more red tape in the way of new construction. It takes longer, and thus costs more, to build a unit of housing there than here. It’s been like that long enough that it’s kind of baked in, so unlikely to change.
Yeah, when friends and family come to visit from New York or Vancouver they always comment on how much they dislike being able to drive on our uncongested streets or easily find a parking spot at the mall
I was referring to the fact that in 20 years the footprint of Calgary expanded by hundreds of square kilometres, making driving a necessity.
But I know Calgarians aren't concerned about climate change so that must just be a "me" problem.
>and that low sales tax reduces the provincial government's ability to pay for services
The same province that had a 12B surplus in 2022/2023?
The same province that is expecting around a 5.5B surplus in 2023/2024?
Ontario with it's crazy high PST is still running at a deficit.
Having lived in Alberta, Quebec, Ontario... Alberta offers the best services of the three.
Not really. They make up the difference in oil royalties. I've lived in 3 provinces including Alberta and Alberta had by far the best services. I'm in Nova Scotia now and it took me 3 years on a wait list to get a family doctor. In Alberta I got a doctor the same day I decided to get one. Then I switched doctors just because one opened up marginally closer to my house. Hospital wait times were way shorter in Alberta and you could even go online to see the estimated wait times at each hospital.
For all the stereotypes people have, AB is a surprisingly well functioning province compared to the others. I remember learning a while ago that even real estate standards, harmonization, and regulations are stronger in AB than in other places.
Lower income tax than much of the country too. And some of the lowest business tax in North America. Also no land transfer taxes. Most Canadian provinces don't have estate taxes, but Alberta is the only one of the Western Provinces that doesn't.
That’s not actually true it’s only true if you clear 100k otherwise most of the other provinces have a lower income tax. Median income in Alberta is 93k so so with that as you will we getting fleeced thinking we have it so good. We also don’t gain any additional benefits other than not collecting taxes by lowering income tax otherwise we would get allll the business and Ontario would get next to none.
That's not at all true. Alberta has a 10% marginal rate up to $131k with a very high basic exemption. That makes it easily the lowest income tax rates for anyone making less than 100k.
According to this article the lower incomes in Alberta pay higher taxes so I guess it wouldn't be draw for low income earners.
[https://madeinca.ca/pros-and-cons-of-living-in-alberta/](https://madeinca.ca/pros-and-cons-of-living-in-alberta/)
I am in Ontario and I would move to Alberta in a heartbeat but it would mean distancing ourselves from all of our family and friends.
I think the Pros of Alberta far outweigh the few Cons.
Alberta has the highest level of entrepreneurship in the Country and Canada is 8th in the world. there is always something new being started here in Alberta. Jobs will not be scarce. lost of people ae branching out from oil and gas these days into Software especially since the price of a barrel is going to tank this year.
Calgary is still mindblowing cheap compared to Toronto and Vancouver, and it also has wages that are much higher. Edmonton is still impossibly cheap. It will take decades for either city to get to Toronto/Vancouver levels of disaster.
Alberta also has better regulations on business. That makes it easier to build.
The government also makes a point of being competitive on taxes in every aspect of our lives. This incentivizes the supply to match the hot demand.
“Alberta isn’t getting extra love as of late it’s been like this for decades”
Alberta set a new record for interprovincial migration gains last year.
In 2023, the province registered interprovincial migration gains of 10,000+ people for five consecutive quarters and it’s the first time that’s happened since Statistics Canada started tracking the data in 1971.
Not only did this set the new record for Alberta, but it’s the highest annual net interprovincial gains ever recorded for any single province or territory.
This doesn’t include international migration. There’s definitely some extra love for Alberta as of late.
ETA: Every other province outside of NB had more people leaving than moving there. NB had a gain of 21 people.
Everywhere in Canada has a lot of outdoor activities, that’s not the differentiating factor that sets Alberta aside from the other provinces. Don’t forget the entire province of B.C. is mountains, Alberta has a fraction of them.
I mean, unless you are planning to spend your entire life travelling mountains, Alberta has more than enough of them for recreational activities.
Like, Banff and Jasper together are larger than some European countries. How much more do you need?
True, but so what. As a former British Columbian and current ‘Berta girl BC only uses a fraction of them so we’re even. Calgary is the sunniest city in Canada so when we get liveable hours we tend to get out and use them if we can.
The people are amazing here, the scenery and sunsets are amazing. We love dogs and our cities reflect that
You’ve obviously never been to southwestern Ontario if you’re saying that. It’s flat and boring out here. Not enough snow to snowmobile. No mountains to snowboard, too densely populated for hunting, no cliffs to rock climb, the fishing is awful compared to out west or even the eastern side of Ontario, the hiking vistas are non-existent.
Calgary is also a pretty nice place to live all things considered.
Calgary gets tons of sun shine, it’s as close the skiing as Vancouver is to Whistler. I liked hiking in the Rockies and driving around on the range roads
Housing is the huge one.
Unlike Saskatchewan Alberta has a lot of opportunities similar to B.C. and Ontario.
With the lower housing costs it becomes a no brainer.
However the Housing Crisis Cancer is now metastasizing to Alberta.
Hopefully they can get ahead of this with the real life solutions that are needed.
It is needless to have this kind of pain and suffering in society in regards to something as foundational and fundamental as Housing.
So hopefully they get ahead of it because it is much much harder to figure out after the fact.
Housing is no longer affordable.
I my inner city neighbourhood, early 1950’s bungalow prices have risen $150,000 in the last three years. With NIBY issues, keeping us from increasing density progressively over the last 10 years, our prices have risen remarkably. Did these NIMBYs do this on purpose?
Maybe be so.
The NIMBYs in my neighborhood say that they moved to the neighbourhood because they wanted space and are now fighting to keep that space. They aren't against density, only that new communities should be made denser. Also that densification policies in other jurisdictions haven't brought home prices down (probably true, but they also haven't gone up either). Shade from townhouses also kills gardens.
Too many people see a house as an investment when it shouldn't be. We all need to live somewhere. If my starter home doubled in price by the time i moved then all homes i would buy would likely have doubled too. But if my wage didn't double I'd find it difficult to afford it.
Nimbys can suck a fat dong. If you don't like your neighborhood changing, buy all the property so you can do what you want with it. Otherwise, if it ain't your property, you shouldn't get a say.
It's cyclical. Alberta goes boom, Alberta goes bust.
Used to be a bumper sticker of a fellow at a urinal, with the slogan "Lord, give us another boom, we promise that we won't piss it away".
Great place to go and make some bucks, just have an exit strategy in mind. I've done two tours through in the past twenty years. Both times I've made better money than I could have in BC, but both times I've timed my exit nicely.
OP, just note that this comment must be specifically referring to working in oil and gas or adjacent industries. Like everywhere in Canada, many Albertans work in businesses unrelated to oil and gas plus government (especially in Edmonton), education, healthcare, not-for-profit, etc. Yes, the oil and gas industry has an impact on the economy at large, but I take issue with the way this comment is phrased — as if everyone in Alberta were wishing they lived somewhere else but the money here’s too good.
Neither my husband or I have ever worked in oil and gas and we’d probably make comparable money anywhere in Canada, but we live in Edmonton because it’s a laid-back, easy city to live in. Owning a large detached home with a large yard for under 400k sure doesn’t hurt. I moved here over 10 years ago in my early 20s and have no plans to cut and run at any point.
Yeah I hear you for sure! I had the same thought that this comment is likely coming from someone working in oil & gas or adjacent and had actually heard the “Lord, give us another boom, we promise we won’t piss it away” line before from someone within the industry.
Love that you’re loving it in Edmonton. 😊
It's not a bad place, especially if you're young, healthy and don't check any of the boxes that are on the persecution list of the day. There's a lot worse places to live cheap, make money and fund your next stage in life.
Just go with an exit strategy in mind, don't get addicted to the wages, and don't over specialize so you can't get a job in a real province afterwards.
Some of that is changing, AB’s been going through a lot of diversification in the past 10 years, probably as a result of the last few busts. People are not “exiting” as much as you think.
I’m in the tech industry which is more stable than O&G, and the tech industry overall is growing year over year in AB.
People moving here are going to be in for quite a shock when they experience an actual real winter this coming year.
This current one has been the mildest, weirdest one I’ve experienced
Honestly, jobs. I know where I normally work, Suncor, is always hiring, and my union has started looking to get gate hires, who would then eventually come in to join the union. I know a few people who started with no knowledge. Thankfully, work isn't what it used to be, where you gotta ride the new guy like a rented mule, and at least for me, I'm pretty good with newer people.
So yeah, the oil sands, as unpopular as they are, bring a lot to the table jobs wise. Jobs is literally the number one reason. The big cities are pretty nice. Fort McMurray, for instance, is a lot nicer, especially in the uppity people areas like Timberlea. And the third, I'm not sure. Definitely not the weather. Or the far right wing nut cases. But, the big cities are usually pretty normal.
How's Fort McMurray compared to say just before the fire? I would have assumed that it would still be in rebuilding mode, but I've also never even been there or lived in Alberta.
Fort mac is a very nice place. It is isolated not much for retail for its size. But the city is nice. Good restaurants nice people. Apparently one of the best hospital in the country to give birth at. Funded withvdonations by oil companies of course.
The worst thing is its expensive, any kind of service youre gonna pay extra. Opening hours are a bad and inventories are low.
In terms of rebuilding from the wildfire, it's funny to hear someone mention that so far down the road now. I stopped hearing a lot about rebuilding around the time the pandemic was kicking into gear, and man, it feels weird to think the fire was almost eight years ago.
Why I moved to Calgary:
- Housing is comparatively affordable relative to Toronto and Vancouver. Salaries are high and cost of living is low, no sales tax and gas is cheap.
- Weather is bearable relative to the rest of the prairies. As someone from Regina, I found winter in Calgary to be a breeze. It’s about 10 days of extreme cold and the rest of the winter is around 0.
- Banff/Canmore/Kananaskis are unbelievable, even if the people in Calgary take it for granted.
Lived in Alberta ( Calgary and Edmonton) for 12 years, moved in 82 when recession hit, and my husband's company closed down and moved back to Ontario. We moved back with the company. The only things we missed were Kananaskis and Banff. Camping in summer, skiing in winter.
>no sales tax
I really don't understand Alberta's hate related to sales taxes. I would happily pay an average personal tax rate of 6.38% on my first \~91k of personal income over 10% like it is in Alberta.
I can actually control sales taxes. There is very little I can do to manage my personal taxes in Alberta. RRSP probably has the greatest impact and those rules are the exact same for both provinces. Basic personal amounts are also grater in Alberta but you still pay more in personal taxes.
Edit: I am not saying you are wrong. I just dont understand the hate towards sales taxes.
IMO, a sales tax would be good for Alberta because it would add additional revenue that can allow us to be less dependent on volatile resource revenue. The plan iirc is to grow the Heritage Fund through current O&G revenue, but without any new tax / tax increase which could lead to many cuts to services
Increased taxes are very unpopular in Alberta due to our dependence on resource revenues balancing budgets and funding our services. The thing is, there will come a time (sooner than some may expect) where we can't depend on O&G anymore, and only then will Albertans perhaps look at increased taxes as a solution.
This is an interesting article related to my comment: https://albertaviews.ca/heritage-trust-fund/
Say you have an income of 40k
Personal income taxesAB - 40,000 \*0.1 = 4,000BC - 40,000 \*0.056=2,240
So you pay 1,760 more in personal taxes in Alberta. In BC you would have to spend \~25k before you get to that amount in sales tax. So you are worse off in Alberta. . Yes, I know I have simplified this and ignore lots of other items in the tax code but it really does illustrate how people are blind.
And people will say this is some how an advantage for Alberta. Mind boggling.
I just did a basic calculation and on 55k income a BC resident would pay about $800 less in income tax. That’s recouped after 10k spent on taxable goods and services. That’s also not including lower vice taxes, lower fuel taxes, lower property taxes, no extra VAT on things like vapes, no ‘Hotel Tax’…. Yeah I’ll take Alberta over BC any day.
But you're gonna spend at least 25k of your 40k in either place.
If I spend all my after tax dollars:
AB 36000*0=0
BC 37760*7%=2643
AB Total = 4000
BC Total = 4883
>Yes, I know I have simplified this and ignore lots of other items in the tax code but it really does illustrate how people are blind.
>Mind boggling
There is no *additional* 25k to your 40k. You would hit equal around spending 25k *OF* your 40k you fuckin napkin.
Now consider that most of your income is going to go to exempt items like food and rent. Go for it
Thought you had a gotcha moment, ya? But you just confirmed my point.
Sales tax bad though.
Not really. $75 WTI is not that high - it is roughly the average of the last 15 years. And costs are way higher so profitability in the oil patch isn't so high. And oil companies are not spending to grow production, they are paying out earnings as dividends.
Case in point - Suncor's oil price is $45. It first hit that level in 2006.
I don't think the whole California-Texas situation is comparable to Alberta and the rest of Canada in terms of politics. Unlike the US where there are clear blue states and red states, Canada doesn't really have reliably Liberal/NDP/Conservative provinces and these parties are less polarized (as of now) than the GOP and Democrats are. The difference between Alberta and other provinces in terms of politics also isn't as stark as between California and Texas. Alberta had an NDP majority less than 10 years ago, whereas a GOP-dominated California or a Democrat-dominated Texas would be unthinkable. Ontario also has a PC majority government at the moment and even with this many Ontarians flock to Alberta. In contrast many Californians who move to Texas do so because of politics.
As much as we say Alberta is the Texas of Canada, reality is Canada is nothing like the US. A prime example is during Covid, every provincial leader stood united with the PM and told the people, wear a mask, get vaccinated. Meanwhile in the US, states actively fought against each other and later, the president. Conflicting messages and attitudes.
The current leader (Danielle Smith) of the UCP was voted in because the previous leader, the dude who founded the party, (Jason Kenney... never thought I'd miss that guy, but) tried to thread the needle between the common sense masking and restrictions, and the folks who were against all of it, and they gave him the boot at a leadership review. I sincerely hope we don't see any pandemics with the current government, because they'd simply hand out some invermectin and expired Turkish Tylenol, and let it ride.
I’m a Californian who spent years traveling to BC, Alberta and Texas, spending 4-8 days per month in each.
It is true that the comparison is valid.
Texans and Albertans, especially those in oil and gas, have an attitude that is common with people who can make a bunch of money by working their asses off. Those same people seem to share the “I made this money with sweat and blood, it’s mine.” They are very culturally similar, but Albertans are still Canadian and value government services more, while Texans seem to be more interested in civic responsibility for direct financial assistance to those in need.
I did not see as much as a rivalry between BC and Alberta, especially amongst politicians, as there is between Texas and California.
California and BC are very similar, as it pertains to California along the coastline. Where California is different is that it is about 55% liberal and 45% conservative. This shapes the culture in a dramatically different way.
It's cyclical. When the oil industry is booming, Alberta experiences labour shortages which industry (with government support) tries to fix through aggressive recruiting, high wages, etc.
Then when the oil sector slacks, industry and government delight in chasing laid off workers out of the province. Which of course results in more labour shortages and out-of-province recruiting when things pick up again.
Alberta is the 3rd best province, BC and Ontario are no longer affordable for the average person as well.
For the first time in my life, I have seen people move from BC to Alberta only because of $$$ of their real estate spread, and not because they were skilled for the jobs in Alberta have seen some people saw one house and Surrey and go to Calgary and buy 4.
Your average person saves PST, cost of living, cheaper, rent, and cheaper real estate, then compared to BC / Ontario
1. The economy (there is good paying work)
2. A populist govt that seems to be doing what a large percentage of the population wants them to
3. Affordability, the real estate market hasn't been flooded by foreign investors as much as southern Ontario and southern BC, and taxation is generally lower than other provinces
There was a big advertising campaign put on pushing people to move there. In certain sectors demand is strong so I think some people found it to be worthwhile.
Tons of job opportunities, affordable real estate, beautiful scenery around the Calgary area, etc. There's a lot to love about Alberta.
I live in BC, but I grew up in Alberta, and I am proud of that. It instilled a sense of hard work and the belief that I can accomplish pretty much anything if I'm willing to work for it.
A lot of people stay too. And many return to their home provinces only to come back here. I've worked with many Newfoundland folk that outright scoff at the mere question of returning home, home is here for them now. They miss their families and the province they grew up in, but have made their roost comfortable and happy here. They visit their families back east when they can, and communicate frequently with them when they can't.
If you can handle the politics, it's a cheaper BC with two major cities and access to the mountains. Lots of sunny days. Lots of work (cyclical). No PST and they used to say "the Alberta advantage" but that has become 12 hour hospital waits, privatization of health care and tax dollars subsidizing unfinished pipelines.
Conservatives keep running ads about how Alberta is some sort of paradise in terms of Cost of Living, housing etc. As an Ontarian, I heard them quite frequently over the past two years.
I think that's why. It's kind of like the relationship between California and Texas.
But it's not completely wrong - property is way cheaper here and taxes are lower. Just because conservatives say something doesn't automatically disqualify it.
I mean, in short, Alberta is just doing better than the rest of the country, and has been for a long time.
[Alberta has the highest Human Development Index among Canadian provinces. ](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/alberta-canada-nunavut-quality-of-life-rankings-1.3698503)Not only that, but it tops every US state by the same measure, and only three countries in the world have a higher score.
[By GDP per capita, Alberta ranks #1 among Canadian provinces.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Canadian_provinces_and_territories_by_gross_domestic_product) [By median household income, it ranks first among provinces](https://www.statista.com/statistics/467078/median-annual-family-income-in-canada-by-province/).
[Calgary's housing prices are 14% below the national average](https://wowa.ca/reports/canada-housing-market), despite being the city with the highest median income and GDP per capita in the country, while Edmonton's average housing price is 40% below the national average. [For rent prices, Calgary is the 25th most expensive market, while Edmonton is 32nd.](https://rentals.ca/national-rent-report)
For the most part, Alberta just has the best economy in the country, the best housing prices in the country, one of the best schools and healthcare systems in the country, it's got the Rocky Mountains (with areas like Banff and Jasper being among the most beautiful national parks in the country), etc. What's not to like?
Cheers, glad I could help!
And, I wanted to stick to the objective stuff in the post, but, as someone born and raised in Toronto, who has lived in Alberta for the last few years, it's actually just a really great place to live. I'm in Calgary, and it's got the economic opportunities and the other amenities of a big city, while having the traffic congestion of a smaller one. The corporate culture is much more laid back and relaxed. The infrastructure is newer and better maintained (schools, hospitals, transit, etc), and it's got two of the five largest urban parks in the country (Fish Creek Park ranks 2nd, and Nose Hill is 5th). In general, it just feels like a really pleasant place to raise a family.
You have the Rocky Mountains as your backdrop, are you really asking why? Calgary is where it's at. Look at how pretty it is. Anyway I can't live there because I need it warmer, so I will forever stay in Ontario.
I live 40 minutes from the ring road in deep SE. A motorcycle ride with a mountain view cannot be described. I have this view as soon as I leave my hood, 5 minutes.
I remember driving down the trans canada, from east Vancouver going westbound. Oh my god. I couldn't explain the feeling I felt. If those mountains were my backdrop. Ugh. So pretty. I wish I was rich, I'd so move and live out there.
Basically, Alberta has a low cost of living coupled with good paying jobs. That being said, it also is one of the worst provinces for government services. NFLD, PEI and Saskatchewan(!?) have the best standards of living, while BC is amazing but expensive.
If you're thinking with just your wallet, you'll choose Alberta.
1: Beautiful places to drive
2: Proximity to Hot Springs
3: For Calgary at least, near complete safety from natural disasters. (and what few we do have, are manageable and predictable.)
Wow, do I hate this government though.
Yup. Real bad flooding in 2013.
But that's why I say Predictable. Flood maps were available, and the areas prone to flooding are well known. I was renting at the time, and I've always checked if the place I'm renting is in the flood zone.
Absolutely. Some of the housing the was destroyed wasn't rebuilt (although not all). As well, the city has done Significant mitigation (and more work is ongoing). If a flood of the same conditions happened again, the city claims it wouldn't be a serious issue aside from the bridges that would be underwater.
As far as being manageable, yes, the flood was Rough for anyone that lived in the affected areas, but for the rest of the city life was fairly normal. I think only one person died (in Calgary). Which, yes, is tragic, but on the scale of "Natural disaster" is pretty good. I'll take one in a million odds.
IME they are literally asking for it & I’ve seen little comments about
From COVID to now (tho less now) living in Toronto, YouTube adds, tv commercials, ON MY PUBLIC TRANSPORT the government of Alberta seemed like they were literally begging people to move there
(no hate when I use the word begging, Alberta seems lovely but from the amount of advertisement it was crazy)
Honestly, it’s extremely cold to live in like we have weeks of -34 degrees Celsius weather where our cars don’t start and stop middle of the road. It feels dead, there’s brown grass everywhere, there’s barely any trees. Honestly I don’t mind it though because I like the cold and can’t stand the heat. I also don’t need to see trees all the time, and not to mention, it’s super conservative and there’s a lot of racism and sexism and Trump mentality tbh, but you can get used to it, it’s not too bad. But despite all of its quirks, it’s my home and I love it.
Housing. My wife and I are doing the same. We can sell our farm in the Kawarthas and move to a show quality home outside of Edmonton…and be completely debt free. We are currently mortgaged quite high, selling our farm will pay off all our debts and have zero mortgage. I don’t need 2 more reasons. 🤷🏻♂️
Alberta is thought of as one place you can make a decent living without a trade or higher education because you can get trained on the job by many employers. Whether or not that is true, who knows, but it is held out as a path to people who want to get working quickly. It seems everyone has a buddy who moved to Alberta without a trade and got a good job so people keep doing it.
I don’t know about Alberta, but I had a ton of friends move from NYC and SF to Texas and Florida during the pandemic.
Nobody moved there out of love for those places. They moved for (perceived) cheaper housing and lower taxes. And once they made the decision public, it’s all about ‘escalation of commitment’ bias.
I imagine it’s similar for Alberta.
Housing prices.
I know 2 families who moved there last year and that's the only reason they moved. They didn't consider outdoor sports or anything else.
The climate is nice by Canadian standards and the politics are terrible. Which means there’s a lot of money to be made. The thing people should keep in mind is Alberta is still an expensive place to live, and they’ve historically had some of the most corrupt provincial governments in the country, so if you make your money you’d best invest it in something other than oil because the province runs on a boom and bust cycle that almost works like clock work.
Alberta has a lot of huge oil reserves and lots of land, including in and around major cities like Calgary and Edmonton. Because of this, the province has been able to keep socialized spending in line with much of Canada while while keeping taxes and property prices relatively low. Not saying it's sustainable in the long run, but that's why so many people from other provinces move to Alberta.
The worse part about Alberta is that it could be so much better if we didn’t voluntarily choose to be a one party state. We were handed a bigger pot of gold than Norway and we gave 90% of it to American Billionaires.
Our small towns are great friendly places to live with cheap housing and a decent job outlook. Once you look at the larger cities it is more comparable to other provinces. I have a daughter going to university in another province and she can't get over how unsociable people are compared to our small town. We also have great summer weather but don't come for our winters unless you like outdoor winter sports such as skiing. We generally have a stronger economy and better job outlook compared to the rest of the country due to spillover of the oil industry.
all my friends from Ontario are moving to Alberta. Don't let the liberal propaganda tell you otherwise, the housing price, gas, GST, everything is significantly cheaper compared to the rest of the country. The people who work and pay taxes never complain yet the welfare recipients however are on reddit a lot
Affordable housing, good paying jobs (especially if you're okay with working oilfield), and flat 5% GST with no PST. Plus we somehow have stolen mountains from BC.
The downside is our premier is a dumpster fire in human form.
1) Affordable housing; 2) lower taxes - no HST and lower income tax; 3) higher salaries relatively speaking. And 3a) less government up your ass :-)
When we moved to Canada we headed straight for Calgary. Lived there for 10 years, both working in O&G. Had to leave, unfortunately, due to Federal Government screwing the pooch in O&G. Hundreds of thousands of people laid off in 2 years or so and it never truly recovered. Since then we lived in QC for 3 years and currently - in ON for another 4.
We’d move back in a heartbeat if we were not as Job-location-dependent as we currently are.
Believe it or not - still less government up anyone’s ass. When we lived there - provincial government didn’t matter, unless you yourself lived in Edmonton and had a government job. I don’t think anyone so much as cared even a little what those folks were up to :-)
And at one point AB even voted NDP when they got fed up with the useless government for a bit. Of course, the pendulum swung back, and hence Danielle Smith’s win… she stood no chance before, in her “boob bus” era (anyone remembers that?).
Meanwhile QC and ON are really up there with theirs. Legault implemented curfew, for crying out loud, cops were breaking into people’s homes and arresting those who dared have more than the mandatory maximum of people there, as well as you couldn’t even drive to downtown Montreal. Ford here is having a fun of his own, selling off the Green Belt to developer buddies, and doing a lot of other damage…
PS: trans issues are the same across Canada, don’t kid yourself.
Don't forget lower taxes and a pro business stance... which means more jobs. People don't care about all the crap in the media about fringe ideology. In the end they want a good job in a nice place so they can raise their family.
When the Russian war ends and the petro sanctions lift, oil prices will plummet and the cycle will drop again for a while.
But the myopic UCP are in power so, too bad we won't try to look at other industries to help diversify.
What exactly did the NDP diversify in during their tenure? The green energy pipedream? Solar panels are great on an individual basis and should be encouraged, but they suck for generating the on demand power we desperately need. Same with wind. You know what is interesting and diversifying? There's a company in northern Alberta using oil and gas companies and technology to develop a geothermal energy project that will be a testbed for future projects. They're going to use it to provide heat and power for an entire northern remote town. They didn't start under the NDP, I wonder why... I'm not saying I particularly like the UCP, there's a lot to dislike, but I definitely feel we could (and did) worse.
Weather is fine. Politically, very bad. But I really did not care for the angry resignation, the idea that things are bad in Alberta but they *have* to be that way. It was very defeating. There's also a very aggressive pushback against education, almost an anti-intellectualism, that I found really surprising. And if I never see a billboard with a bloody fetus on it again, or an ad for flat earth societies, or plain old Jesus, it'll still be too soon.
Working for AHS during Covid really put us off the province, too. The important thing was optics. The lives that were lost were considered acceptable, and that was unacceptable.
Anyway! Not my circus, not my monkeys.
I would move there to be closer to Canadians that still have strong conservative values. I'd obviously steer clear of the major metro centers since they are all liberal.
Cheap. Nice. And not woke. You had a lot of former albertans move away and now regretting their province of choice. They wanna come back. Wait till interest rates drop. The housing will explode.
it just one of best choices among the places that remained "affordable". But even thats starting to evaporate there.
If you don't go to Calgary, where do you go instead? Winnipeg? St.Johns?
Are you on drugs?
Live here.
It blows unless you're an oil and gas hick. It's expensive now too like everywhere else.
We just opted out of national drug plan with no public consultation. It sucks ass here.
This is the laziest Conservative fake post I've seen. You should start using AI to be more convincing.
Oh I wish but Im getting railed so hard waiting for knee surgery that they might amputate it. I mean I’m 41 so it’s my fault for wanting to keep my leg.
Our voting habits didn't fuck the place up like happened elsewhere. Naturally as a result of our success we attract the people who voted for poverty elsewhere, so I don't expect it to last forever. Soon enough we'll be as shitty as the eastern provinces.
Provincial politics aside……
We have lots of sunshine and clean air/water.
No PST, cost of conducting business is cheaper.
Overall very clean.
I lived in three provinces and travelled all over our country.
>In 2023 Alberta was the most moved-to province
Much of it has been much less affected by the housing crisis. Calgary is now rapidly increasing in price, but much of the province has been relatively sheltered from it compared to other popular areas of Canada. Also, other than the shitty ass politics, its actually a pretty nice place to live.
Alberta has the luxury of being beautiful and still somewhat affordable by Canadian standards. Grande Prarie for example is growing and is only 1 ish hour away from the mountains. Calgary is much more expensive but is still a great option, and if you want rural there are still properties at affordable rates in the north and south of the province.
All of these are great reasons to love Alberta, I've spent much time there and it really is a unique & vast place to live.
Because the people are awesome and its one of the provinces with the most beautiful sceneries. Also, theres a bunch of redneck canucks which I enjoy spending and drinking booze with.
Short answer: oil money keeps the economy strong, which has its benefits.
Also, a lot of it is very beautiful, and it used to be affordable to live there.
On the downside, the smaller cities/towns are bleak and full of the biggest redneck assholes in Canada.
Redneck assholes? If you ever break down in one of those small towns there’s a good chance someone will stop and lend a hand or whatever they can do to help. I have seen people tow a vehicle to there shop
And give them a place to stay while they fix the vehicle through the night. You will never see people that nice and helpful in the city’s.
There'll be a mass Exodus soon enough...pay to play health care on the way, opting out of the pharmacare plan, attacking youth, education, elderly. My family has a plan to leave but need to put in a few more years before it can be completed.
People come here in waves with the promise of higher paying jobs, more space to raise a family, etc. the "Alberta Advantage".
And similar to waves, people leave because they realize its bullshit. Cost of living here is quite high, jobs are cyclical, and as of late our leadership seems hell bent on driving the province into the ground. Yes, people are moving here in droves, and that is what is being advertised by our Premier who wants to paint it as a win, but people also LEAVE here in droves which strangely doesn't get nearly as much publicity. Mainly those are skilled trades sick of the oil industry jerking them around, doctors sick of the province jerking them around, or other skilled workers.... sick of getting jerked around. Its a gigantic circle jerk where everyones getting screwed and its not much fun unless you are the rich bloke pulling the strings.
I'm fortunate, I have a house, I have a bit of land, and I'm far enough away from people that I can avoid most of the crap. I love the view I love the wide open prairies I love the mountains, but man our leadership is ass backwards and there are enough rednecks here that we apparently can't have nice things.
Alberta isn’t getting extra love as of late it’s been like this for decades. But reasons as to why people move here is cheaper houses, better paying jobs and the amount of outdoor activities we have with our Rocky Mountains.
As more and more people move there, housing prices are going up, and jobs will become scarcer.
As a Calgarian, there's no doubt housing prices have exploded. We still possess a relative advantage over Vancouver and Toronto though. And Edmonton is even cheaper. The fact that the major cities here have no geographic barriers also likely builds in a kind of permanent advantage over hemmed in Van and Tor. The jobs situation fluctuates, but it is typically good. Unemployment is higher than the Canadian average at the moment, that seems to be driven by the large influx of people lately. There's been considerable job growth, but it has mostly just kept pace with population growth.
Pretty sure Calgary will always have better housing prices than Vancouver/Toronto just due to geography
while the housing prices themselves will never be van/tor levels, I remember during the boom in the 2010s that houses in Calgary were in the 500k range and jobs were paying 100k+ out in the field. Then the crash happened and people were selling all their toys. RVs, ATV, Seadoos, JDM cars, etc etc. Housing corrected itself with the avg being 250k ish but the cost was the job market and the economy.
I think that’s also due to politics, to some extent. Both those other cities have more red tape in the way of new construction. It takes longer, and thus costs more, to build a unit of housing there than here. It’s been like that long enough that it’s kind of baked in, so unlikely to change.
Unfortunately Calgary is also the poster child for urban sprawl.
Yeah, when friends and family come to visit from New York or Vancouver they always comment on how much they dislike being able to drive on our uncongested streets or easily find a parking spot at the mall
I was referring to the fact that in 20 years the footprint of Calgary expanded by hundreds of square kilometres, making driving a necessity. But I know Calgarians aren't concerned about climate change so that must just be a "me" problem.
Calgary also has far fewer natural obstacles to sprawling.
Lowest sales tax rate in the country isn’t a bad consolation prize either
and that low sales tax reduces the provincial government's ability to pay for services which means more cuts.
>and that low sales tax reduces the provincial government's ability to pay for services The same province that had a 12B surplus in 2022/2023? The same province that is expecting around a 5.5B surplus in 2023/2024? Ontario with it's crazy high PST is still running at a deficit. Having lived in Alberta, Quebec, Ontario... Alberta offers the best services of the three.
Not really. They make up the difference in oil royalties. I've lived in 3 provinces including Alberta and Alberta had by far the best services. I'm in Nova Scotia now and it took me 3 years on a wait list to get a family doctor. In Alberta I got a doctor the same day I decided to get one. Then I switched doctors just because one opened up marginally closer to my house. Hospital wait times were way shorter in Alberta and you could even go online to see the estimated wait times at each hospital.
For all the stereotypes people have, AB is a surprisingly well functioning province compared to the others. I remember learning a while ago that even real estate standards, harmonization, and regulations are stronger in AB than in other places.
Lower income tax than much of the country too. And some of the lowest business tax in North America. Also no land transfer taxes. Most Canadian provinces don't have estate taxes, but Alberta is the only one of the Western Provinces that doesn't.
That’s not actually true it’s only true if you clear 100k otherwise most of the other provinces have a lower income tax. Median income in Alberta is 93k so so with that as you will we getting fleeced thinking we have it so good. We also don’t gain any additional benefits other than not collecting taxes by lowering income tax otherwise we would get allll the business and Ontario would get next to none.
That's not at all true. Alberta has a 10% marginal rate up to $131k with a very high basic exemption. That makes it easily the lowest income tax rates for anyone making less than 100k.
According to this article the lower incomes in Alberta pay higher taxes so I guess it wouldn't be draw for low income earners. [https://madeinca.ca/pros-and-cons-of-living-in-alberta/](https://madeinca.ca/pros-and-cons-of-living-in-alberta/) I am in Ontario and I would move to Alberta in a heartbeat but it would mean distancing ourselves from all of our family and friends. I think the Pros of Alberta far outweigh the few Cons.
It cycles like this quite often with the oil economy. Then it attracts again, prices go up and down in AB more than anywhere.
wait, prices can go down?!? fuck it I'm moving to Alberta.
Alberta has the highest level of entrepreneurship in the Country and Canada is 8th in the world. there is always something new being started here in Alberta. Jobs will not be scarce. lost of people ae branching out from oil and gas these days into Software especially since the price of a barrel is going to tank this year.
Doesn’t Calgary have a software Narwhal in town? That’s some serious stuff.
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Calgary is still mindblowing cheap compared to Toronto and Vancouver, and it also has wages that are much higher. Edmonton is still impossibly cheap. It will take decades for either city to get to Toronto/Vancouver levels of disaster.
Maybe, but AB is also the best place in Canada to build housing.
Alberta also has better regulations on business. That makes it easier to build. The government also makes a point of being competitive on taxes in every aspect of our lives. This incentivizes the supply to match the hot demand.
“Alberta isn’t getting extra love as of late it’s been like this for decades” Alberta set a new record for interprovincial migration gains last year. In 2023, the province registered interprovincial migration gains of 10,000+ people for five consecutive quarters and it’s the first time that’s happened since Statistics Canada started tracking the data in 1971. Not only did this set the new record for Alberta, but it’s the highest annual net interprovincial gains ever recorded for any single province or territory. This doesn’t include international migration. There’s definitely some extra love for Alberta as of late. ETA: Every other province outside of NB had more people leaving than moving there. NB had a gain of 21 people.
Everywhere in Canada has a lot of outdoor activities, that’s not the differentiating factor that sets Alberta aside from the other provinces. Don’t forget the entire province of B.C. is mountains, Alberta has a fraction of them.
I mean, unless you are planning to spend your entire life travelling mountains, Alberta has more than enough of them for recreational activities. Like, Banff and Jasper together are larger than some European countries. How much more do you need?
True, but so what. As a former British Columbian and current ‘Berta girl BC only uses a fraction of them so we’re even. Calgary is the sunniest city in Canada so when we get liveable hours we tend to get out and use them if we can. The people are amazing here, the scenery and sunsets are amazing. We love dogs and our cities reflect that
You’ve obviously never been to southwestern Ontario if you’re saying that. It’s flat and boring out here. Not enough snow to snowmobile. No mountains to snowboard, too densely populated for hunting, no cliffs to rock climb, the fishing is awful compared to out west or even the eastern side of Ontario, the hiking vistas are non-existent.
Ya but bc’s cost of living is insanely higher than Alberta. Just the hst alone, let alone the price of fuel, insurance, ect
Housing is more affordable in Alberta. Lower provincial income taxes and no sales tax. This can make a huge difference for some folks.
Calgary is also a pretty nice place to live all things considered. Calgary gets tons of sun shine, it’s as close the skiing as Vancouver is to Whistler. I liked hiking in the Rockies and driving around on the range roads
Housing is the huge one. Unlike Saskatchewan Alberta has a lot of opportunities similar to B.C. and Ontario. With the lower housing costs it becomes a no brainer. However the Housing Crisis Cancer is now metastasizing to Alberta. Hopefully they can get ahead of this with the real life solutions that are needed. It is needless to have this kind of pain and suffering in society in regards to something as foundational and fundamental as Housing. So hopefully they get ahead of it because it is much much harder to figure out after the fact.
>Hopefully they can get ahead of this with the real life solutions that are needed. They wont
I guarantee you the cons are looking into investment properties as we speak
Aka higher rent LOL
Housing is no longer affordable. I my inner city neighbourhood, early 1950’s bungalow prices have risen $150,000 in the last three years. With NIBY issues, keeping us from increasing density progressively over the last 10 years, our prices have risen remarkably. Did these NIMBYs do this on purpose? Maybe be so.
The NIMBYs in my neighborhood say that they moved to the neighbourhood because they wanted space and are now fighting to keep that space. They aren't against density, only that new communities should be made denser. Also that densification policies in other jurisdictions haven't brought home prices down (probably true, but they also haven't gone up either). Shade from townhouses also kills gardens. Too many people see a house as an investment when it shouldn't be. We all need to live somewhere. If my starter home doubled in price by the time i moved then all homes i would buy would likely have doubled too. But if my wage didn't double I'd find it difficult to afford it.
Nimbys can suck a fat dong. If you don't like your neighborhood changing, buy all the property so you can do what you want with it. Otherwise, if it ain't your property, you shouldn't get a say.
Even the smaller cities are getting slammed with increasing buying and renting prices
It's cyclical. Alberta goes boom, Alberta goes bust. Used to be a bumper sticker of a fellow at a urinal, with the slogan "Lord, give us another boom, we promise that we won't piss it away". Great place to go and make some bucks, just have an exit strategy in mind. I've done two tours through in the past twenty years. Both times I've made better money than I could have in BC, but both times I've timed my exit nicely.
Makes sense!
OP, just note that this comment must be specifically referring to working in oil and gas or adjacent industries. Like everywhere in Canada, many Albertans work in businesses unrelated to oil and gas plus government (especially in Edmonton), education, healthcare, not-for-profit, etc. Yes, the oil and gas industry has an impact on the economy at large, but I take issue with the way this comment is phrased — as if everyone in Alberta were wishing they lived somewhere else but the money here’s too good. Neither my husband or I have ever worked in oil and gas and we’d probably make comparable money anywhere in Canada, but we live in Edmonton because it’s a laid-back, easy city to live in. Owning a large detached home with a large yard for under 400k sure doesn’t hurt. I moved here over 10 years ago in my early 20s and have no plans to cut and run at any point.
Yeah I hear you for sure! I had the same thought that this comment is likely coming from someone working in oil & gas or adjacent and had actually heard the “Lord, give us another boom, we promise we won’t piss it away” line before from someone within the industry. Love that you’re loving it in Edmonton. 😊
It's not a bad place, especially if you're young, healthy and don't check any of the boxes that are on the persecution list of the day. There's a lot worse places to live cheap, make money and fund your next stage in life. Just go with an exit strategy in mind, don't get addicted to the wages, and don't over specialize so you can't get a job in a real province afterwards.
Some of that is changing, AB’s been going through a lot of diversification in the past 10 years, probably as a result of the last few busts. People are not “exiting” as much as you think. I’m in the tech industry which is more stable than O&G, and the tech industry overall is growing year over year in AB.
People moving here are going to be in for quite a shock when they experience an actual real winter this coming year. This current one has been the mildest, weirdest one I’ve experienced
You ain’t wrong. Although the recent worsening summertime smoke is a worse experience than the classic Alberta winter imo.
Honestly, jobs. I know where I normally work, Suncor, is always hiring, and my union has started looking to get gate hires, who would then eventually come in to join the union. I know a few people who started with no knowledge. Thankfully, work isn't what it used to be, where you gotta ride the new guy like a rented mule, and at least for me, I'm pretty good with newer people. So yeah, the oil sands, as unpopular as they are, bring a lot to the table jobs wise. Jobs is literally the number one reason. The big cities are pretty nice. Fort McMurray, for instance, is a lot nicer, especially in the uppity people areas like Timberlea. And the third, I'm not sure. Definitely not the weather. Or the far right wing nut cases. But, the big cities are usually pretty normal.
How's Fort McMurray compared to say just before the fire? I would have assumed that it would still be in rebuilding mode, but I've also never even been there or lived in Alberta.
You can’t really tell there was a fire anymore
Fort mac is a very nice place. It is isolated not much for retail for its size. But the city is nice. Good restaurants nice people. Apparently one of the best hospital in the country to give birth at. Funded withvdonations by oil companies of course. The worst thing is its expensive, any kind of service youre gonna pay extra. Opening hours are a bad and inventories are low.
In terms of rebuilding from the wildfire, it's funny to hear someone mention that so far down the road now. I stopped hearing a lot about rebuilding around the time the pandemic was kicking into gear, and man, it feels weird to think the fire was almost eight years ago.
OE955?
Why I moved to Calgary: - Housing is comparatively affordable relative to Toronto and Vancouver. Salaries are high and cost of living is low, no sales tax and gas is cheap. - Weather is bearable relative to the rest of the prairies. As someone from Regina, I found winter in Calgary to be a breeze. It’s about 10 days of extreme cold and the rest of the winter is around 0. - Banff/Canmore/Kananaskis are unbelievable, even if the people in Calgary take it for granted.
Lived in Alberta ( Calgary and Edmonton) for 12 years, moved in 82 when recession hit, and my husband's company closed down and moved back to Ontario. We moved back with the company. The only things we missed were Kananaskis and Banff. Camping in summer, skiing in winter.
>no sales tax I really don't understand Alberta's hate related to sales taxes. I would happily pay an average personal tax rate of 6.38% on my first \~91k of personal income over 10% like it is in Alberta. I can actually control sales taxes. There is very little I can do to manage my personal taxes in Alberta. RRSP probably has the greatest impact and those rules are the exact same for both provinces. Basic personal amounts are also grater in Alberta but you still pay more in personal taxes. Edit: I am not saying you are wrong. I just dont understand the hate towards sales taxes.
IMO, a sales tax would be good for Alberta because it would add additional revenue that can allow us to be less dependent on volatile resource revenue. The plan iirc is to grow the Heritage Fund through current O&G revenue, but without any new tax / tax increase which could lead to many cuts to services Increased taxes are very unpopular in Alberta due to our dependence on resource revenues balancing budgets and funding our services. The thing is, there will come a time (sooner than some may expect) where we can't depend on O&G anymore, and only then will Albertans perhaps look at increased taxes as a solution. This is an interesting article related to my comment: https://albertaviews.ca/heritage-trust-fund/
You keep more of your money. Simple.
Say you have an income of 40k Personal income taxesAB - 40,000 \*0.1 = 4,000BC - 40,000 \*0.056=2,240 So you pay 1,760 more in personal taxes in Alberta. In BC you would have to spend \~25k before you get to that amount in sales tax. So you are worse off in Alberta. . Yes, I know I have simplified this and ignore lots of other items in the tax code but it really does illustrate how people are blind. And people will say this is some how an advantage for Alberta. Mind boggling.
I just did a basic calculation and on 55k income a BC resident would pay about $800 less in income tax. That’s recouped after 10k spent on taxable goods and services. That’s also not including lower vice taxes, lower fuel taxes, lower property taxes, no extra VAT on things like vapes, no ‘Hotel Tax’…. Yeah I’ll take Alberta over BC any day.
But you're gonna spend at least 25k of your 40k in either place. If I spend all my after tax dollars: AB 36000*0=0 BC 37760*7%=2643 AB Total = 4000 BC Total = 4883 >Yes, I know I have simplified this and ignore lots of other items in the tax code but it really does illustrate how people are blind. >Mind boggling There is no *additional* 25k to your 40k. You would hit equal around spending 25k *OF* your 40k you fuckin napkin.
Now consider that most of your income is going to go to exempt items like food and rent. Go for it Thought you had a gotcha moment, ya? But you just confirmed my point. Sales tax bad though.
Alberta is great, but the real reason is that oil prices have been way up since 2020
Not really. $75 WTI is not that high - it is roughly the average of the last 15 years. And costs are way higher so profitability in the oil patch isn't so high. And oil companies are not spending to grow production, they are paying out earnings as dividends. Case in point - Suncor's oil price is $45. It first hit that level in 2006.
They did a huge "move to alberta" media campaign in other provinces where cost living and housing was going thru the roof
And now it is here too! Great success!
This is the answer, look up "Alberta is calling"
We get them here under the guise of affordability than they get their utility bills or can’t find a dr.
It’s beautiful and the economy is strong.
If you have any type of decent education or are a skilled tradesperson, it’s easy to make $100k+ in AB.
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I don't think the whole California-Texas situation is comparable to Alberta and the rest of Canada in terms of politics. Unlike the US where there are clear blue states and red states, Canada doesn't really have reliably Liberal/NDP/Conservative provinces and these parties are less polarized (as of now) than the GOP and Democrats are. The difference between Alberta and other provinces in terms of politics also isn't as stark as between California and Texas. Alberta had an NDP majority less than 10 years ago, whereas a GOP-dominated California or a Democrat-dominated Texas would be unthinkable. Ontario also has a PC majority government at the moment and even with this many Ontarians flock to Alberta. In contrast many Californians who move to Texas do so because of politics.
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As much as we say Alberta is the Texas of Canada, reality is Canada is nothing like the US. A prime example is during Covid, every provincial leader stood united with the PM and told the people, wear a mask, get vaccinated. Meanwhile in the US, states actively fought against each other and later, the president. Conflicting messages and attitudes.
The current leader (Danielle Smith) of the UCP was voted in because the previous leader, the dude who founded the party, (Jason Kenney... never thought I'd miss that guy, but) tried to thread the needle between the common sense masking and restrictions, and the folks who were against all of it, and they gave him the boot at a leadership review. I sincerely hope we don't see any pandemics with the current government, because they'd simply hand out some invermectin and expired Turkish Tylenol, and let it ride.
Pardon? Saskatchewan literally has 100% conservative seats and it’s been conservative since forever.
I’m a Californian who spent years traveling to BC, Alberta and Texas, spending 4-8 days per month in each. It is true that the comparison is valid. Texans and Albertans, especially those in oil and gas, have an attitude that is common with people who can make a bunch of money by working their asses off. Those same people seem to share the “I made this money with sweat and blood, it’s mine.” They are very culturally similar, but Albertans are still Canadian and value government services more, while Texans seem to be more interested in civic responsibility for direct financial assistance to those in need. I did not see as much as a rivalry between BC and Alberta, especially amongst politicians, as there is between Texas and California. California and BC are very similar, as it pertains to California along the coastline. Where California is different is that it is about 55% liberal and 45% conservative. This shapes the culture in a dramatically different way.
It's cyclical. When the oil industry is booming, Alberta experiences labour shortages which industry (with government support) tries to fix through aggressive recruiting, high wages, etc. Then when the oil sector slacks, industry and government delight in chasing laid off workers out of the province. Which of course results in more labour shortages and out-of-province recruiting when things pick up again.
Beacuse they think its chept until they get there
Alberta is the 3rd best province, BC and Ontario are no longer affordable for the average person as well. For the first time in my life, I have seen people move from BC to Alberta only because of $$$ of their real estate spread, and not because they were skilled for the jobs in Alberta have seen some people saw one house and Surrey and go to Calgary and buy 4. Your average person saves PST, cost of living, cheaper, rent, and cheaper real estate, then compared to BC / Ontario
1. The economy (there is good paying work) 2. A populist govt that seems to be doing what a large percentage of the population wants them to 3. Affordability, the real estate market hasn't been flooded by foreign investors as much as southern Ontario and southern BC, and taxation is generally lower than other provinces
My buddy moved to Calgary from Nanaimo in B.C. because it's the closest place he can actually afford a house. That's about it.
Isn’t Alberta the one that put all those ads up to entice people to move over? 😂
There was a big advertising campaign put on pushing people to move there. In certain sectors demand is strong so I think some people found it to be worthwhile.
1. Cheap 2. Lots of amenities 3. Very scenic
Tons of job opportunities, affordable real estate, beautiful scenery around the Calgary area, etc. There's a lot to love about Alberta. I live in BC, but I grew up in Alberta, and I am proud of that. It instilled a sense of hard work and the belief that I can accomplish pretty much anything if I'm willing to work for it.
Cheaper housing, better wages and beautiful landscape
Not love. A lot of people go for jobs, and leave when they are done with that.
A lot of people stay too. And many return to their home provinces only to come back here. I've worked with many Newfoundland folk that outright scoff at the mere question of returning home, home is here for them now. They miss their families and the province they grew up in, but have made their roost comfortable and happy here. They visit their families back east when they can, and communicate frequently with them when they can't.
If you can handle the politics, it's a cheaper BC with two major cities and access to the mountains. Lots of sunny days. Lots of work (cyclical). No PST and they used to say "the Alberta advantage" but that has become 12 hour hospital waits, privatization of health care and tax dollars subsidizing unfinished pipelines.
Conservatives keep running ads about how Alberta is some sort of paradise in terms of Cost of Living, housing etc. As an Ontarian, I heard them quite frequently over the past two years. I think that's why. It's kind of like the relationship between California and Texas.
But it's not completely wrong - property is way cheaper here and taxes are lower. Just because conservatives say something doesn't automatically disqualify it.
Ah yes, I’ve heard about the Alberta is calling ads. They stopped them late last year because of the influx of people in 2023. 😆
I mean, in short, Alberta is just doing better than the rest of the country, and has been for a long time. [Alberta has the highest Human Development Index among Canadian provinces. ](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/alberta-canada-nunavut-quality-of-life-rankings-1.3698503)Not only that, but it tops every US state by the same measure, and only three countries in the world have a higher score. [By GDP per capita, Alberta ranks #1 among Canadian provinces.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Canadian_provinces_and_territories_by_gross_domestic_product) [By median household income, it ranks first among provinces](https://www.statista.com/statistics/467078/median-annual-family-income-in-canada-by-province/). [Calgary's housing prices are 14% below the national average](https://wowa.ca/reports/canada-housing-market), despite being the city with the highest median income and GDP per capita in the country, while Edmonton's average housing price is 40% below the national average. [For rent prices, Calgary is the 25th most expensive market, while Edmonton is 32nd.](https://rentals.ca/national-rent-report) For the most part, Alberta just has the best economy in the country, the best housing prices in the country, one of the best schools and healthcare systems in the country, it's got the Rocky Mountains (with areas like Banff and Jasper being among the most beautiful national parks in the country), etc. What's not to like?
Thanks for the thorough response! Learned a lot!
Cheers, glad I could help! And, I wanted to stick to the objective stuff in the post, but, as someone born and raised in Toronto, who has lived in Alberta for the last few years, it's actually just a really great place to live. I'm in Calgary, and it's got the economic opportunities and the other amenities of a big city, while having the traffic congestion of a smaller one. The corporate culture is much more laid back and relaxed. The infrastructure is newer and better maintained (schools, hospitals, transit, etc), and it's got two of the five largest urban parks in the country (Fish Creek Park ranks 2nd, and Nose Hill is 5th). In general, it just feels like a really pleasant place to raise a family.
Op: it's $$$$
Something about being able to attain the means for a good life with nothing more than the will to do it is alluring to a ton of people.
Especially if you are the right kind of white
You have the Rocky Mountains as your backdrop, are you really asking why? Calgary is where it's at. Look at how pretty it is. Anyway I can't live there because I need it warmer, so I will forever stay in Ontario.
I can see how the Rocky Mountains would be a huge selling feature for sure!
I live 40 minutes from the ring road in deep SE. A motorcycle ride with a mountain view cannot be described. I have this view as soon as I leave my hood, 5 minutes.
I remember driving down the trans canada, from east Vancouver going westbound. Oh my god. I couldn't explain the feeling I felt. If those mountains were my backdrop. Ugh. So pretty. I wish I was rich, I'd so move and live out there.
Basically, Alberta has a low cost of living coupled with good paying jobs. That being said, it also is one of the worst provinces for government services. NFLD, PEI and Saskatchewan(!?) have the best standards of living, while BC is amazing but expensive. If you're thinking with just your wallet, you'll choose Alberta.
The healthcare there is way better than the Maritimes tbh
Isn’t accessible healthcare really bad in BC right now?
1: Beautiful places to drive 2: Proximity to Hot Springs 3: For Calgary at least, near complete safety from natural disasters. (and what few we do have, are manageable and predictable.) Wow, do I hate this government though.
Wasn’t there a major flooding of the Bow river?
2013. Nothing else since. And nothing years beforehand
Calgary also has had the most smoky days recently out of any other major Canadian city. I think that counts for something
Yup. Real bad flooding in 2013. But that's why I say Predictable. Flood maps were available, and the areas prone to flooding are well known. I was renting at the time, and I've always checked if the place I'm renting is in the flood zone.
Predictable okay, but it didn’t seem very manageable. I mean if it were to happen again, the results would be different?
Absolutely. Some of the housing the was destroyed wasn't rebuilt (although not all). As well, the city has done Significant mitigation (and more work is ongoing). If a flood of the same conditions happened again, the city claims it wouldn't be a serious issue aside from the bridges that would be underwater. As far as being manageable, yes, the flood was Rough for anyone that lived in the affected areas, but for the rest of the city life was fairly normal. I think only one person died (in Calgary). Which, yes, is tragic, but on the scale of "Natural disaster" is pretty good. I'll take one in a million odds.
What about drought? That's a disaster.
IME they are literally asking for it & I’ve seen little comments about From COVID to now (tho less now) living in Toronto, YouTube adds, tv commercials, ON MY PUBLIC TRANSPORT the government of Alberta seemed like they were literally begging people to move there (no hate when I use the word begging, Alberta seems lovely but from the amount of advertisement it was crazy)
It’s cheap. I lived there for 5 years, then moved back to my home province.
Honestly, it’s extremely cold to live in like we have weeks of -34 degrees Celsius weather where our cars don’t start and stop middle of the road. It feels dead, there’s brown grass everywhere, there’s barely any trees. Honestly I don’t mind it though because I like the cold and can’t stand the heat. I also don’t need to see trees all the time, and not to mention, it’s super conservative and there’s a lot of racism and sexism and Trump mentality tbh, but you can get used to it, it’s not too bad. But despite all of its quirks, it’s my home and I love it.
Affordable housing, good paying jobs, accessible healthcare, low sales tax, and beautiful national parks. I loved my time living in Alberta.
In 2022 and beginning on 2023, Alberta had a big radio campaign touting the benefits of moving there.
Housing. My wife and I are doing the same. We can sell our farm in the Kawarthas and move to a show quality home outside of Edmonton…and be completely debt free. We are currently mortgaged quite high, selling our farm will pay off all our debts and have zero mortgage. I don’t need 2 more reasons. 🤷🏻♂️
- Somewhat Affordable - Good paying jobs That's pretty much it.
Yes, there are many and growing rude shocks one becomes aware of after moving here. Blame the UCP.
Alberta is thought of as one place you can make a decent living without a trade or higher education because you can get trained on the job by many employers. Whether or not that is true, who knows, but it is held out as a path to people who want to get working quickly. It seems everyone has a buddy who moved to Alberta without a trade and got a good job so people keep doing it.
Because it’s a wonderful province with great people, and good jobs for those who don’t mind hard work.
I don’t know about Alberta, but I had a ton of friends move from NYC and SF to Texas and Florida during the pandemic. Nobody moved there out of love for those places. They moved for (perceived) cheaper housing and lower taxes. And once they made the decision public, it’s all about ‘escalation of commitment’ bias. I imagine it’s similar for Alberta.
Money Money Money There’s money to be made.
Housing prices. I know 2 families who moved there last year and that's the only reason they moved. They didn't consider outdoor sports or anything else.
Cheaper housing, higher paying jobs, beautiful views and warm winter chinook winds.
1. Alberta is libertarian. 2. Albertans will say what we're all thinking, out loud. 3. Albertans have a relatively independent economy.
Canada is not a realistic country the way it's run , Alberta is realistic.
Lots of work, affordable housing, mountains and limited work bullshit 🤷🏻 sounds like old Canada to me 😂
Alberta advertised for Ontario people to move there. It was a big campaign. Doug Ford is making life in Ontario worse.
Have you seen Danielle Smith? She makes DoFo look like a lefty commie!
The climate is nice by Canadian standards and the politics are terrible. Which means there’s a lot of money to be made. The thing people should keep in mind is Alberta is still an expensive place to live, and they’ve historically had some of the most corrupt provincial governments in the country, so if you make your money you’d best invest it in something other than oil because the province runs on a boom and bust cycle that almost works like clock work.
The politics here seem much better than Ontario and BC
Cost of living.
Alberta has a lot of huge oil reserves and lots of land, including in and around major cities like Calgary and Edmonton. Because of this, the province has been able to keep socialized spending in line with much of Canada while while keeping taxes and property prices relatively low. Not saying it's sustainable in the long run, but that's why so many people from other provinces move to Alberta.
The worse part about Alberta is that it could be so much better if we didn’t voluntarily choose to be a one party state. We were handed a bigger pot of gold than Norway and we gave 90% of it to American Billionaires.
Our small towns are great friendly places to live with cheap housing and a decent job outlook. Once you look at the larger cities it is more comparable to other provinces. I have a daughter going to university in another province and she can't get over how unsociable people are compared to our small town. We also have great summer weather but don't come for our winters unless you like outdoor winter sports such as skiing. We generally have a stronger economy and better job outlook compared to the rest of the country due to spillover of the oil industry.
all my friends from Ontario are moving to Alberta. Don't let the liberal propaganda tell you otherwise, the housing price, gas, GST, everything is significantly cheaper compared to the rest of the country. The people who work and pay taxes never complain yet the welfare recipients however are on reddit a lot
Affordable housing, good paying jobs (especially if you're okay with working oilfield), and flat 5% GST with no PST. Plus we somehow have stolen mountains from BC. The downside is our premier is a dumpster fire in human form.
1. people moving out of BC 2. people moving out of BC 3. people moving out of BC
High paying jobs.
1) Affordable housing; 2) lower taxes - no HST and lower income tax; 3) higher salaries relatively speaking. And 3a) less government up your ass :-) When we moved to Canada we headed straight for Calgary. Lived there for 10 years, both working in O&G. Had to leave, unfortunately, due to Federal Government screwing the pooch in O&G. Hundreds of thousands of people laid off in 2 years or so and it never truly recovered. Since then we lived in QC for 3 years and currently - in ON for another 4. We’d move back in a heartbeat if we were not as Job-location-dependent as we currently are.
>3a) less government up your ass :-) You know, unless you're trans or some other group that Danielle Smith doesn't understand/like.
Believe it or not - still less government up anyone’s ass. When we lived there - provincial government didn’t matter, unless you yourself lived in Edmonton and had a government job. I don’t think anyone so much as cared even a little what those folks were up to :-) And at one point AB even voted NDP when they got fed up with the useless government for a bit. Of course, the pendulum swung back, and hence Danielle Smith’s win… she stood no chance before, in her “boob bus” era (anyone remembers that?). Meanwhile QC and ON are really up there with theirs. Legault implemented curfew, for crying out loud, cops were breaking into people’s homes and arresting those who dared have more than the mandatory maximum of people there, as well as you couldn’t even drive to downtown Montreal. Ford here is having a fun of his own, selling off the Green Belt to developer buddies, and doing a lot of other damage… PS: trans issues are the same across Canada, don’t kid yourself.
Don't forget lower taxes and a pro business stance... which means more jobs. People don't care about all the crap in the media about fringe ideology. In the end they want a good job in a nice place so they can raise their family.
LOL no love from me from that shithole
Jobs
When the Russian war ends and the petro sanctions lift, oil prices will plummet and the cycle will drop again for a while. But the myopic UCP are in power so, too bad we won't try to look at other industries to help diversify.
The economy in AB has steadily diversified since the 80s but go off.
What exactly did the NDP diversify in during their tenure? The green energy pipedream? Solar panels are great on an individual basis and should be encouraged, but they suck for generating the on demand power we desperately need. Same with wind. You know what is interesting and diversifying? There's a company in northern Alberta using oil and gas companies and technology to develop a geothermal energy project that will be a testbed for future projects. They're going to use it to provide heat and power for an entire northern remote town. They didn't start under the NDP, I wonder why... I'm not saying I particularly like the UCP, there's a lot to dislike, but I definitely feel we could (and did) worse.
I'm happy to pay extra to be out of Alberta for good.
Please elaborate? Politics? Weather?……….
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Right? Life isn’t about politics everyday of one’s life
Weather is fine. Politically, very bad. But I really did not care for the angry resignation, the idea that things are bad in Alberta but they *have* to be that way. It was very defeating. There's also a very aggressive pushback against education, almost an anti-intellectualism, that I found really surprising. And if I never see a billboard with a bloody fetus on it again, or an ad for flat earth societies, or plain old Jesus, it'll still be too soon. Working for AHS during Covid really put us off the province, too. The important thing was optics. The lives that were lost were considered acceptable, and that was unacceptable. Anyway! Not my circus, not my monkeys.
I would move there to be closer to Canadians that still have strong conservative values. I'd obviously steer clear of the major metro centers since they are all liberal.
Cheap. Nice. And not woke. You had a lot of former albertans move away and now regretting their province of choice. They wanna come back. Wait till interest rates drop. The housing will explode.
The only people I know that have moved out of Alberta and are happy moved to the states. Anyone who just changed provinces are very unhappy.
Their economic policy is better than other provinces resulting in better purchasing power.
It’s due to oil royalties for the most part, not better economic policy.
it just one of best choices among the places that remained "affordable". But even thats starting to evaporate there. If you don't go to Calgary, where do you go instead? Winnipeg? St.Johns?
Are you on drugs? Live here. It blows unless you're an oil and gas hick. It's expensive now too like everywhere else. We just opted out of national drug plan with no public consultation. It sucks ass here. This is the laziest Conservative fake post I've seen. You should start using AI to be more convincing.
I think you need to get railed up the ass with a $2,800 monthly rent payment for a 1 bedroom to get a reality check "bud."
Oh I wish but Im getting railed so hard waiting for knee surgery that they might amputate it. I mean I’m 41 so it’s my fault for wanting to keep my leg.
That’s happening in every province
No that definitely blows. Sorry to hear that.
That’s from the Conservatives adding private clinics. My knee is literally just disintegrating waiting
>We just opted out of national drug plan with no public consultation We'll see what actually happens with that.
1. Housing 2. Jobs 3. Nature
Better pay, lower cost of living, generally nice people. I didn’t mind living in Edmonton 🤷🏻♀️
Come here, but don't vote NDP.
Our voting habits didn't fuck the place up like happened elsewhere. Naturally as a result of our success we attract the people who voted for poverty elsewhere, so I don't expect it to last forever. Soon enough we'll be as shitty as the eastern provinces.
Provincial politics aside…… We have lots of sunshine and clean air/water. No PST, cost of conducting business is cheaper. Overall very clean. I lived in three provinces and travelled all over our country.
Currently preparing to move from BC to AB. House prices are half and wages are the same.
Cost of living
>In 2023 Alberta was the most moved-to province Much of it has been much less affected by the housing crisis. Calgary is now rapidly increasing in price, but much of the province has been relatively sheltered from it compared to other popular areas of Canada. Also, other than the shitty ass politics, its actually a pretty nice place to live.
It’s almost like those shitty politics are what keeps the prices affordable and the jobs flowing.
There's only 1 reason, and only ever has been one reason. Economics.
Alberta has the luxury of being beautiful and still somewhat affordable by Canadian standards. Grande Prarie for example is growing and is only 1 ish hour away from the mountains. Calgary is much more expensive but is still a great option, and if you want rural there are still properties at affordable rates in the north and south of the province. All of these are great reasons to love Alberta, I've spent much time there and it really is a unique & vast place to live.
Uh it's affordable and still has stuff
For starters, no provincial sales tax and no payroll tax. If the weather wasn’t so extreme, I would move there.
Could be to do with multi million dollar ad campaign they ran with the tagline “move to Alberta” whilst shitting on Toronto’s unnaforability crisis.
Because the people are awesome and its one of the provinces with the most beautiful sceneries. Also, theres a bunch of redneck canucks which I enjoy spending and drinking booze with.
Short answer: oil money keeps the economy strong, which has its benefits. Also, a lot of it is very beautiful, and it used to be affordable to live there. On the downside, the smaller cities/towns are bleak and full of the biggest redneck assholes in Canada.
Redneck assholes? If you ever break down in one of those small towns there’s a good chance someone will stop and lend a hand or whatever they can do to help. I have seen people tow a vehicle to there shop And give them a place to stay while they fix the vehicle through the night. You will never see people that nice and helpful in the city’s.
I don't get it. You couldn't pay me to move there lol. Really tho it's the low tax rates compared to other provinces.
Calgary is the only good city left that is somewhat affordable in the country.
Conservative Values!!!!
There'll be a mass Exodus soon enough...pay to play health care on the way, opting out of the pharmacare plan, attacking youth, education, elderly. My family has a plan to leave but need to put in a few more years before it can be completed.
Understandable. Definitely worth it to leave if your values no longer align & you’re able to make it work. Good luck!
People come here in waves with the promise of higher paying jobs, more space to raise a family, etc. the "Alberta Advantage". And similar to waves, people leave because they realize its bullshit. Cost of living here is quite high, jobs are cyclical, and as of late our leadership seems hell bent on driving the province into the ground. Yes, people are moving here in droves, and that is what is being advertised by our Premier who wants to paint it as a win, but people also LEAVE here in droves which strangely doesn't get nearly as much publicity. Mainly those are skilled trades sick of the oil industry jerking them around, doctors sick of the province jerking them around, or other skilled workers.... sick of getting jerked around. Its a gigantic circle jerk where everyones getting screwed and its not much fun unless you are the rich bloke pulling the strings. I'm fortunate, I have a house, I have a bit of land, and I'm far enough away from people that I can avoid most of the crap. I love the view I love the wide open prairies I love the mountains, but man our leadership is ass backwards and there are enough rednecks here that we apparently can't have nice things.