As Canadian tech descended on Calgary this week to attend Inventures, local leaders described the city’s new innovation strategy as a roadmap toward becoming the country’s next major tech hub.
The city of Calgary recently rolled out a multi-pronged strategy to pitch itself as the “innovation capital of Canada.” Long known for its deep ties to the oil and gas industry, Calgary has seen a boom in verticals such as FinTech, healthtech, and aerospace. The city believes the winning strategy involves shedding its status as a single-issue city, being seen as Canada’s next tech hot spot, and earning the capital opportunities to keep pace.
The innovation strategy is meant to create over 187,000 jobs over the next 10 years and contribute over $28 billion in economic activity by 2034.
The innovation strategy is meant to create over 187,000 jobs over the next 10 years and contribute over $28 billion in economic activity by 2034. Released in April, it was spearheaded by Calgary Economic Development (CED), Opportunity Calgary Investment Fund (OCIF), and Platform Calgary. The strategy involves creating sector-specific “nodes” with support programs, physical spaces, accelerators, and funding, with “innovation champions” to connect founders with talent, investment, and customers.
According to Terry Rock, CEO of Platform Calgary, the strategy also entails putting out a unified message of Calgary as a “Blue Sky City,” to attract new businesses and talent to set up shop.
The plan builds upon a broader existing momentum in the province. Last quarter, Alberta popped up to third place for venture capital (VC) investments according to a report from the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (CVCA). Calgary itself jumped 15 places in the latest StartupBlink report, cracking the top 100 startup ecosystems globally. With roughly twice Vancouver’s population, Calgary has produced a number of tech unicorns, including Neo Financial, Benevity, and Solium Capital (now Shareworks).
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Founders, politicians, and local tech leaders say they have noticed a fundamental vibe shift in the ecosystem. Former mayor of Calgary and leader of the provincial New Democratic Party, Naheed Nenshi, told BetaKit that startups have previously dealt with an unconnected ecosystem as well as challenges in scaling up.
“Part of this comes from the oil and gas industry history here,” Nenshi said. “You often had a culture that said, you want to grow your business just big enough that someone bigger buys you.”
Multiple founders told BetaKit the tech ecosystem’s energy has grown significantly since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sahil Chadha, founder and CEO of artificial intelligence (AI) mortgage brokering startup uEvolve, said he has “120 percent” felt a surge of energy in Calgary since he moved here in 2022. The buzz has even drawn founders back from the United States: Nathan Nasseri, founder and CEO of real-estate visualization platform ResVR, said ecosystem supporters like Platform Calgary led him to start his company in Calgary after working in California.
Calgary has a “secret sauce,” Nenshi added: “a really entrepreneurial mindset that characterizes the place. A place people come to from anywhere.”
Growing pains
While the innovation strategy aims to strengthen interconnectedness in the city’s ecosystem, Calgary faces the same barriers as other tech hubs in Canada: economic uncertainty, access to capital, and slow-moving institutions.
Despite a 1,000 percent growth in VC investing since 2018 in Calgary, ecosystem leaders say a lack of capital makes it difficult to match steady startup creation.
“The problem… is the supply of entrepreneurs is growing too fast for the number of people investing in tech,” Rock told BetaKit. “You need to onboard new investors into the ecosystem.”
Nasseri, whose startup raised a $1.7-million seed round last year, added that early-stage capital should be more available, ideally through non-dilutive financing, matching investments, or tax credits.
Platform Calgary established the National Bank Investor Hub in 2023 to get Calgary’s high-net-worth investors in on early-stage tech deals.
Grace Fullerton, communications manager at Calgary Economic Development, told BetaKit in an email that capital needs to keep pace with the rapid growth of the city’s tech sector, adding that founders say it’s “difficult to connect with the right people, resources and capital at the right time.”
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In addition to capital, startups also face hurdles getting large corporations and institutions onboarded as customers for new technologies. Rock said that’s one puzzle piece of the ecosystem that needs additional support.
Since Calgary has fewer financial industry headquarters than other cities, notching big customers is less certain. “Our areas where we can win are things like energy, agriculture, and health,” Rock said. The innovation strategy’s nodes aim to liaise between corporate customers and early-stage startups.
The Calgary-specific strategy comes after the provincial government introduced its own $73-million innovation strategy in 2022 to create 20,000 jobs and boost local revenue. The Alberta government has looked to foster tech’s momentum through funding vehicles and revamping existing programs.
The Alberta Enterprise Corporation (AEC) and OCIF are key sources of government-backed funding. AEC has invested as a limited partner in VC funds such as McRock Capital’s industrial tech fund and Pender Ventures’ $100-million software and healthtech fund. OCIF has funded the XPrize Foundation’s new international hub and small grants to nearly two dozen startup projects.
“I think this is the best place in the country right now to build a tech company.”
Cory Janssen
AltaML
However, there have been dramatic changes to the support approach from provincial agencies, including Alberta Innovates. After a leadership overhaul and comprehensive review, the agency is set to execute a new strategic plan that emphasizes connecting different parts of the ecosystem and attracting talent. The government is also set to reduce the organization’s funding by about 20 percent next fiscal year.
Alberta’s Minister of Technology and Innovation Nate Glubish did not respond to email questions by press time.
“Green shoots” sprouting in the tech scene
Ecosystem leaders BetaKit spoke with said Calgary’s aspiration to become a national tech hub is hindered by a struggle to be heard—something that forms a key tenet of its new innovation strategy.
“Number one [challenge] is visibility,” Nenshi said. “We have to spend a lot of time telling people we exist.” He added that getting the federal government to promote Calgary was a challenge.
Another opportunity is creating a well-rounded talent pipeline. AltaML CEO Cory Janssen told BetaKit there is abundant engineering talent, but not enough people trained in product and sales roles. Janssen thinks that will come as future successes attract new talent.
“You’re seeing green shoots, right? But we still don’t have the flywheel going yet,” Janssen said. “We haven’t had that one big win that then distributes a whole bunch of winners across the ecosystem.”
Rock said there are examples of successful founders giving back to the Calgary tech scene. ZayZoon CSO Tate Hackert opened a semi-private members’ club for founders downtown called House 831, where tech workers can gather and iterate.
Tech leaders said the Calgary advantage partly comes from its status as an emerging player, with lower average rents than Toronto and Vancouver, as well as a business climate becoming more favourable through government policy.
“I think this is the best place in the country right now to build a tech company,” Janssen said.
Feature image courtesy alex c via Unsplash.