More focus on small-business friendly policies would protect province’s leadership position
CALGARY – According to the 2014 Entrepreneurial Communities report from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), Alberta continues to dominate the annual rankings of Canada’s best places to start and grow a business, with eight of the top ten municipal areas in the overall national rankings located in the province.
“It’s great to see so many of Alberta’s cities land in the top ten. As a relative measure, these cities continue to be good places to own and operate a business,” says Richard Truscott, Alberta Director for CFIB.
The annual study assesses the degree to which municipalities have enabled entrepreneurs and small business to start, grow, and prosper. The report looks at the entrepreneurial environment in 122 cities across Canada according to indicators drawn from Statistics Canada sources and survey research conducted with CFIB members.
The 2014 study covers 14 indicators grouped into three areas: presence, perspective, and policy. Presence covers the scale and growth of business ownership, perspective measures optimism and growth plans, and policy represents the actions local governments take with respect to business taxation and regulation. Scores in those three major categories are combined to provide an overall score and ranking.
Once again this year, the study separates Canada’s largest cities, including Calgary and Edmonton, from the surrounding municipal areas.
The 2014 overall rankings:
1. Lloydminster, AB
2. Calgary periphery, AB (the combined municipalities of Airdrie, Rocky View, Cochrane, and Chestermere)
3. Edmonton periphery, AB (the combined municipalities of Strathcona County, St. Albert, Parkland, Spruce Grove, Leduc, and several smaller municipalities)
4. Fort McMurray, AB
5. Camrose, AB
6. Grande Prairie, AB
7. Brooks, AB
8. Red Deer, AB
9. Saskatoon, SK
10. Collingwood, ON
The 2014 ranking for the rest of the thirteen Alberta’s cities on the list are: Medicine Hat 14th, City of Edmonton 17th, Lethbridge 24th, City of Calgary 29th, and Okotoks 36th.
“Even though many Alberta cities perform relatively well in this ranking, mayors and councils still have lots of work to do to cut red tape and make property taxes fairer for small business. They must not become complacent,” concludes Truscott.
As Canada’s largest association of small- and medium-sized businesses, CFIB is Powered by Entrepreneurs™. Established in 1971, CFIB takes direction from more than 109,000 members in every sector nationwide, giving independent business a strong and influential voice at all levels of government and helping to grow the economy