Alberta will poach workforce from other provinces
A new campaign aims to move skilled workers from Toronto and Vancouver.
The Alberta government hopes to lure workers from Toronto and Vancouver to the province, so it announced the launch of its recruitment campaign on August 15, 2022. Initially estimated at $2.6 million CAD, the project will emphasize affordability of living in Alberta.
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said in a statement that the province has seen an acceleration of development, and added: "One of the biggest challenges to sustaining this amazing growth is having enough people to fill all the jobs that are being created."
The first phase of the "Alberta Calling!" program was advertising at bus stops, on public transportation, on the radio and on social media in Toronto and Vancouver.
In March, a study was released showing that for the first time since 1988, more young people were leaving the province than coming to it. This was primarily due to the large number of jobs in the oil and gas industry and the lack of attention to the prospects of aspiring professionals in other fields. That's why Mount Royal University marketing professor David Finch, who co-authored the study, believes there needs to be an emphasis on more than just affordability and the new Alberta campaign should be just a small part of rebranding the province's image. He pointed out that advertising raises visibility, but not credibility.
Meanwhile, the provincial government announced that the second wave of the program will start in mid-September.
