Alberta’s economic development minister is in the midst of a trade mission to Europe, but it was the domestic bid for Amazon that reporters on a conference call wanted to know about.
Published reports in the U.S. suggest a $7 billion bid from New Jersey and $2 billion from Chicago are on the table.
“I’m honestly not worried about that at all,” Deron Bilous said on Tuesday.
While Bilous wouldn’t disclose the nuts and bolts of the bids from Edmonton and Calgary, he did provide an outline that puts an emphasis on the province’s 26 post secondary schools and their ability to provide a well educated work force are part of what Alberta has to offer.
“The cities really did look at what makes them extremely competitive and, I recognize there’s over 200 submissions, but I’m still confident with the proposals that our two cities put forward that it’s going to gain Amazon’s attention.”
Despite his confidence, the minister stressed that Alberta isn’t looking at being part of a “race to the bottom” to see who can shell out the highest amount of money.
“When I look at those other jurisdictions putting forward billions and billions of dollars through tax concessions, essentially writing blank cheques, it tells me they’re desperate for a company like Amazon but what else do they have to offer?”
WATCH BELOW: The Calgary team hoping to lure Amazon to Calgary is hoping billions of dollars in economic incentives and a creative pitch will bring the tech giant to the city. Gary Bobrovitz reports.
The online retailer kicked off its hunt for a second home base in September, promising to bring 50,000 new jobs and spend more than $5 billion on construction. Proposals were due last week, and Amazon made clear that tax breaks and grants would be a big deciding factor on where it chooses to land.
The company received 238 proposals from cities in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
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