Advertisement

Next phase of ‘Alberta is Calling’ campaign targets skilled workers in Ontario, Maritimes

Click to play video: '‘Alberta is Calling’ once again as province relaunches campaign'
‘Alberta is Calling’ once again as province relaunches campaign
WATCH: Alberta is looking to entice Canadians to move from Ontario and the Maritimes in the next phase of the Alberta is Calling campaign. As Michael King reports, the idea is to showcase Alberta’s job opportunities and relatively low cost of living in hope more people will pack up and move to the province. – Mar 13, 2023

The next phase of the provincial government’s “Alberta is Calling” campaign, which will try to attract workers from northern and southwestern Ontario and the Maritimes, was launched Monday.

The Alberta government is hoping to address labour shortages in sectors like skilled trades, health care, food service and hospitality, accounting, engineering and technology.

“Almost every sector in Alberta needs people to fill the jobs,” said Brian Jean, Alberta’s minister of jobs, economy and northern development.

He said the $5-million push will include ads across multiple mediums, including radio, audio streaming, billboards, online display, social media and search engine marketing.

Jean said this phase of the “Alberta is Calling” campaign is focusing on places where skilled workers need jobs, where there is high unemployment and underemployment.

Story continues below advertisement

Specifically, the provincial government said it is targeting St. John’s, N.L.; Charlottetown, P.E.I.; Moncton and Saint John, N.B.; and Halifax, N.S.; and in Ontario: Hamilton, London, Windsor, Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie, North Bay, Chatham, Timmins and Cornwall.

“We targeted these because of the high unemployment but also because of the highly skilled trades,” Jean said.

Click to play video: 'Premier Smith’s comments draw criticism of ‘Alberta Calling’ campaign'
Premier Smith’s comments draw criticism of ‘Alberta Calling’ campaign

The first phase of the government’s campaign was focused on attracting workers from Vancouver and Toronto.

For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.

Get breaking National news

For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.
By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

“This campaign is expanding to a number of different markets,” Jean said, “playing on the successes of the last campaign.”

Regarding the first phase, he said “the return on investment was fantastic,” citing net migration to Alberta at record levels. Jean said 33,000 Canadians moved to Alberta in the third quarter of 2022.

Story continues below advertisement

“Alberta is Calling” has touted the advantages of living in Alberta, saying the province has “the highest weekly earnings and lowest taxes in Canada,” an “excellent quality of life and affordable lifestyle,” “access to world-famous mountains and parks for year-round hiking, skiing, biking, and more than 300 days of sunshine per year.”

The next phase of the campaign will expand internationally, Jean said.

Click to play video: 'Alberta campaign targeting Atlantic Canadian workers'
Alberta campaign targeting Atlantic Canadian workers

He explained the particular countries have not been identified yet but will likely target those where people face the fewest amount of barriers — language, education — in moving to Alberta.

Jennifer Henshaw with Restaurants Canada joined Jean for the announcement Monday in Canmore.

Story continues below advertisement

She highlighted the labour shortage in the hospitality and service industries specifically, saying many Alberta businesses have had to pivot, reduce hours and some are even operating at 80 per cent capacity due to “acute labour shortages” in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Henshaw said Alberta has about 18,000 vacancies in its service sector.

In August 2022, then-premier Jason Kenney kicked off the “Alberta is Calling” campaign to lure skilled workers from Toronto and Vancouver.

The UCP government spent $2.6 million on that first phase, which included ads on social media, radio and posters in high-traffic areas.

Sponsored content

AdChoices