Industry and Initiatives

KPMG's 2008 Competitive Alternatives Report reports that it is more costs more effective to do business in the Red Deer Region than the Canadian average.

The Red Deer Region's growing economy equates to thriving businesses. Many of the Region's traditional and emerging sectors are expanding at record rates.

Traditional sectors include oil and gas; petrochemicals; agriculture; food and beverage processing; distribution, wholesale and retail services; and tourism. Newly emerging sectors include telecommunications and wireless services; biotechnology; value-added agriculture; software development; and electronics and microelectronics.

Within minutes of the Red Deer Region, an expanding cluster of major petrochemical operators including Nova, Dow, and BP Canada Chemicals Co. employ over 1,100 staff. This is the third largest petrochemical cluster in Canada.

Parkland Income Fund was named one of Alberta's 30 Fastest Growing Companies in the province.

Oil and Gas - An Economic Mainstay

The Red Deer Region is known as Alberta's head office for oilfield production services. A record 19,849 oil and gas wells were completed in the western Canadian sedimentary basin in 2003. This record number of wells, combined with strong commodity prices, has sparked industry experts to predict a strong year ahead.

The Region's competitive expertise in the oil and gas sector is a source of innovation. Local companies are responsible for advances in information technology, oil service technologies, equipment fabrication and transportation. These emerging sectors are adaptive, nimble, globally competitive and are selling products and services to companies around the world.

A 2003 BMO Financial Group study reports that knowledge-based professions and scientific and technical services supporting the oil and gas industry are largely made up of small firms. As a result, Red Deer has among the highest number of small businesses per capital.

Broad-Based Service Sector

The Region's sophisticated service sector offers a full range of retail, wholesale and professional services.

A range of professional, legal, accounting, consulting, graphic design and advertising services help support the success of local businesses.

The dynamic financial services sector includes retail banks, investment firms, stockbrokers, trust companies, credit unions, mortgage companies as well as insurance agents, brokers and adjusters. A 2003 BMO Financial Group study sites Red Deer as a hot bed for small businesses with a predominant number specializing in financial services.

Large retail companies such as Costco, Leons and Staples are located in the County and serve the primary trade area.

 For more information please contact the Economic Development department at 403.357.2367 or tharke@rdcounty.ca