Monday, February 22, 2021


NDP pitches venture capital fund to bolster Alberta's growing tech sector


Alberta’s NDP Opposition is proposing a government-backed venture fund to take advantage of a technology sector weathering the COVID-19 pandemic better than others
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© Provided by Edmonton Journal Alberta NDP Leader Rachel Notley.

New Democrat Leader Rachel Notley likened the idea of a $200-million Alberta Venture Fund – which would invite equity investments from Albertans – to former Social Credit premier Ernest Manning’s Great Canadian Oil Sands project.

“Are we growing at a rate that is fast enough to make up for the jump on Alberta that so many other jurisdictions have successfully earned as a result of our provinces’ failure to engage aggressively?” said Notley in Calgary Monday.

The NDP’s bid to reinstate axed programs like the digital media tax credit and invest in research comes as the province sees record-breaking investments in technology and artificial intelligence. Edmonton-based online platform Jobber announced in January it had attracted a US $60 million investment .

“We could see much more activity right now if the rug had not been pulled out from underneath these programs by the UCP government,” said Notley.

Jobs, Economy and Innovation Minister Doug Schweitzer said in a statement he was pleased to see NDP economic development and innovation critic Deron Bilous recognize tech jobs and sector growth in his report.

“I am looking forward to discussing his proposals to see continued growth in Alberta’s tech industry,” he said.

Last year, the government announced Alberta Enterprise Corporation funding aimed at supporting tech start-ups would total $175 million over three years, and an i nnovation employment grant covering up to 20 per cent of research and development costs opened in January .

But Trent Johnsen, founder and CEO of Liveweb, said gaps in government support, including the lack of an investor tax credit, were holding Alberta back.


“As Albertans, our ability to succeed in this new technology innovation-based economy will determine how successful we are as a province, our quality of life, and our children’s quality of life in the 21st century,” he said at the NDP news conference.

Johnsen and Notley said recent good news out of the sector was the result of resiliency and hard work.

“These Alberta tech success stories that we are seeing recently are actually occurring despite the government of the day, which has chosen not to participate or support,” said Johnsen.

Access to capital and a talented, creative workforce will attract businesses to the province, Johnsen said.

Bilous added that quality of life is a higher priority for businesses than the the low eight per cent tax rate implemented by the UCP government.

The latest in a series of NDP discussion papers includes initiatives that, if adopted together, would have an estimated cost of more than half a billion dollars over five years.

Days before Alberta is set to release a bleak pandemic budget, Notley said the province’s debt-to-GDP ratio, while important, should not be the defining measure of an economic plan.

“Job creation is to me the fundamentally most important measure,” said Notley.

lijohnson@postmedia.com

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