Stats for Investors

 

Access to Transportation 

• Highways: #2, #43, #40
• Rail Service: CN connects Grande Prairie area and Swan Landing to the rest of the continent
• Scheduled air service provided by: Air Canada, WestJet, Airco

Access to Capital

•  Local banks

  Institution	Address	Phone #
  ATB Financial	11507 – 99 Street, T8V 2H6 6801 Kateri Drive, T8W 0H1 9907 – 106A Street, T8V 8E9	(780) 538-5225 (780) 538-8000 (780) 539-7450
  Bank of Montreal	10705 West Side Drive, T8V 8E6	(780) 538-8150
  Business Development Bank of Canada	#203 10625 West Side Drive, T8V 8E6	(780) 532-8875
  Canadian Western Bank	11226 – 100 Avenue, T8V 7L2	(780) 831-1999
  CIBC	9933 – 100 Avenue, T8V 0V1 9825 – 116 Street, T8W 0C7	(780) 538-8300
  RBC	9815 – 98 Street, T8V 2E4 10720 – 80 Avenue, T8W 0G9	(780) 532-9250 (780) 833-1660
  Scotiabank	9834 – 100 Avenue, T8V 0T8 9829 – 116 street, T8V 8J6	(780) 532-9250 (780) 833-1660
  Servus Credit Union	9930 – 99 Avenue, T8V 0R5 #18 9701 – 84 Avenue, T8V 4Z8 10130 – 117 Avenue, T8V 7S4	(780) 831-2928 (780) 402-2928 (780) 532-8866
  TD Bank Financial Group	10704 West Side Drive, T8V 8E6 9940 – 92 Street, T8X 0E7	(780) 538-8100

• Bank of Canada target overnight rate: 1.0%
• Prime rate at major banks: 3.0%
• Other business loan providers: Aboriginal Business Canada, Community Futures
• A list of Alberta Government business loans and grants

Access to Market

• City population: 55,032 (2011 census)
• Trading area population: 190,892
• Captive market (northern Alberta & BC): 38,582
• Retail spending per household: $61,104 (2012 estimate)1

Education, Training, and Research & Development

• Grande Prairie Regional College
• GPRC Fairview Campus
• Northern Alberta Institute of Technology
• Northern Lakes College
• Centre for Research and Innovation
• University of Alberta Extensions Program

Educational Attainment (2006 Census)

• High School certificate or equivalent:  30.2%
• Apprenticeship or trades certificate or diploma: 13.0%
• College, CEGEP or other non-university certificate or diploma: 18.6%
• University certificate or diploma below the bachelor level: 3.0%
• University certificate, diploma or degree: 10.7% 
  

Level of Employment in Health, Education, and Government

•  The City of Grande Prairie: 434 full-time permanent employee
• Grande Prairie Regional College: 317 full-time staff
• Alberta Health Services: 985 full-time staff

Tax Rate2

• GST: 5%
• City property mill rate
  Low-density residential: 12.4325
  High-density residential: 20.5328
  Industrial/commercial: 20.7789
• Alberta corporate tax rates
  General: 10%
  Manufacturing & Processing: 10%
  Small business: 3%

Telecommunication

• Infrastructure: Alberta's SuperNet is a network of fibre cables and towers reaching
  429 communities, serving 3.5 million people, including 1 million who live in rural and
  remote communities. 
• Capacity: Telus and EastLink provide Internet service with up to 100Mbps.

Unions

• Alberta has a unionization rate of 25%, compared to the national average of 31.5%3
• Unions in Grande Prairie:
  • Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE)
  • Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE)
  • Communications Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada (CEP)

Utilities Cost

• See a summary of electricity & natural gas prices here
• Visit Aquatera website for water & waste water services and rates

Wage by Industry, Average4

• Agriculture: $17.38
• Forestry, Logging, Fishing and Hunting: 24.37
• Oil & Gas Extraction: $31.19
• Utilities: $30.95
• Construction: $27.21
• Manufacturing: $30.92
• Wholesale Trade: $24.38
• Retail Trade: $18.67
• Transportation & Warehousing: $29.70
• Information, Culture & Recreation: $17.16
• Finance, Insurance & Real Estate: $22.65
• Professional, Scientific & Technical Services: $28.58
• Business, Building and Other Support Services: $20.38
• Educational Services: $27.68
• Health Care & Social Services: $29.28
• Accommodation & Food Services: $12.46
• Other Services: $22.91
• Mining: $31.67 

1. Canadian Demographics 2011 by FPmarkets

2. Alberta's Economic Development Website "Competitive corporate taxes"
3. Statistics from Alberta's Economic Development Website & Human Resources and Skills Development Canada
4. Regional Economic Indicators - Peace Country Region December 2011 compiled by the Government of Alberta