A view of the Calgary skyline. The first Business Council of Alberta CEO Pulse Survey indicates that chief executives in the province are upbeat about the coming year.Todd Korol/The Globe and Mail
Alberta’s chief executives are upbeat about the coming year, despite global geopolitical pressures and a looming vote on separation, according to a new survey.
The results of the first Business Council of Alberta CEO Pulse Survey, released Thursday, reflect a broad optimism in the province’s energy sector as oil sands companies become more confident about spending cash to significantly boost their production.
It’s the first time the organization has surveyed member CEOs. Council president Adam Legge said in an interview he was “pleasantly surprised” by the optimism across sectors considering the many uncertainties facing businesses.
Alberta’s separation referendum is planned for Oct. 19. It will ask voters whether they want Alberta to remain in Canada, or start the legal process to hold a binding, second referendum on secession.
Mr. Legge speaks with members about the coming vote “every single day.” While they understand the frustrations driving the movement, he said, most business leaders believe that Alberta should remain in Canada and view the issue as something the province has to move past.
The Business Council of Alberta is firm in its opinion that Alberta should remain in Canada, but Mr. Legge acknowledged there are varying perspectives among business leaders, as well as their staff and customers.
Mr. Legge said the majority of members he speaks with don’t believe the vote will pass. He doesn’t think that’s complacency among CEOs so much as it’s “the business community saying, ‘Look, we’ve got so many opportunities to do things here in Alberta, and we’re going to continue to drive investment.’”
But he is concerned about complacency among the general population – that people will see surveys saying that 70 per cent of Albertans want to remain in Canada, so they don’t bother voting.
As far as the council is concerned, every Albertan must go and cast their vote, Mr. Legge said.
“This is not a time to let your neighbour carry your perspective. It is a time for every Albertan to get out and share their views and make sure that we can move forward with a strong Alberta within Canada.”
While a recent agreement signed by Ottawa and Alberta to boost energy investment and the federal government’s support of a new oil pipeline to the West Coast were a good start, “we’re looking to Ottawa to continue to demonstrate collaborative success and fair treatment of Alberta,” Mr. Legge said.
“There’s some more room to go, but we’re also hearing that it’s not stopping any of our members from making investments or hiring people or considering proposals or investing in projects,” he said.
Podcast: The new pipeline push in Canada
Despite the uncertainty around separation, the results of the survey underscore a general optimism in investment.
Roughly 65 per cent of the 40 CEOs who responded to the survey predict that economic conditions for Alberta businesses will improve over the coming year, compared with just 8 per cent who expect them to deteriorate.
About half of them expect faster revenue growth and plan to add staff, and 55 per cent are looking to increase capital investment.
Mr. Legge said the positive sentiment likely reflects the number of recent major project announcements and growing opportunities for the oil and gas sector.
On the flip side, almost half of the respondents reported difficulty finding or retaining workers.
Regulation burdens, including financial and compliance reporting, have been “a consistent theme for business leaders for decades,” Mr. Legge said, and 74 per cent of respondents said they continue to present a barrier to growth.
Mr. Legge said his message to governments is that Alberta can build on its business momentum “if we set the table right. But if we don’t, we’re going to continue to see challenges in the investment landscape, and frankly, some companies and even individuals looking to put their capital and their time down elsewhere.”