Albertans are proud of their rural and pioneering roots. We celebrate our heritage during the Calgary Stampede, Klondike Days and a hundred other festivals and fairs every summer.
But it would be a major mistake to think of rural Alberta’s contribution to the province as being in the past.
Today, rural Alberta’s population makes up 18 per cent of the province's population, attracts 41per cent of the capital investment while producing 26 per cent of the province's wealth, according to a 2018 study conducted for the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties (AAMDC).
Even today, rural Alberta makes an outsized but perhaps underappreciated contribution to the well-being and wealth of the entire province. Unfortunately, our future is uncertain.
Census data shows that while some rural census divisions will continue to grow in population for the foreseeable future, their growth will be far outstripped by growth in urban areas. Population growth in some rural areas is projected to stagnate or even shrink, with eastern Alberta being hit especially hard.
Given the importance of the Alberta countryside to the economy and culture, where is the debate on revitalizing rural Alberta?
Oil and gas companies aren’t just major employers in rural Alberta; they are important customers for organizations like ours. They complain that high taxes, unreasonable regulations and a lack of pipelines put Alberta at a competitive disadvantage to neighbouring states and even provinces, like Saskatchewan. But oil and gas is only one of the sectors facing challenges.
Alberta’s electricity markets face an uncertain future too. If changes to the Alberta electricity system lead to much higher electricity prices, this would be a blow for both individuals and heavy power consumers such as manufacturing and food processing. Sectors that hold the potential to help revitalize rural communities. However, that revitalization can only be realized if power prices are competitive.
EQUS, the electricity distribution cooperative that I am fortunate to lead, has long noted that two large electricity distribution companies now control approximately 95 per cent of Alberta’s rural electricity distribution market. Distribution charges are often the biggest charge on rural power bills. EQUS, almost by itself, provides a third option for consumers. But for most of Alberta, this effective "duopoly" is yet another threat to fairness and competition for rural consumers and the vibrancy of rural communities.
We also believe that community electricity generation holds the promise of providing rural Albertans with low and stable energy prices and maybe even more importantly, less reliance on large companies and more independence for farmers, ranchers and rural entrepreneurs.
Much more could be done to revitalize rural Alberta and we need a long-term vision for rural Alberta that sees the potential for forestry, oil and gas, food processing, manufacturing, agriculture, community electricity generation and real competition in electricity distribution. We’re optimistic about the future, which is why we have just announced plans to construct a new facility for our corporate office in Innisfail.
Let’s restore Alberta to its position as Canada’s jobs and opportunity leader starting with a plan to get rural Alberta back on track.
– Patricia Bourne is the chief executive officer for EQUS .
