CALGARY — The Alberta government’s long-awaited plan to bolster its tech sector marks a “positive” step for innovation policy in the province, says an advocacy group for startups, but is significantly lacking in detail as to how it will meet its targets.

The Alberta Technology and Innovation Strategy (ATIS), which the provincial government will officially unveil Tuesday, offers a broad framework for expanding and supporting the province’s tech sector. Its release “marks the beginning of a long-term approach to accelerate the province’s economic recovery and future growth,” the report says.

It sets general targets for deepening Alberta’s labour pool, attracting capital, helping tech companies commercialize their innovations and improving the province’s reputation as an investment destination. 

But according to the Council of Canadian Innovators, a lobby group for the country’s scale-ups and startups, the document lacks key details on how it will achieve its ambitious goals, like streamlining applications for grant programs or establishing a modern intellectual property regime. 

It also doesn’t set targets for government contracts with local tech firms, an issue of particular interest to the country’s startups. 

“The strategy lacks a focus on procurement, which the government should be leveraging to bolster economic growth for small- and medium-sized startups and fast-growing scale-up companies,” said the CCI’s Alberta-based government relations manager Bronté Valk in a statement. “As the largest purchaser in the province of Alberta, procurement is the biggest tool in the government’s toolbelt to support homegrown firms.” 

Alberta’s ruling United Conservative Party first said it would create a broad strategy for innovation in its 2021 budget. Alberta then allocated $73 million toward the ATIS in the 2022 budget, but did not provide details on what it would involve. Industry groups including the CCI had been anticipating the report, hoping it would provide some long-awaited details. 

In an interview with The Logic, Innovation Minister Doug Schweitzer said the ATIS was designed to create a common understanding of Alberta’s long-term plans to foster innovation in the province. 

“That was the overall rationale for developing and releasing the strategy, was to make sure everybody knew with absolute clarity the approach and goals, and why we were taking this approach in Alberta,” he said. 

The Alberta government has sought to position the province as an up-and-coming tech destination, backed by record-breaking venture capital levels. 

The ATIS sets some high-vantage goals, and reiterates an existing ambition for tech firms in Alberta to generate an additional $5 billion in revenue by 2030. But the report does not outline any major policy or regulatory frameworks to help meet those targets, instead opting for general recommendations. 

Under a section about helping tech companies commercialize, the document says the province will “explore opportunities for Alberta-based startups, small businesses and students to pitch innovative ideas and technologies that address a wide range of government issues.”  

Another section broadly states that the ministry will “optimize Alberta’s technology and innovation ecosystem so that Alberta’s groundbreaking companies can push the limits of what the future can be.”

On the effort to attract capital, the document says simply that the government will “explore options to address gaps in access to venture capital funding in Alberta,” and “advocate” for more federal funding, including $390 million from Ottawa to expand rural broadband access. 

The document also mentions the creation of an already delayed IP strategy, which government officials have said would modernize rules around issues like patents and copyright.

Other proposals are more detailed, including a plan to “establish a public-sector artificial intelligence lab, with the Alberta government as the anchor tenant, to develop talent, produce new AI solutions for the government, and enable innovators to create commercialization opportunities.” Another aims to increase access to “high-demand” post-secondary programs to train workers in areas like computer science, information technology, computer engineering and data modelling. 

The document also reiterates plans to give another $175 million to Alberta Enterprise Corporation, which allocates venture capital funding in the province, and boost spending in areas like artificial intelligence and quantum computing. 

The CCI was broadly supportive of the report, saying Alberta “has made great progress in the past few years working closely with industry to advance strategies that support the province’s burgeoning tech sector.” 

The ATIS includes feedback from stakeholders, including industry and post-secondary institutions, about the shortfalls in Alberta’s tech sector, including the need for better “coordination” within Alberta’s research and innovation framework. It also notes less growth in the number of technology jobs in Alberta compared with other provinces, despite a sharp increase in Edmonton and Calgary in recent years.

Edmonton saw a 53 per cent increase in its total number of technology jobs between 2015 and 2020, to 34,500 jobs, the report says, while Calgary increased 18 per cent to 46,700. Over the same period, by comparison, Toronto saw a 43 per cent increase, up to a total 270,000 technology jobs.

“While the province’s sector growth is impressive, the reality is that Alberta remains behind our competitors,” the document says.