Province profile

Alberta

A top-graded jurisdiction on internal trade cooperation, but an economy concentrated in energy makes diversifying sales into other provinces' markets more strategically important than for more diversified economies.

Overview

Population

5,057,077

Local time

Internal-trade grade

Net debt / GDP

7.6%

Worth knowing

The only province with no provincial sales tax.

Population: Statistics Canada, as of 2026-04-01. Internal-trade grade: CFIB 2026 report card. Net debt/GDP: a compiled cross-provincial estimate, not a single official StatCan table — shown as a data gap for territories rather than assumed zero.

Economy & key industries

Primary sectors

Energy (oil & gas)AgricultureForestryTechnology

Doing business here

Sales tax

GST 5%

Minimum wage

$15.00/hr, effective 2018-10-01

Corp. tax (small biz / general)

11% / 23%

Corporate registry

Alberta Corporate Registry

Employment standards

Alberta Employment Standards Code

Workers' compensation

Workers' Compensation Board – Alberta

Extra-provincial registration by business type

Assuming you're coming from another province with no physical presence in Alberta yet — the most common starting point. Your actual answer depends on your specific presence and revenue; run the full lookup tool for that.

Business type	Extra-provincial registration
Retail / e-commerce goods	Likely not required
Professional services	Likely not required
Regulated trades & licensing	Depends — confirm
Healthcare & medical professionals	Depends — confirm
Alcohol / cannabis DTC	Likely not required
Trucking & logistics	Likely not required
Food & beverage	Depends — confirm

Trade & market access

Investment / trade office

Invest Alberta

Government tenders

Alberta Purchasing Connection

Liquor & cannabis authority

Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC)

Commercial transport authority

Alberta Transportation and Economic Corridors

Live federal tender listings and business-registry search across all 13 jurisdictions are also on the Resources page.

AI research brief

Have Claude search reputable sources only — Statistics Canada, the Bank of Canada, provincial governments, major bank economics desks, established policy institutes, and wire/business press — for current context on Alberta's economy and policy climate. Separate from the sourced dataset above.

Run your own check All provinces

Guidance snapshot: 2026-08-05. Broader review pending. Informational only — not legal advice.