The latest results from Statistics Canada’s Canadian Survey on Business Conditions* point to an increase in overall business confidence in Alberta.

When asked about their expectations over the next 12 months, 73.1% of businesses in Alberta said they were either very (18.3%) or somewhat optimistic (54.8%).

The new reading is 8 percentage points higher than at the end of 2023 when 65.1% of businesses were in the optimistic camp.**

The level of optimism improved in 12 of 16 industries.

Professional, scientific and technical services posted the largest increase, going from 59.0% to 75.9% (+16.96 points).

The most optimistic sector to start the year was arts, entertainment and recreation with 89.8% of businesses in the very or somewhat optimistic category, up 14.3 points from the fourth quarter of 2023.

The largest drop was in the oil and gas extraction sector with the proportion of businesses saying they were optimistic about the year ahead going from 71.8% in the fourth quarter of 2023 to 58.5% in the first quarter of 2024 (-13.3 percentage points).

Optimism in the agriculture and forestry sector also eroded, going from 69.5% to 60.4% (-9.1 points).

Nationally, overall optimism was up 2.5 points to 68.4% to start the year. 

*The survey collects information on the environment businesses are currently operating in and their expectations moving forward. The most recent survey was conducted from January 2 to February 5, 2024, and respondents were asked what their expectations would be over the next 12-month period. As a result, those 12 months could range from January 2, 2024 to February 5, 2025, depending on when the business responded.

**The Q4 2023 survey was conducted from October 3 to November 6, 2023, and respondents were asked what their expectations would be over the next 12-month period. As a result, those 12 months could range from October 3, 2023, to November 6, 2024, depending on when the business responded.

Answer to the previous trivia question: The Hobbits featured in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings have 30 days in the month of February instead of the 28 days (29 during leap years) used in the Gregorian calendar.

Today’s trivia question: What is the percentage of private sector businesses in Alberta that are majority owned by women?