Calgary: Heart of the New West

Highlights on why Calgary

• The strong dollar and its stabilizing impact on mortgage rates have helped boost the real estate market in Calgary. The average residential resale price in Calgary increased by an additional 9.9% in February 2005 compared to the same time last year.
• Housing remains the primary source of wealth for most Canadians. With the increase in the value of their homes, Canadian homeowners are feeling richer and are spending accordingly – a phenomenon known as the “housing wealth effect” which continues to fuel consumer confidence in Calgary.
• Alberta Economic Development estimates that $7.9 billion in major capital projects are either planned orunderway in Calgary. One-third (33.4%) of these projects are in infrastructure, followed by institutional investments (28.1%), commercial and retail (17.7%) and tourism and recreation (8.2%).
• Calgary is known as "Canada's Energy Capital." While the region remains solidly linked to the surrounding energy and agricultural sectors, a growing range of dynamic and worldclass high technology industries are becoming well established, along with a growing number of major corporate headquarters.
• The Calgary CMA is located at the intersection of the east-west Trans-Canada Highway and the north-south CANAMEX Highway. The latter, when completed, will be a continuous four-lane highway linking Mexico City in the south to Edmonton in the north.
• Calgary has a highly developed and diversified economy in which the energy sector continues to represent a very large proportion of total economic activity. The Calgary CMA is the only metropolitan economy in Canada in which the primary sector is reported to account for the single largest share of total GDP, 18.2 percent.