Alberta’s Opportunity: The Ins, Outs and Benefits of Greater Job Mobility

Alberta Should Fight Downturn with Greater Job Mobility

• Alberta should open its doors to job seekers with labour mobility reforms that will boost its economic fortunes post-COVID.
• Authors Trevor Tombe and Daniel Schwanen quantify the potential gains of easing labour mobility barriers across occupations, sectors and regions, and explore how making it easier for people to move to Alberta can aid in economic recovery.
• The authors tally up the potential gains of easing entry for job seekers: For each 1,000 additional workers that move into Alberta in response to lower migration costs, they estimate Alberta’s economy grows by $141 million. And if migration costs fall by 1 percent across the board, they estimate gains of nearly $9 billion.