Alberta should feel confident, proud about its business, Chamber conference hears

By Collin Gallant on May 31, 2025.

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Even facing challenges, Alberta and Alberta’s businesses have got a good thing going, delegates to the provincial Chamber of Commerce conference in Medicine Hat were told Friday, and building and promoting it can help businesses through trade troubles.

The business group’s provincial annual general meeting and policy conference concludes Saturday at the Medicine Hat Lodge, and this year included a series of panel discussions on what organizers called big-picture issues that are top of mind.

Those include trade, innovation and workforce development as a counter to larger economic concerns in North America,

“When we go out to the world and say there’s no place better than Alberta, we’ve got to believe it,” said Bianca Parsons, executive director of the Alberta Food Processors Association, during a morning panel discussion about Canada’s trade landscape.

“We need to get the rest of Canada excited about what we’re doing.”

Other panelists described efforts to reduce trade barriers between provinces, and the need to connect local and regional businesses to reduce reliance on imports.

At the ground level, businesses should be talking to other area businesses about potential partnerships, and in general, start “thinking big,” according to Trevor Lewington, CEO of Economic Development Lethbridge.

“At the end of the day, we’re a trading nation,” said Lewington, whose group supports ‘Canada’s Premier Food Corridor’ along Highway 3 and a group of nine municipalities promoting the Lethbridge region as “Canada Western Gateway.”

“Think about the natural strength in your region and figure out how you can double down on that,” said Lewington. “Work with your partners to see how we can get out of this mess.”

With North American trade disruption stealing headlines in 2025, business owners are facing disruption not only for export sales but also on their access and cost of inputs.

The business lobby group solicits government on issues of their members, including regulation, export opportunities and government programming, but also seeks to bolster business connections and “B2B,” or business to business sales.

The Alberta Chamber is working at creating a compendium of member service and goods suppliers to help build connections and potentially ease trade fallout.

“A lot of Alberta business owners don’t know there might be another supplier across the street,” said Parsons.

Seeking efficiencies and potentially adding capacity for other lines of business for existing facilities and machinery, or even taking on contract work, could be an overlooked way at diversifying, or repurposing and retaining staff, said Parsons.

Southeast Alberta Chamber chair Stephen Pudwell said the common complaints about red tape and lost opportunities show the importance of collective action in the chamber.

“As one business it’s hard to feel like your problems are getting heard,” he said.

“A group of voices carries more weight, and the other side is (talking with) other businesses, and saying, ‘Hey, I’m a butcher and you’re a butcher, are your concerns the same as mine?”

“It’s great for our chamber to host an event like this to bring in people from all over Alberta and learn a little bit,” said Pudwell.

Hat welcomes province

The weekend’s event began Thursday with a gathering at the Cypress Club to commemorate the 125th anniversary of the founding of chamber predecessor, the Medicine at Board of Trade, and the unofficial renaming of Sixth Avenue as “Commerce Way.”

Just more than 200 delegates were registered to attend weekend sessions, including 50 representatives of 39 other chambers in the province.

Attendees were also set to visit the Irvine Agriculture educational centre in the afternoon, and attend a Friday night mixer on the rooftop patio of the Esplanade.

They will have voting privileges at plenary sessions that are scheduled for Saturday. The event closes with a gala evening at Medalta with dinner, a discussion panel with previous provincial chamber chairs and entertainment.

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