The Government of Alberta is getting serious about bringing the new North American headquarters for Amazon to Alberta.

Earlier this month, Amazon announced that they plan to build a second headquarter with cities like Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto and Montreal expressing interest.

Yesterday (September 25th), Premier Rachel Notley and Minister of Economic Development Deron Bilous announced they are forming a team to help attract that headquarter to the province.

"Our object is to get that headquarters into this province and we have two competitive municipalities that are interested in competing in that process," said Notley. "We've brought this group together to give us the best advice possible for how we as a Provincial Government can support the bids effectively."

The team will be led by former investment banker Bill Sembo, who oversaw the creation of Cenovus and Nexen.

Sembo will be joined by several other members including Elizabeth Cannon and David Turpin, the Presidents of the Universities of Calgary and University of Alberta, respectively.

Premier Notley said despite the recent financial burdens that have gripped the Province, Alberta is still economically strong and has what Amazon is looking for.

"We also have a history of being able to turn on a dime and support really significant economic growth and significant economic change. We are, for lack of a better term, a very nimble province."

When asked if the hikes to corporate taxes and the carbon levy would prevent Amazon from choosing Alberta, Premier Notley said not at all, pointing to the Province still having some of the lowest overall taxes in the country.

"If anything, I think that the stability and the responsibility that we've demonstrated in Alberta is exactly the kind of thing that is going to make us attractive."

The deadline for all cities to submit bids for the Amazon Headquarter is October 19th with the final decision coming in 2018.

 

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