Skip to Content Subscribe Our Offers My Account Manage My Subscriptions FAQ Newsletters Canada Canadian True Crime Canadian Politics Health World Israel & Middle East Financial Post NP Comment Longreads Puzzmo Diversions Comics NP News Quiz New York Times Crossword Horoscopes Life Eating & Drinking Style Sponsored Play for Ontario Travel Travel Canada Travel USA Travel International Cruises Travel Essentials Culture Books Celebrity Movies Music Theatre Television Business Essentials Advice Lives Told Tails Told Shopping Buy Canadian Home Living Outdoor Living Kitchen & Dining Tech Style & Beauty Personal Care Entertainment & Hobbies Gift Guide Travel Guide Amazon Prime Day Deals Savings National Post Store More Sports Hockey Baseball Basketball Football Soccer Golf Tennis Driving Vehicle Research Reviews News Gear Guide Obituaries Place an Obituary Place an In Memoriam Classifieds Place an Ad Celebrations Working Business Ads Archives Healthing Epaper Manage Print Subscription Profile Settings My Subscriptions Saved Articles My Offers Newsletters Customer Service FAQ Newsletters Canada World Financial Post NP Comment Longreads Puzzmo Diversions Life Shopping Epaper Manage Print Subscription HomeNewsCanadaAlberta leads Canada in job gains amid separation talkAlberta created nearly eight in 10 new jobs across Canada over the past year, according to StatCanLast updated Jul 13, 2026 You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account.Alberta added roughly 78,500 of 99,000 new jobs created nationwide over the past 12 months. Photo by David Bloom/PostmediaA year of separation talk hasn’t stood in the way of Alberta making big job gains, creating nearly eight in 10 new positions across the nation, according to new data from Statistics Canada.Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.Unlimited online access to National Post.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.Unlimited online access to National Post.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorAlberta added some 78,500 of 99,000 new jobs created nationwide over the past 12 months, the national statistics office said in its latest Labour Force Survey. Most of Alberta’s added jobs were in the private sector.There were 2,677,300 people employed in Alberta in June 2026, up three per cent from one year earlier. Total employment across Canada grew by 0.5 per cent over the same period.Get a dash of perspective along with the trending news of the day in a very readable format.By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.The next issue of NP Posted will soon be in your inbox.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try againThe strong provincial job numbers coincide with a year of uncertainty about Alberta’s future in Canada, with separatist groups galvanizing in the province after the Liberals won a fourth term in the spring 2025 federal election. Premier Danielle Smith announced in May that a separation question will appear as part of an Oct. 19 referendum ballot that will ask people if they want to stay in Canada or hold a later vote to separate.Federalists have regularly warned throughout the past year that even the talk of separation puts Alberta jobs at risk.Trevor Tombe, an economist at the University of Calgary, says that referendum talk is just one part of the noise employers are sifting through when making decisions about where to invest and hire new workers.Tombe says that, for now, tariff anxieties outweigh separation worries, and cautions that Alberta’s job numbers may look deceptively strong when compared to figures from parts of Canada that have been hit harder by the U.S. trade war.“Putting aside separation conversations in Alberta, the much more important economic drag nationally is trade uncertainty and tariffs in sectors like steel, aluminum, softwood lumber and non-U.S. auto content,” said Tombe.British Columbia and Quebec shed a combined 67,000 jobs between June 2025 and June 2026.Ontario fared somewhat better, adding close to 65,000 new jobs while seeing its labour force shrink slightly.Roughly two-thirds of the new jobs in Alberta were in health care and social assistance industries. Employment in the province’s “forestry, fishing, mining, quarrying, oil and gas” category fell by 4.6 per cent year over year. Just 17,500 of the province’s 78,500 additional jobs were for public-sector positions.Alberta has also been leading Canada in per capita housing starts in 2025 and 2024, breaking ground on a record number of dwellings each year.Brendon Bernard, an economist at job site Indeed, says he hasn’t noticed any unusual activity in Alberta job postings over the last 12 months.“I don’t see Alberta following different trends than the rest of Canada right now, as far as job postings go,” said Bernard.Bernard said that low taxes, competitive wages and a reasonable relative cost of living continue to make the province an attractive place for both employers and workers. He noted that the province’s labour force has grown slightly faster than employment in the past year.He said Alberta holds an especially strong edge on housing affordability.“The median price in Toronto for a single detached home is $1.2 million. In Calgary, it’s $700,000. So that’s obviously going to play a role in where people choose to live and work,” said Bernard.Bernard said that one occupational category that stuck out to him was child care, noting that Alberta listings for child-care jobs are growing at almost twice the rate as listings elsewhere in Canada. He added that wages for child-care workers in Alberta are also growing at a faster rate than other jurisdictions.Over the three months ending in April 2026, payroll employment in child daycare services was up by 2,000 from a year earlier in Alberta, an 8.6 per cent increase, according to StatCan.Since 2019, payroll employment in this industry is up 93 per cent in Alberta, compared to 44 per cent across Canada.Private child-care providers operate roughly three-quarters of all child-care spaces in Alberta, the highest proportion in the country.National Postrmohamed@postmedia.comOur website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here. Join the Conversation This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. 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