Update on the Economic Impact of Calgary’s Creative Industries
A 2025 update produced for Calgary Arts Development by Root Economy on the value of Calgary’s creative sector reflects a bottom-up economy that plays a foundational role in shaping Calgary’s cultural identity and economic resilience. The report provides an economic impact analysis for 2022, the most recent year data is available.
In 2022, the creative sector in Calgary:
- Comprised 19,440 establishment, accounting for 9.8% of all businesses in the city
- Employed 16,907 full-time equivalent roles
- Generated $2.63 billion in direct revenue and $1.33 billion in GDP
- Generated $1.13 billion in direct labour income
A Strong and Entrepreneurial Business Base
Calgary’s creative sector, comprising 15,323 establishments in 2022, accounted for 9.8% of all businesses in the city. More than 99% of these establishments were non-payroll or small firms, underscoring the sector’s highly entrepreneurial character.
The visual and applied arts domain alone accounted for over 12,000 establishments, highlighting a thriving community of artists, designers and craftspeople. This structure reflects a bottom-up creative economy, driven by independent creators and micro-enterprises, that plays a foundational role in shaping Calgary’s cultural identity and economic resilience.
Major Economic Contributor
The sector supported an estimated 16,907 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs, representing 41% of Alberta’s total creative employment. Employment was especially concentrated in visual and applied arts (58%), sound recording (70%), and heritage and libraries (62%), underscoring Calgary’s leadership across key cultural domains.
A Prairie Leader
In 2022, creative businesses accounted for 9.8% of all enterprises in Calgary, outpacing Edmonton (8.1%) and Winnipeg (9%) and positioning Calgary as the creative capital of the Prairies. Although Calgary’s share remains below Montreal (12.7%), Toronto (12.1%) and Vancouver (10.5%), its diverse entrepreneurial base reflects strong growth potential and competitiveness within Canada’s creative economy.
Emerging Pressures
Calgary’s creative industries generated $2.63 billion in direct revenue and $1.33 billion in GDP, accounting for 37% and 34% of Alberta’s sector totals, respectively. However, a decline in GDP per job suggests that while the sector is recovering from the pandemic, rising costs and inflation may be eroding value-added productivity, especially in labour-intensive domains.
A Growing Share of Provincial Employment
Despite pandemic-related volatility, Calgary’s share of Alberta’s creative jobs grew from 39.8% in 2020 to 41% in 2022. That’s higher than the city’s share of overall jobs in the province, which was 36.7%. This upward trend signals resilience and growing prominence within Alberta’s cultural economy.
Previous Research
This report is an update from previous reports completed by the Conference Board of Canada which examined Calgary’s creative industries in 2019 and 2020, and 2016.
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