That dollar amount results from a 73.1% increase from $91.1 billion five years earlier in 2018.
Year over year, the overall value of Albertan exports grew by 42.9% compared to $110.4 billion for 2021.
Petroleum-rich Alberta ranks as Canada’s second-biggest exporter by province or territory behind the front-runner province Ontario. The value of Alberta’s exports equals 26.4% of Canada’s overall exported products for 2022, up from 21.9% in 2021.
Based on statistics from IBIS World, Alberta’s exported products represent 48.5% of the province’s total economic output or Gross Domestic Product ($325.4 billion for 2022). Currency used for this calculation was based on US dollars in basic prices.
Given Alberta’s population of 4.543 million people, its total $157.8 billion in 2022 exports translates to roughly $34,700 for every resident in the Western Canadian province. That dollar metric exceeds the average $24,500 per capita one year earlier in 2021.
Alberta’s unemployment rate was 5.7% in March 2023, down from 6.1% for April 2022 per YCharts.
Alberta’s Top 15 Exports
The following export products represent the highest dollar value for Alberta’s global shipments during 2022. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Alberta.
Figures are shown at the more granular six-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, for more precise product identification.
- Crude petroleum oils: US$100.7 billion (63.8% of Alberta’s exports)
- Natural gas (gaseous state): $12.9 billion (8.2%)
- Liquified propane: $3.1 billion (1.9%)
- Miscellaneous petroleum oils: $2.6 billion (1.6%)
- Ethylene-alpha-olefin copolymers: $2.1 billion (1.3%)
- Wheat (excluding durum): $2 billion (1.3%)
- Beef cuts (boneless, fresh/chilled): $1.8 billion (1.1%)
- Coal (non-agglomerated, bituminous) $1.6 billion (1%)
- Colza oilseed, rapeseed (low erucic acid): $1.5 billion (0.9%)
- Petroleum bitumen: $1.4 billion (0.9%)
- Oriented wood strand board $1.1 billion (0.7%)
- Ethylene glycol (ethanediol): $1 billion (0.6%)
- Ammonia (waterless): $851.4 million (0.5%)
- Oil-cake, other solid residues from canola/colza seeds: $846.4 million (0.5%)
- Polyethylene of specific gravity: $764.9 million (0.5%)
Alberta’s top 15 exports accounted for 85% of the overall value of the province’s global shipments.
Petroleum bitumen was the fastest grower among Alberta’s top 15 export products, up by 346.7% from 2021 to 2022.
In second place for improving export sales was Albertan non-agglomerated bituminous coal via a 334.9% expansion.
Alberta’s shipments of natural gas in gaseous state recorded the third-fastest gain in value up by 86.3% ahead of miscellaneous petroleum oils (up 72.6%), then ethylene glycol (up 66.6%).
The decliners among Alberta’s top export products were oriented wood strand board dragged down by a -22.4% drop year over year, ethylene-alpha-olefin copolymers (down -16.8% from 2021), and polyethylene (down -11.3%).
More Key Facts about Alberta’s International Trade
Overall, Alberta earned a US$126.1 billion surplus exporting and importing products during 2022. That dollar amount reflects a 46.6% year-over-year expansion from $86 billion in black ink for 2021.
Another way of saying surplus or deficit is positive or negative net exports. In a nutshell, the term “net exports” quantifies the amount by which foreign spending on a province’s goods or services exceeds or lags that same province’s spending on imported foreign goods or services.
Below are Alberta’s top 10 import products highlighting the province’s highest spending on foreign-origin goods in 2022.
- Light petroleum oils: US$7.3 billion (22.9% of Alberta’s imports)
- Large aircraft: $1.2 billion (3.9%)
- Wind-powered electric generating sets $407.7 million (1.3%)
- Corn: $381.7 million (1.2%)
- Ethanol (denatured): $374 million (1.2%)
- Modems, similar reception/transmission devices: $369.9 million (1.2%)
- Taps, valves, similar appliances: $301.7 million (1%)
- Grape wines excluding sparkling varieties: $299.6 million (0.9%)
- Miscellaneous petroleum oils: $262.4 million (0.8%)
- Ammonium dihydrogenorthopospha: $225.4 million (0.7%)
Surpassing outflows for the above imports, Alberta has highly positive net exports in the international trade of crude oil and natural gas. In turn, these cashflows indicate Alberta’s competitive advantages under related product categories.
Alberta’s Major Trade Partners
The following list shows the top 10 customers that purchased 97.1% worth of the total value of products exported from the province of Alberta during 2022.
- United States: US$141.3 billion (89.6% of Alberta’s total exports)
- Japan: $4 billion (2.5%)
- China: $3.9 billion (2.5%)
- South Korea: $1.1 billion (0.7%)
- Mexico: $1 billion (0.7%)
- Peru: $600.4 million (0.4%)
- Netherlands: $400.9 million (0.3%)
- Australia: $300.3 million (0.2%)
- Indonesia: $298 million (0.2%)
- Taiwan: $284.4 million (0.2%)
Alberta’s trade partners in North America (United States and Mexico) bought 90.2% of the overall value of export sales for The Energy Province during 2022.
Albertan Export Companies
Below are some of Canada’s largest businesses that are involved in international trade either directly or indirectly. Their corporate headquarters are in the province of Alberta.
- Canadian Natural Resources (oil and gas)
- Canadian Pacific Railway (transportation)
- Cenovus Energy (oil and gas)
- Enbridge (oil and gas)
- Husky Energy (oil and gas)
- Pembina Pipeline (oil and gas)
- Suncor Energy (oil and gas)
- TC Energy (oil and gas)
Shown within brackets for each company is a summary of the international trade-related products or services which each business manages.
Alberta’s capital is Edmonton, nicknamed “The Big E” and “Edmonchuk”. Edmonton also has a wide range of other nicknames.
See also Canada’s Top 10 Exports, Canada’s Top 10 Imports and Top Canadian Trade Balances
Research Sources:
Alberta Government website, Economic Dashboard. Accessed on May 1, 2023
Government of Canada, Trade Data Online, Total exports, Distribution by province. Accessed on May 1, 2023
IBIS World, Alberta – Province Economic Profile. Accessed on May 1, 2023
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on May 1, 2023
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on May 1, 2023
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on May 1, 2023
Statistics Canada, Gross domestic product, expenditure-based, by province and territory. Accessed on May 1, 2023
Wikipedia, Alberta. Accessed on May 1, 2023
Wikipedia, Flag of Alberta. Accessed on May 1, 2023
Wikipedia, List of largest public companies in Canada by profit. Accessed on May 1, 2023
Wikipedia, List of provincial and territorial nicknames in Canada. Accessed on May 1, 2023
Wikipedia, List of largest companies in Canada. Accessed on May 1, 2023
Wikipedia, Category:Manufacturing companies of Canada. Accessed on May 1, 2023
YCharts, Canada Labour Force Survey Report. Accessed on May 1, 2023