Nicknamed “The Energy Province” with the slogan “Wild Rose Country” and located in Western Canada, the province of Alberta shipped CDN$177.8 billion worth of exported products around the world in 2025.

That dollar amount results from a 28.4% increase from $138.4 billion five years earlier in 2021.

Year over year, the overall revenues from Albertan exports retreated by -3% compared to $183.1 billion for 2024.

Petroleum-rich Alberta ranks as Canada’s second-biggest exporter by province or territory behind the front-runner province Ontario and ahead of third-place Quebec. The value of Alberta’s exports equals 28.4% of Canada’s overall exported products for 2025, up from 22.8% in 2024.

Alberta’s exported products represent 49.2% of the province’s total economic output or real Gross Domestic Product ($361 billion for 2025) based on chained 2017 dollars. That percentage lags the 53.1% for 2024.

Currency used for this calculation was based on Canadian dollars as reported by Government of Canada’s Trade Data Online.

Given Alberta’s population of 5.05 million people, its total CDN$177.8 billion in 2025 exports translates to roughly $35,200 for every resident in the Western Canadian province. That dollar metric lags the average $35,800 per capita one year earlier in 2024.

Alberta’s unemployment rate was 8.4% at the end of August 2025, up from 7.7% for one year earlier per Statistics Canada.

Alberta’s Top 15 Exports

The following export products represent the highest dollar value for Alberta’s global shipments during 2025. 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.

1. Crude petroleum oils: CDN$119.2 billion (67.1% of Alberta’s total exports)
2. Natural gas (gaseous state): $8.5 billion (4.8%)
3. Boneless beef cuts (fresh or chilled): $2.7 billion (1.5%)
4. Wheat (excluding durum): $2.61 billion (1.5%)
5. Miscellaneous petroleum oils: $2.57 billion (1.4%)
6. Ethylene-alpha-olefin copolymers: $2.1 billion (1.2%)
7. Liquified propane: $1.9 billion (1%)
8. Colza oilseed, rapeseed (low erucic acid): $1.54 billion (0.9%)
9. Live cattle excluding purebred: $1.53 billion (0.9%)
10. Sawn or chipped evergreen lumber: $1.05 billion (0.6%)
11. Processed sulphur: $1.05 billion (0.6%)
12. Crude canola or colza oil (low erucic acid): $1.03 billion (0.6%)
13. Liquified butanes: $891.6 million (0.5%)
14. Ethylene glycol (ethanediol): $888.5 million (0.5%)
15. Polyethylene of specific gravity: $876.5 million (0.5%)

Alberta’s top 15 export product categories generated 83.6% of the overall value of the province’s global shipments.

Processed sulphur was the fastest grower among Alberta’s top 15 export products, up by 164% from 2024 to 2025.

In second place for improving export sales was Albertan natural gas in gaseous state via a 54.7% expansion.

Alberta’s shipments of fresh or chilled boneless beef cuts recorded the third-fastest gain in value, up by 9.4%.

The severest decliners among Alberta’s top export products were liquified propane dragged down by a -20.4% drop year over year, miscellaneous petroleum oils (down -20%), then ethylene glycol (down -17%).

More Key Facts about Alberta’s International Trade

Overall, Alberta earned a CDN$138.1 billion surplus exporting and importing products during 2025. That dollar amount results from a -3.1% year-over-year decrease from $142.6 billion in black ink for 2024.

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 2025, accounting for 28.6% of the total.

1. Light petroleum oils: CDN$6.6 billion (16.6% of Alberta’s total imports)
2. Miscellaneous petroleum oils: $1 billion (2.4%)
3. Live cattle excluding purebred: $813.4 million (2.1%)
4. Ethanol (denatured): $517 million (1.3%)
5. Taps, valves, similar appliances: $484.7 million (1.2%)
6. Modems, similar reception/transmission devices: $483 million (1.2%)
7. Crude petroleum oils: $419.7 million (1.1%)
8. Large aircraft: $392.8 million (1%)
9. Gas turbine parts: $346.1 million (0.9%)
10. Acrylic polymers in primary forms: $337.5 million (0.9%)

Surpassing exports for the above imports, Alberta has historically positive net exports in the international trade of crude petroleum oils. In turn, these cashflows indicate Alberta’s competitive advantages under related energy product categories.

Alberta’s Major Trade Partners

The following list shows the top 10 customers that purchased 95.9% worth of the total value of products exported from the province of Alberta during 2025.

1. United States: CDN$151.8 billion (85.4% of Alberta’s total exports)
2. mainland China: $9.6 billion (5.4%)
3. Japan: $2.4 billion (1.4%)
4. Hong Kong: $1.4 billion (0.8%)
5. South Korea: $1.4 billion (0.8%)
6. Singapore: $1.2 billion (0.7%)
7. Mexico: $1 billion (0.6%)
8. Netherlands: $587 million (0.3%)
9. Peru: $512.2 million (0.3%)
10. Australia: $472.4 million (0.3%)

Alberta’s trade partners in North America (United States and Mexico) bought 86% of the overall value of export sales for The Energy Province during 2025.

A much smaller percentage (9%) went to buyers located in Asia (China, Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea and Singapore).

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:
ATB Financial, Finding its stride: Alberta’s economy . Accessed on March 25, 2026

Government of Canada, Trade Data Online, Total exports, Distribution by province. Accessed on March 25, 2026

IBIS World, Alberta – Province Economic Profile. Accessed on March 25, 2026

International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on March 25, 2026

International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on March 25, 2026

Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on March 25, 2026

Statistics Canada, Gross domestic product, expenditure-based, by province and territory. Accessed on March 25, 2026

Wikipedia, Alberta. Accessed on March 25, 2026

Wikipedia, Flag of Alberta. Accessed on March 25, 2026

Wikipedia, List of largest public companies in Canada by profit. Accessed on March 25, 2026

Wikipedia, List of provincial and territorial nicknames in Canada. Accessed on March 25, 2026

Wikipedia, List of largest companies in Canada. Accessed on March 25, 2026

Wikipedia, Category:Manufacturing companies of Canada. Accessed on March 25, 2026

YCharts, Alberta Unemployment Rate. Accessed on March 25, 2026