Toronto isn’t the only region in Canada that wants to build up its financial sector, the Alberta government is hosting a meeting to examine transforming that province into a financial industry hub.

Iris Evans, Alberta’s Finance and Enterprise Minister, will holding a roundtable with senior officials from Alberta’s financial services sector in Calgary Thursday to discuss how the industry and government can align their strategies to enhance the financial sector in Alberta.

“Having a strong financial services sector is important to the future economic diversity and prosperity of Alberta,” said Evans in a release. “Working together, industry and government can build on the expertise we have in this province to create a truly world-class financial sector.”

She also stressed that a stronger financial services sector will help diversify the provincial economy and make Alberta more competitive in the global economy, with knock-on effects for other sectors of Alberta’s economy, too.

Evans noted two niche areas where Alberta has an opportunity to become a global leader are energy finance and risk management. “There is a tremendous amount of energy-financing activity in the province,” Evans said. “This means we do not have to build from the ground up in establishing expertise on financing deals, knowledge of the market, and an understanding of the volatility of the industry.”

Last week, the Toronto Financial Services Working Group published a report that proposed a strategy for making Toronto a leading global financial centre by 2015.

IE