By Taylor Chartrand

Cannabinoids and renewable energy aim to take centre stage in 2019

Feb 22, 2019 | 4:16 PM

Medicine Hat, AB – Invest Medicine Hat recently released their 2018 annual report.

2018 was described as a transformational year for the Gas City, with a lot of change coming in the cannabinoid and renewable energy sectors.

That includes both Aurora Cannabis and Folium Biosciences both announcing they would be building facilities right here in Medicine Hat.

There is also the Cypress Wind Project underway and another 6 solar projects announced within the region.

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In addition to new business, Cancarb also announced a $40 million dollar expansion.

In 2019, Invest Medicine Hat believes cannabinoids and renewable energy will control economic development.

“These two industries, it almost would seem like there’s a snowball starting to roll down hill on us,” explained Invest Medicine Hat Director of Business Development, Jon Sookocheff. “There’s just a tremendous amount of interest going into 2019 in hemp and cannabis and renewable’s.”

In terms of cannabinoids, Sookocheff says this industry is going to impact the region in ways that people don’t fully understand or appreciate just yet.

“This is going to impact the region all the way from agricultural production, through to the manufacturing and shipping product out of Medicine Hat. Executives flying into the community, it’s a very exciting opportunity and the growth prospects for the cannabinoid extraction from industrial hemp.”

For renewable energy, Sookocheff says Medicine Hat is just scratching the surface.

“In addition to the wind and solar projects, we also have a pilot project micro-grid developing at Medicine Hat College. You’re starting to see this industry re-shape Medicine Hat and contribute to the transformation of the local economy on that front.”

Sookocheff says 2018 was a great year for Medicine Hat, but 2019 should be even better.

“There’s a lot in the pipeline for the short, medium and long-term. 2018 was a lot of transformational investments into the community. It’s the medium-term that’s starting to look very positive and you’re starting to see that with residential and commercial development. It’s really an exciting time for the city.”

Even though these new industries are emerging here in Medicine Hat, Sookocheff believes there is still room to improve when it comes to employment.

“Even though the unemployment rate is low, the number of employed people in Medicine Hat is low compared to other communities in western Canada. So, there’s a bit of a paradox there where we have a low unemployment rate, but we also have a very low number of people working. There’s room for further study in what’s going on in the local labor market.”

And with the cannabis and renewable energy sectors growing in Medicine Hat, Sookocheff says we need to start thinking about the youth.

“We have to start working with young people in the community. Gearing them up for these new jobs and to get them excited about working in these new industries. These are global industries that are still in the first inning of development.”

The full Invest Medicine Hat 2018 report can be found here.