By Scott Roblin

Local job force expected to fill majority of newly created positions

Feb 26, 2019 | 4:38 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – Between Aurora Cannabis, Hut 8 and Folium Biosciences, it’s been a watershed year for job creation in Medicine Hat.

Hundreds of positions are being offered to the public sector, however it begs the question on whether the local market can fill so many jobs in such a short period of time?

For Invest Medicine Hat CEO Ryan Jackson, he said it’s something the community is ready for.

“There is a lot of sentiment that these employers came here because of the available work force,” said Jackson.

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While some skilled tradespeople will need to be brought in, Jackson said most of the available jobs will likely be filled by local general labourers.

“We have I think by our data 3,500 folks that could fill what is roughly estimated to be 1,000 jobs,” he said.

The majority of those 1,000 jobs will be located at the Aurora Sun site, with 450 permanent positions expected once fully opened.

It’s estimated 250 jobs will be available at both Folium Biosciences’ hemp production facility and the newly announced Suffield solar project, along with 42 positions that have already been filled at the Hut 8 bitcoin mining operation.

A total of nine new positions will also be filled once Cancarb completes their latest expansion.

For the Medicine Hat Construction Association, chairman Dean Kopperud said they’re expecting to see a trickle-down effect in the coming months with the new businesses in town.

“I always use the tsunami effect, it’s coming and weather is the big kicker, right?” said Kopperud.

While the city is still struggling to attract skilled labour, Jackson said they’re hoping to bring back some who have left Medicine Hat for greener pastures.

“There’s going to be folks that want to come back home that were local, but are now coming back home because there is a job to come back home to,” he said.

That’s having a direct impact on the local housing market according to the Medicine Hat Real Estate Board.

Though, past-president Tim Seitz said many of these people moving to Medicine Hat are choosing to rent rather than buy.

“We have seen a little bit of a surge in the rental market, but nothing too much yet on the housing side,” said Seitz.

With mostly locals expected to being hired and newcomers choosing to rent, Seitz added he’s not expecting to see a housing crunch anytime soon.

“A lot of those people are going to come from Medicine Hat, they’re not going to be in new housing,” he said. “So, we don’t see a big, serious concern there.”

More jobs could be on the way this spring, as Invest Medicine Hat has teased a new transportation and logistics firm coming to town.

Jackson said it’s hard to say if the spike in job creation is sustainable, but added it’s comforting to know they have the job force to accommodate these new businesses.

“Now that we’ve created a cluster, especially in the cannabis and hemp space, we can build on that,” he said.