Official registries and open data list 1,889 active companies in manufacturing in Alberta, which puts Alberta in 3rd place in Canada for this sector (4 % of the national total). 99 of them (5 %) have at least one known director, and 16 (<1 %) published an official change in the last 18 months: incorporation, amendment, change of director or address.
Want a closer look at these companies? ciblr sends you 5 profiles of companies in manufacturing in Alberta free of charge, contact details included.
Get 5 profiles from this segmentCanadian manufacturing sold $848.7 billion of goods in 2025 and employs just over 1.5 million payroll workers, concentrated in Ontario and Quebec. Since 2025, US tariffs on steel, aluminum, copper, autos and lumber have shaken a sector integrated into the North American supply chain, pushing manufacturers to cut investment, diversify markets and automate.
Manufacturing (NAICS 31-33) covers 21 subsectors, from food (the largest) to transportation equipment, along with petroleum, metals, machinery, chemicals and aerospace. Statistics Canada measured $848.7 billion of sales in 2025, a slight decline (-0.4%), and a capacity utilization rate that fell to 76.8% in December.
ISED counts 95,960 establishments in 2025, including 51,353 employers; 59.3% of those have 5 to 99 employees, 6.1% have 100 to 499 and 344 have 500 or more. Ontario (20,456 employers) and Quebec (13,352) hold nearly two-thirds of employers and about 60% of manufacturing GDP; British Columbia (7,363) and Alberta (5,047) follow.
Payroll employment stands at just over 1.5 million people in December 2025, including 656,700 in Ontario, 429,500 in Quebec and 144,000 in British Columbia. The largest employing subsectors are food (257,900), transportation equipment (191,900), fabricated metal products (161,200) and machinery (138,500).
The tariff shock dominates the period. According to the Government of Quebec (September 2026), the United States applies 50% on steel and aluminum, 25% on vehicles not compliant with CUSMA, 10% on lumber, 50% on copper derivatives and, since July 2026, a universal 10% tariff outside CUSMA; Canada has maintained counter-tariffs since March 2025. The result: manufacturing exports to the United States fell 5.8% in 2025 and output fell 2.6%.
Employment followed: 40,600 fewer payroll employees year over year in December 2025, including 27,200 in Ontario, with losses concentrated in transportation equipment (-9,300), food (-5,000), chemicals (-4,200) and machinery (-3,600). The Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters survey (June 2026) shows that 47% of respondents lost US sales, 30% are delaying or cancelling investment and 43% would consider shifting production or sourcing to the United States if tariffs persist.
Investment is stalling: $34.0 billion in 2025 (-2.6%) and a further decline expected in 2026, with chemicals (+$1.3 billion) partly offsetting transportation equipment (-$1.1 billion) and primary metals. Points of resilience: aerospace (above trend in 2025), food processing, non-ferrous metals and autos late in the year (sales +12% in December). The CUSMA review scheduled for 2026 is the tipping point that 73% of manufacturers consider decisive.
The federal framework rests on ISED (Strategic Innovation Fund, NRC IRAP, SR&ED credit), Export Development Canada, BDC and tariff remission on imported manufacturing inputs (until July 1, 2027). Provinces add their own levers: Investissement Québec and the C3i credit in Quebec, Invest Ontario and the Ontario manufacturing investment tax credit, the Alberta Petrochemicals Incentive Program in Alberta.
The reference associations are Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME) and its Quebec branch (MEQ), the Aerospace Industries Association of Canada, Aéro Montréal, the vehicle and auto parts associations, the Canadian Steel Producers Association and the Aluminium Association of Canada. The unions Unifor and United Steelworkers weigh on industrial policy (joint declaration of April 2026 demanding Canadian content in public procurement).
The major buyers are auto assemblers (Stellantis, GM, Ford, Toyota, Honda in Ontario), aircraft and engine makers (Bombardier, Pratt & Whitney Canada, Airbus Canada, CAE in Quebec), steel and aluminum producers (Algoma, ArcelorMittal Dofasco, Rio Tinto, Alcoa), large food processors and, increasingly, defence and energy (naval contracts, nuclear, batteries).
Who buys what: manufacturing SMEs with 5 to 99 employees (six employers in ten) buy automation and robotics, ERP and MES, industrial maintenance, energy efficiency, transportation and logistics, insurance and equipment financing, customs compliance (CUSMA, rules of origin) and skilled trades recruiting. Large firms buy engineering, certification and industrial cybersecurity.
Signals to watch: monthly sales and inventories (Statistics Canada), federal or provincial funding announcements (Strategic Innovation Fund, Investissement Québec), layoffs and hiring at the same site (a sign of retooling), new export certifications, and plant expansions announced in regional media.
How ciblr helps: segment manufacturers by three- or four-digit NAICS subsector and by province, isolate the employers with 20 to 499 employees most exposed to trade (metals, machinery, autos, wood), track business creations in growing niches (aerospace, food processing, batteries, defence) and use job postings and public contracts as signals of available capacity.
5,047 employers and manufacturing GDP of $25.0 billion (2024), driven by refining, petrochemicals (Industrial Heartland) and food processing.
Of these 1,889 companies, 99 are federally incorporated, 107 are known through the provincial registry, 1,683 only through open data (licences, public contracts, grants, registered employers). 13 of them were founded in 2025 and 2026, that is <1 % of the active base; 9 incorporations in 2025. That is below the average of the three previous years (25 a year): the pace of creation is slowing.
Over the last 12 months, 26 companies in the sector (1 %) won at least one public contract, 102 contracts in all, published by governments, cities and public bodies. 135 received a federal grant or contribution (184 agreements).
Headcount is known for 1,596 companies (84 %): 32,963 declared jobs in total, and the median company has 10-19 employees.
10 companies (<1 %) publish a general phone or email, 894 have a website verified by ciblr, 1,005 hold an official licence or permit.
Moves published in the last 90 days: 1 new incorporations, 4 relocations, 2 dissolutions.
1,889 companies in manufacturing are active in Alberta according to official registries and open data, that is 4 % of the 52,785 companies in the sector across Canada.
99 of these companies (5 %) have at least one director on the federal registry (the only registry that publishes directors), which lets you approach them through the right person.
ciblr sends 5 company profiles from this target free of charge, directors and contact details included. The subscription at 99 CAD per month gives access to the whole target, with Excel export and change tracking.
Every company counted here is active in an official registry (Corporations Canada, Registraire des entreprises du Québec, OrgBook BC) or named by an official open source (licence, public contract, grant, registered employer). The sector is a NAICS code, size comes from the declared headcount when a source provides it and otherwise from an estimate based on the registry (board size, age, status, statute), and "recent signal" means a published move (incorporation, amendment, change of director, address, contract, grant, hiring) in the last 18 months. Figures are recomputed every week from the ciblr database. No data is purchased or invented.
ciblr sends you 5 profiles of companies in manufacturing in Alberta free of charge, directors and contact details included. For the whole target, the subscription is 99 CAD per month, no commitment.