Calgary, too, is experiencing an economic renaissance, fueled in part by a resilient oil and gas sector -- and attracting a flock of companies who see the city's location, availability of skilled labor, low land costs and quality of life as a winning combination.
      Many oil and gas companies call Calgary home: Employment in the oil and gas sector is 3.7 times the national average, according to New York-based financial firm Moody's Investment Services. The city also boasts its share of manufacturing, pharmaceutical and biotech firms and reports an expanding warehousing and petrochemical base.
      One of Canada's largest centers for corporate offices, Calgary attracted the largest corporate relocation in Canadian history when Canadian Pacific Ltd. moved from Montreal to the city in the late 1990s. Today, it is a major center for agriculture and agro-related industries such as food processing, livestock, grain handling and farm equipment. But its boom cannot be attributed to energy-sector and head-office growth alone: More than 1,100 high-tech firms reside here, lured in part by a bountiful supply of hardware and software designers.
      Certainly, lifestyle here is also a major reason the city is a draw. British-based ChromaColour International Ltd., the world's leading manufacturer of paint for animation cells, selected Calgary over such U.S. sites as Denver, Phoenix and Portland for an office. When it did, company president John Prudence told Report on Business magazine he felt as if he'd added 10 years to his life by moving to the city. Having endured years of two-and-a-half-hour commutes to and from London, he told the magazine he appreciates the 20-minute jaunts between home and office and doesn't worry about his children playing outdoors unattended. "I really love being here. I wish I had done it earlier," he noted.
      Calgary is also Western Canada's hub for distribution and warehousing. The Trans-Canada Highway, CN and CP railways run through Calgary. This city has a major airport that provides non-stop flights to Asia, Europe and the United States. And it's the gateway to the so-called Canamex corridor, which links Calgary -- via major highway connections -- to Salt Lake City continuing as far south as Guaymas, Mexico, and tapping a potential North American market of 370 million consumers.