The brochureB次元官网网址檚 cover has the Texas flag as a backdrop and shows an arrow pointing from Alberta to the Lone Star State.
B次元官网网址淎rrowstar Realty invites you to relocate to Texas,B次元官网网址� reads the mailer sent to businesses across Western Canada recently. B次元官网网址淛oin the 100s of companies that have already made the move!B次元官网网址�
Inside is a letter B次元官网网址� beginning B次元官网网址淒ear Canadian NeighbourB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� boasting of Montgomery CountyB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淏OOMINGB次元官网网址� economy, tax incentives and ranch-style properties. It offers to link prospective clients with banks, accountants and lawyers to ease their move.
Realtor Robert Graham says 15,000 brochures have been delivered in British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan so far. Another 50,000 are coming.
He says Arrowstar has helped about 100 western Canadian companies move north of Houston in the last decade, and 40 of them were in the last year and a half.
The majority of newcomers have been Canadian oil and gas drillers, a sector that has hit a rough patch in recent years.
B次元官网网址淚 definitely want Canada to pick back up. I would love for that more than anything,B次元官网网址� says Graham.
But for now, he says, a lot of Canadian businesses need help to keep going.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檝e got doors open and weB次元官网网址檙e ready for them.B次元官网网址�
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Krisjan Jones, operations manager at livestock feed supplement maker Canadian Bio-Systems, says LubbockB次元官网网址檚 economic development agency recently made an enticing pitch to move his business to the west Texas city.
It was offering land at no cost with utilities and rail access.
B次元官网网址淪o essentially you get a blank canvas for free,B次元官网网址� says Jones, who adds heB次元官网网址檚 waiting on the outcome of the Oct. 21 federal election before pulling the trigger. He cites the federal carbon tax as a major issue for him.
Clogged railways that make it difficult to get international shipments out on time are another big knock against Canada, he says.
John Osborne with the Lubbock Economic Development Alliance says pitches are centred more on the long-term business case than politics or potential perks. When benefits are discussed, itB次元官网网址檚 more of a problem-solving exercise.
B次元官网网址淲e look at it as B次元官网网址榃hatB次元官网网址檚 stopping you from saying yes to coming to Lubbock right now?B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址�
That could mean free land, sewer and water hookups or road paving.
Osborne says his group has been doing Canadian outreach for about a decade, but itB次元官网网址檚 gone from sporadic to regular in recent years. Most trips are to Calgary and Toronto and have been with companies in oil and gas, manufacturing and agriculture.
Precision Drilling CEO Kevin Neveu moved to Houston from Calgary three years ago with the rest of the companyB次元官网网址檚 management team. It has about 250 employees in each city now.
Neveu says 2017 was the first year Canada made up less than half of PrecisionB次元官网网址檚 activity and this year itB次元官网网址檚 at 30 per cent.
AlbertaB次元官网网址檚 oil curtailments, trouble building new pipelines and cooling investor sentiment have depressed the Canadian industry, he says.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 those three factors that are really starving our customers for capital, which means theyB次元官网网址檙e not reinvesting in drilling, which means that our business here is just really slow B次元官网网址� brutally slow.B次元官网网址�
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Mark Scholz, head of the Canadian Association of Oilwell Drilling Contractors, says every member heB次元官网网址檚 spoken to has at least seriously considered moving people or equipment out of Canada. The association represents more than 100 companies that drill or service oil and gas wells.
He says moves from AlbertaB次元官网网址檚 new United Conservative government to lessen the regulatory and tax burden are helping with competitiveness, but the southbound exodus is a wake-up call.
B次元官网网址淭he Americans are playing a very strategic game and quite frankly I think theyB次元官网网址檙e winning at that.B次元官网网址�
Lauren Krugel, The Canadian Press
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