Doing Business in Mountain View County

Building Rural Better

Demographics

Mountain View County is home to 12,570 rural residents, over 1800 farms and close to 5000 private dwellings. Another 18,000 people reside in the Towns of Carstairs, Didsbury, Olds, Sundre; and the Village of Cremona. These figures may not account for a large percentage of the 1300+ full time students who live in the region while attending Olds College on a yearly basis.

Mountain View County spans over one million acres (3804.43 km²) and is located within one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in all of Canada: the Calgary-Edmonton Corridor. More than 1.2 million residents live within an hour's drive of Mountain View County, with over a million of those living within the city of Calgary- the Heart of the New West.

Nestled in the heart of beautiful central Alberta, Mountain View County possesses:

• A strong agriculture, agri-food and forestry industry
• Thriving oil and gas processing and production, rich natural resources, exceptional recreation and tourism venues
• Five business parks and an abundance of business opportunities in a central location along Alberta's major north-south transportation (air, road, rail) corridor
• A rapidly growing service sector, including major commercial / industrial developments at Netook Crossing, and access to the Alberta SUPERNET and technology infrastructure

We are also members of the award-winning Municipal Area Partnership, along with the Towns of Carstairs, Didsbury, Olds and Sundre, and the Village of Cremona; and the Central Alberta Economic Partnership Ltd. (CAEP), a regional economic development alliance of 42 members and 14 associate members who promote collaborative community economic development in Central Alberta.

Click here to learn more about Mountain View County

Services

County residents, businesses and visitors can count on:

• A state of the art EMS, integrated fire, ambulance and Community Peace Officer services
• A well developed education system including public and private schools at the pre school, elementary, secondary and post secondary levels
• Olds College - Canada's premiere agriculture and land sciences institution
• Exceptional healthcare, dental and social care facilities including senior's housing
• Numerous and varied recreation and arts facilities

Business

We encourage business and we support investment with:

• An outstanding transportation infrastructure including several provincial primary and secondary highways, and the County Collector Network.
• Direct access to Alberta's Queen Elizabeth II highway (QEII) corridor- the lifeline of the Calgary- Edmonton corridor- dubbed Canada's economic "Western Tiger"- which runs north-south through the middle of Mountain View County.
• We're 45 minutes north of the Calgary International Airport - the main distribution hub for Western Canada into the Pacific Northwest
• Access to the Canadian Pacific Railway's national rail network through the Calgary- Edmonton line.
• Modern airport facilities at Sundre and Olds/ Didsbury airports.
• A progressive business culture which promotes sustainable communities with documents like our Municipal Development Plan - and commercial developments like Netook Crossing.
• A well educated and motivated workforce - 15 per cent of the population over age 15 having attended university.
• A rapidly growing service sector, including major commercial developments in Olds and surrounding communities.
• Olds College's human resource development programs and workplace training
• The Alberta SUPERNET and technology infrastructure

The right lifestyle

• Easy access to Calgary and Red Deer makes acreage development an attractive alternative to urban living.
• Because of our attractive landscapes and proximity to Red Deer and Calgary, a wide range of tourist and recreational uses are located in Mountain View County.
• Golf courses are located in or near Carstairs, Didsbury, Water Valley, Sundre and Olds, with others approved or in the planning stages.
• Campgrounds are located at Westward Ho, Water Valley and other areas in the County. Bed and breakfasts, dude ranches and informal kinds of recreational activities including fishing, hiking and rafting complete the recreational experience in Mountain View County.

Market size

We service a market area more than 8,000 square kilometres in size. Outside of Mountain View County, major urban centres located within a 100 km (62 mile) radius include:

Cities (2006 census data provided):

• Calgary (population 1.2 million)
• Airdrie (population 29,000)
• Red Deer (population 82,772)

Towns (2006 census data provided):

• Cochrane (population 13,760)
• Chestermere (population 9,564)
• Innisfail (population 7,316)
• Three Hills (population 3,089)
• Sylvan Lake (population 10,208)
• Lacombe (population 10,742)
• Strathmore (population 10,225)
• Rocky Mountain House (population 6,874)
• Drumheller (population 7,932)

Rural Municipalities (2006 census data provided):

• Rockyview County (population 34,171)
• Red Deer County (population 19,108)
• Kneehill County (population 5,218)
• Clearwater County (population 11,826)