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Home > About > Who We Are > History – Our Story
Alberta Innovates has been helping researchers, companies and entrepreneurs grow, fuel, build and advance industries and strengthen communities across the province for more than a century.
We stand on the shoulder of giants. Bold innovators who helped bring cutting-edge technologies and innovations to market and left an indelible mark on Alberta and the world.
The organization that came to be known as Alberta Innovates was the first provincial research agency in Canada, dating back more than 100 years.
Recognizing the importance of natural resources in Alberta, the government of the day established the Scientific and Industrial Research Council of Alberta (SIRCA) in 1921 with the support of Dr. Henry Marshall Tory, then the president of the University of Alberta.
SIRCA’s mandate was clear: the research organization would “support economic development through applications of scientific and engineering expertise and, in the process, improve life in rural and urban Alberta.”
Further, it would document Alberta’s resources for industry through technical divisions such as fuels, road materials and geological survey. Dr. Tory hired Karl Clark as the first full-time research professor, whose first job was to investigate the oil sands as a possible paving material.
The work of Clark and others to develop the massive bitumen reserves in the oil sands propelled Alberta to become a major oil producer.
Today, we are the province’s most comprehensive research and innovation agency.
We’re helping Alberta transform its energy systems for a net-zero world by investing in clean technologies and processes to create sustainable jobs, and reduce emissions and industry impacts on land and water.
We’re also investing in research and innovation across other industries and sectors. We’re leveraging Alberta’s strengths in agriculture and health innovation. We’re advancing emerging and digital technologies, strengthening entrepreneurship and building a knowledge workforce to ensure prosperity now and into the future.
Alberta Innovates drives innovation across multiple sectors. We identify opportunities and gaps and address provincial needs with targeted programs and services.