Deron Bilous

Background

About Deron Bilous

I’m focused on outcomes and driven by results. As a change agent, I led the creation of the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade (EDT), which was designed to attract international investment, leverage science and innovation, and support Alberta’s business community. Throughout my time in government, I developed a reputation as the “go-to person” for advancing programs, policies, and funding approvals. My success in leading the Economic Development and Trade portfolio for the province was made possible, in part, by the strong and numerous working relationships I built with senior industry and economic development leaders across Alberta. These relationships spanned all key economic sectors, including energy, agriculture, forestry, health sciences, and innovation/technology. My international experience, having lived and worked abroad, helped me become conversationally fluent in Mandarin, Spanish, and French. As a senior government leader representing Alberta on the global stage, I negotiated new partnership agreements with countries such as China, Ukraine, Mexico, Germany, Korea, Japan, and the UK. These partnerships supported Alberta companies in expanding to new markets, helping increase trade between Alberta and Asia by $1.8 billion between 2015 and 2019, with an additional $1.5 billion in trade and investment from the rest of the global marketplace. I also overhauled Alberta’s 12 international trade offices, which led to more than $1 billion in new investment and supported hundreds of Alberta businesses during the same period.