Let me tell everyone how it works! I've been in the Oil and Gas industry for almost 20 years and have either worked for or dealt with: BP, Shell, Suncor, EnCana, CNRL, Arc, Tourmaline, 7 Gens, Apache, Strath, Paramount, Nexen, Devon, Conoco etc etc and it all comes down to 1 simple FACT. The fact is, is that YYC is THE Oil and Gas Capital of Canada - we cannot and will never take that away from them. It is what it is and we have to accept it. I've asked the question a Million times to Vice Presidents of some of these companies and they say, "MacLac, all the HO's are in YYC for (simplicity) - they like and desire all being together in 1 city, particularly in Downtown. A VP wants to get out of his chair and hop in a cab and go see his buddy in his the tower next to his. This ALSO applies to the service companies also having the HO's in YYC - ie, Schlumberger, Weatherford, Nabors, Ensign etc. They want and like it this so that they are TOGETHER in one DT. Makes sense doesn't it?
However, this doesn't mean that they're better than us? Guess where the the boots on the ground come from? YEG - we far outstrip workers in the patch 4-1 over YYC. Service yards and field offices we've got and that's good. Guess where all the modules and rigs are made? Guess where the transportation is out of? The benefits of being a 'blue collar" city far outweigh any benefit of their white collars.