ATB’s quarterly report, released in January, predicts that the province’s gross domestic product will grow by two per cent in 2015, which is about half the GDP growth the province saw in 2014. The Conference Board of Canada is less optimistic, predicting that Alberta is likely headed for a recession if oil prices continue to fall.
The Buzz
-Caitlin Crawshaw and Jacqueline Louie
OIL’S LOSS COULD BE FORESTRY’S GAIN
A weakened Canadian dollar and reduced fuel costs could be a boon for Alberta’s forestry industry and communities where sawmills are major employers. A report released by the province in January notes that the surging U.S. economy and expected housing boom in 2015 could boost lumber exports there. Housing starts in the U.S. are expected to jump from one million in 2014 to 1.4 million in 2015. In Alberta, however, the effects of weak oil are already being felt in the domestic market for building products. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation reports that new housing construction in the Prairie provinces fell 10 per cent in January.
ALBERTA CUTS ANNOUNCED, DEFICIT PREDICTED
Albertans have been nervously tracking oil prices over the past several months with a sense of déjà vu. For the first time in five years, the price for West Texas Intermediate crude dropped below US $50 a barrel in early January — down more than 50 per cent from June. Tipped dominos have included layoffs, falling stock prices for Canadian energy companies, and billions in cutbacks to capital spending and layoffs. Premier Jim Prentice told media that the Government of Alberta will face a $500-million deficit in 2015. Earlier, when oil prices were higher, the government had forecasted a $1.5-billion surplus. He also speculated that falling oil prices might be a slippery slope, telling reporters that Alberta hasn’t yet seen the bottom of the market. Shell Canada, Suncor Energy, Schlumberger, Canadian Natural Resources Ltd., Cenovus Energy Inc. and Trilogy Energy Corp. are among the companies that have announced budget cuts or layoffs — and in some cases both. But rock-bottom prices aren’t expected to last long. Most economists predict they will move up again by the second quarter and average $60 per barrel in 2015. During the downturn of 2008 and 2009, the industry lost about 15,000 workers. But according to ATB Financial, the current economic turbulence is unlikely to lead to a recession in Alberta.
-Corinne Lutter
CALGARY’S BUSIEST PEDESTRIAN UNDERPASS GETS $3.5-MILLION MAKEOVER
It may be dark, dank and often smelly, but the pedestrian underpass next to the Fairmont Palliser Hotel in Calgary is also the city’s busiest. Located at First Street S. between Ninth Avenue and 10th Avenue SW, the underpass connects Calgary’s downtown and Beltline districts for about 9,500 pedestrians daily.
GROWING THE GREEN ECONOMY Jobs in Canada’s clean energy sector are up 37 per cent, to 23,700 workers, a report from
Clean Energy Canada says. -photo by Corinne Lutter
52 | PEG SPRING 2015
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