Alberta’s Economy Fall 2018

There is a lot of moving parts in Alberta’s economy these days. We have come out of the worst recession ever; however there is still a lot of anxiety in Alberta of where we are going. Our technology sector will help charge us forward such as artificial intelligence, robotics, crypto currency, block chain, Nano technology and cloud computing. You may be familiar with some of these terms but really have a vague idea of what they are about or how they can transform our economy then you are in very good company. Most of us do not have an idea on how the transformational powers these technologies will have an effect on our economy and even if someone is able to explain the blockchain for example, they probably don’t really understand how this is going to transform not only the Canadian economy but the Global economy.

We should be excited on what some of these technologies can do to improve our world however there is a bit of terror involved as we don’t really know where this technology shall lead us. There is a lot of emotion involved but we are starting to see where this technology is going. Change is coming, and most people don’t like change or know how to handle or adapt to it, but this change is going to accelerate very quickly.

Look at our Global Trade, Canada is very dependent as a global exporter and we are dependent on the health of the global economy. If the world’s first and second largest economies are at a trade war this will slow our economic growth and that will have a repercussion on Canada. Our newest NAFTA agreement signed at the last minute comes with a cost, one of the most important is if any country tries to make a trading agreement with another country like Asia, we have to consult all parties in the agreement leaving us a little handcuffed.

Our crude oil truly affects many Albertans as we know. Our oil price rollercoaster is slowly rebounding or levelling off however due to the spread in cost from south of the border to here, our oil producers have a big challenge ahead of them. Our energy sector has adapted very quickly to reducing its operating costs, increase its efficiency and operate in a world where oil prices are much lower than they were 5 years ago. Alberta’s energy sector will remain competitive and we will be producing oil for many years in this province.

Canada has always adapted quickly and we will continue to soar in the following sectors:

1. Agriculture and Agri Foods
2. Food & Beverage Processing
3. Tourism
4. Tech Sector.

Our moderate rate of growth will help create a more stable environment for our Country.