Alberta in the economic driver's seat
CALGARY ` Canada`s economic growth is being driven by resource-rich Western provinces, according to a Bank of Montreal report released Tuesday.
Alberta leads the pack, with the bank predicting 3.5 per cent real GDP growth this year, falling back a bit to 2.9 per cent in 2013.
`The energy sector remains the key driver of economic activity in the province, with crude bitumen production up 16 per cent year-over-year through the first half of the year, and the Energy Resources Conservation Board expecting oilsands output to more than double by 2021,` said economist Robert Kavcic.
The energy sector`s strength has attracted workers from elsewhere in Canada to Alberta, which has the country`s lowest unemployment rate at 4.4 per cent.
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