February 2013 Alberta Economic Fundamentals

[Ally]

Send us your bitumen, New Brunswick Premier says




There`s an old joke among people who leave the Maritimes for work in other parts of Canada; `Will the last one out please turn off the lights?`




New Brunswick Premier David Alward is concerned that too many workers are leaving his province for jobs in Alberta`s energy sector.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Western Canada's booming growth is straining public infrastructure




Western Canada`s booming growth is creating a strain on public infrastructure that requires national attention, according to a new report that calls for a long-term spending pledge from Ottawa in the upcoming 2013 budget.




The report by the Canada West Foundation is being released jointly in Ottawa with the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and is an effort to convince the Conservative government that infrastructure spending is good economics.



Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

New Brunswick premier welcomes oilsands input




CALGARY ` The leaders of Alberta and New Brunswick stood united Tuesday in support of a proposal to ship the province`s bitumen to the Atlantic coast.




But while support is growing for a west-to-east pipeline, the project could yet face the same kind of opposition that has sprung up against oilsands pipeline projects in B.C. and the United States.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Go east, young pipeline




Go east, new pipelines, go east. As opposition to the Northern Gateway Pipeline from Alberta to Kitimat, British Columbia seems to grow ever stronger and environmental groups are planning to hold their biggest protests to date in an effort to prevent the building of the Keystone XL pipeline from Alberta to the U.S. gulf coast, it`s encouraging to hear the positive pipeline messages coming from New Brunswick Premier David Alward.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Keystone XL pipeline carbon footprint exaggerated





This just in !! The environmental impact of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline has been grossly exaggerated !!




Of course, this is hardly a surprise. I`ve been saying the same thing for years now. And anyone who is familiar with the actual data on global carbon emissions would know this too.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Edmonton housing market continues to grow






Edmonton, February 4, 2013: Year-over-year average prices and sales were up for most types of residential property in the Edmonton Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) in January. Single Family Dwelling (SFD) average prices were down 1.93% from December but up 7.7% when compared to January 2012. Condominium prices were also down (-3.1%) month-over-month but up 1.7% year-over-year. The all-residential price was up year-over-year at $328,525 (up 2.5%). The average price for an SFD was $399,832. An average condo was priced at $216,139, while a duplex/row house was priced at $328,351 on average. The all-residential average price in the Edmonton CMA was $328,525 as compared to $320,482 in January 2012.




The 2013 year started off with a residential sales increase of 27 (25) units over the previous year. There were an estimated 921 (853 reported) residential sales in the Edmonton CMA and an estimated total of 1,084 (1,005 reported) sales of all types of property. SFD sales were down 1.4% from a year ago at 536 estimated (496 reported) sales. Condo and duplex/row house sales took up the slack with an estimated 286 (265 reported) condo sales (up 30.7%) and duplex/row house estimated sales of 64 (59 reported) units (up 24.9%).





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Calgary region new home prices on the rise




CALGARY ` The New Housing Price Index in the Calgary region rose 0.5 per cent in December from the previous month, according to Statistics Canada.




The federal agency also reported on Thursday that the index was up 3.1 per cent from a year ago for the Calgary census metropolitan area.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Upgrading bitumen in Alberta best option, labour group says




The Alberta Federation of Labour says documents obtained through Freedom of Information show that the provincial government has been told that upgrading bitumen in Alberta is a better financial option than sending it elswhere.




`The government's own experts, the government's own analysis, is showing clearly that it makes more sense to upgrade our bitumen rather than send it down the pipeline to places like the United States and China,` said AFL president Gil McGowan.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Alberta unemployment rate of 4.5% second lowest in Canada






CALGARY ` Alberta`s unemployment rate remained unchanged in January at 4.5 per cent, second lowest in the country behind Saskatchewan`s 4.0 per cent, according to Statistics Canada.




The federal agency reported Friday that Alberta saw an employment gain of 9,700 positions from December, up 0.4 per cent. On a year-over-year basis, employment in the province has grown by 1.9 per cent or 41,100 positions.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Alberta bucking economic trends




For a while, it looked like Canada's job market would remain oblivious to the serious signs of a slumping economy.




Ditto the housing sector, which had been defying forecasts of an impending slowdown for months.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Edmonton's housing market ready to push up





EDMONTON - Edmonton is the second-best market in the country to invest in housing, says real estate analyst Don Campbell.







`Population growth is strong, job growth is strong and things are supporting this market quite nicely, said Campbell, founding partner of the Real Estate Investment Network, a business that provides resources and information on real estate to members.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Real Estate Investment Network says Calgary remains hot




The senior analyst with the Real Estate Investment Network says Calgary remains among the hottest real estate markets in North America.




Don Campbell tells 660News, thanks to strong migration and job creation numbers, people continue to look to buy property here.





Read the full articel here.

 

[Ally]

Calgary Number 1 and Edmonton Number 2 in Canada





PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) and the U.S.-based Urban Land Institute have named Calgary as the top market for real estate investment in its annual Emerging Trends in Real Estate (2013) report. The report, which relies on interviews with real estate industry leaders, ranks five western cities among the eight top performers for this year. Edmonton was named in second spot ahead of Toronto, which fell from its No. 1 ranking a year ago.



Here is the report's rationale, with local comment.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Oilpatch workers can expect highest increase




Pipe fitters and plumbers in the oil and gas industry in Western Canada can expect higher salaries this year than retail and hospitality workers, says a new study.




The oil and gas sectors in Saskatchewan and Alberta are expected to have the highest average salary increase at 4.5 per cent, up from 4.2 per cent last fall, the Conference Board of Canada said Tuesday.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Alberta should pipe oil east if B.C. won't budge




Go east, new pipelines, go east. As opposition to the Northern Gateway pipeline from Alberta to Kitimat seems to grow ever stronger and environmental groups are planning to hold their biggest protests to date in an effort to prevent the building of the Keystone XL pipeline from Alberta to the U.S. Gulf Coast, it's encouraging to hear the positive pipeline messages coming from New Brunswick Premier David Alward.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Whitecourt vacancy rate remains at 0%




While complaints about the local economy are few and far between, complaints about the lack of housing couldn`t be closer together.




The vacancy rate in Whitecourt has been an issue since the economy fired up and with even the town`s hotels consistently full, it`s difficult for newcomers to find accommodations.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Cold Cash in Cold Lake





Alberta's second oilsands city - behind Fort McMurray - is a busy place these days. Really busy.



Cold Lake, roughly 290 kilometres northeast of Edmonton, is in the midst of cash-fuelled boom thanks to general growth in the energy sector and a major expansion project at Imperial Oil's Cold Lake operations.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Edmonton starved for workers




After enjoying healthy economic growth in the 4 per cent range in 2011, Edmonton shows no signs of slowing down.




That much seems clear for the Alberta capital, which has had great success in attracting new working-age residents but is still bracing for a labour crunch. It`s coming, says John Rose, the City of Edmonton`s chief economist.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Giant Bakken oilfield could boost Lethbridge economy




Lethbridge has long been a major Alberta food-processing centre, known for producing everything from golden French fries to the canola oil to fry them in.




But it's not that oil that's creating the new sizzle in this city of nearly 90,000.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Fort Saskatchewan cashes in as key production hub for the Alberta oilsands




Fort Saskatchewan Mayor Gale Katchur isn't shy about promoting her community.




"You can work here. You can play here. You can have a business here. I always say, 'It's a great place to invest,'" she said, describing the lure of the city of 20,475, situated northeast of Edmonton in Alberta's industrial core.





Read the full article here.