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.
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.
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.
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.
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%).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
