Welcome!

By registering with us, you'll be able to discuss, share and private message with other members of our community.

SignUp Now!

July 2012 Alberta Economic Fundamentals

Ally

Research Assistant
Registered
Joined
Mar 24, 2009
Messages
16,743
Alberta rule changes opening door to skilled foreign workers





An Alberta-based pilot program that allows skilled tradespeople to move from employer to employer while on a temporary Canadian work permit is expanding ` a change that could bring hundreds or even thousands of new workers to the province, says Immigration Minister Jason Kenney.




The program also makes it easier for certain foreign workers to get a job in Alberta`s oilsands or on construction sites, especially from countries with no Canadian visa restrictions, such as the U.S.






Read the full article here.
 

Ally

Research Assistant
Registered
Joined
Mar 24, 2009
Messages
16,743
Alberta woman has warning for other landlords after being left with a massive mess






A Gibbons-area landlord has found herself with a huge mess on her hands, after her two tenants allegedly turned the home she was renting them into a dump, and disappeared. After realizing there's nothing she can legally do about it, she's decided she wants to warn others so that they don't get stuck in the same situation.







Pat Nielsen says the couple had been living in her acreage home for the past two years. And from the first summer, she noticed the property was not being taken care of. Nielsen would ask her tenants to cut the tall weeds and grass, and eventually they would. But when she saw the same thing happening this spring, she decided she had had enough.








Read the full article here.
 

Ally

Research Assistant
Registered
Joined
Mar 24, 2009
Messages
16,743
Investment in Alberta non-residential building construction rises





CALGARY ` Investment in non-residential building construction in Alberta increased 1.9 per cent to $2.2 billion in the second quarter, according to Statistics Canada.




In the Calgary census metropolitan area, investment rose by 1.2 per cent to $829 million.




`The endless roar of earthmovers, jackhammers and welding torches may fray the nerves of some, but that`s the price one pays for a red-hot economy,` said Todd Hirsch, senior economist with ATB Financial. `And in Alberta, that roaring sound on construction sites ramped up over the spring.






Read the full article here.
 

Ally

Research Assistant
Registered
Joined
Mar 24, 2009
Messages
16,743
Let the north-central LRT leg go first? Them's fighting words to Southeast Calgary residents





Despite the long-standing cries from Douglasdale and McKenzie Towne, the southeast LRT is no shoo-in as the next CTrain expansion project.




The numbers ` both city council votes and otherwise ` could tip the scales in favour of a north-central line up Centre Street N. becoming the next route after the west LRT is complete.




A council committee debates Wednesday a report predicting the southeast route may not be finished down to Seton until 2039. But residents in both corridors may also learn their place in the light rail pecking order this fall, when a draft priority list comes out.






Read the full article here.
 

Ally

Research Assistant
Registered
Joined
Mar 24, 2009
Messages
16,743
Calgary downtown office market one of the most expensive globally





CALGARY ` Calgary is listed 46th in the world for most expensive office markets in a report by commercial real estate firm CBRE Limited.




The company`s Prime Office Occupancy Costs report placed Calgary`s downtown second in Canada to Toronto`s downtown.




The Global 50 Index listed the world`s most expensive markets based on occupancy costs in United States dollars per square foot per year as of the first quarter of this year.






Read the full article here.
 

Ally

Research Assistant
Registered
Joined
Mar 24, 2009
Messages
16,743
Calgary city hall kicks off two years of studies on where to expand its LRT system



Calgary commuters waiting for their train line to arrive will have to wait through two more years of study to find out which part of the city gets the next LRT expansion.





One piece of solace for transit users in the southeast and along the Centre Street N. corridor: there won`t be money to get new rails in the ground any time soon, anyhow.







Read the full article here.
 

Ally

Research Assistant
Registered
Joined
Mar 24, 2009
Messages
16,743
Alberta records highest drop in Employment Insurance beneficiaries





CALGARY ` The number of people receiving regular Employment Insurance benefits in Alberta dropped in May by the largest rate in the country compared with a year ago, says Statistics Canada.




The federal agency reported Thursday that EI recipients of 24,040 in the province were down by 10,450 or 30.3 per cent from a year ago. The drop was 560 people or 2.3 per cent on a monthly basis.




Nationally, the number of people receiving regular Employment Insurance benefits totalled 512,600 in May, virtually unchanged from April. This followed three months of consecutive declines. The number of recipients was up 3,360 people from April or 0.7 per cent.



Read the full article here.


Read the full article here.
 

Ally

Research Assistant
Registered
Joined
Mar 24, 2009
Messages
16,743
Canadian ambassador touts energy independence, warns against 'petro dictators'





SASKATOON ` Canada`s ambassador to the United States says energy independence between the two countries is key.




The two countries must work together to avoid reliance on the Middle East and `petro dictators,` Gary Doer told delegates to the Pacific Northwest Economic Region`s annual meeting on Wednesday.




Doer said part of the solution is to buy as much renewable energy from each other as possible.






Read the full article here.
 

Ally

Research Assistant
Registered
Joined
Mar 24, 2009
Messages
16,743
Prospects for housing starts positive in the Calgary region







CALGARY ` Expectations for housing starts in the Calgary region are positive in the short term and the long term, says the Conference Board of Canada.




In a report released Friday, the board said the seasonally-adjusted annual rate of starts in the Calgary census metropolitan area in June was 15,058.




That`s up from 9,170 a year ago.






Read the full article here.
 

Ally

Research Assistant
Registered
Joined
Mar 24, 2009
Messages
16,743
Alberta rate of inflation second lowest in Canada





CALGARY ` Consumer prices in Alberta rose 1.3 per cent in the 12 months to June ` the second lowest annual rate of inflation in the country and below the national average, according to Statistics Canada.




The federal agency reported Friday that prices in Ontario rose by 1.2 per cent year-over-year and by 1.5 per cent across the country.




In Alberta, the Consumer Price Index was up 0.2 per cent from May.






Read the full article here.
 

Ally

Research Assistant
Registered
Joined
Mar 24, 2009
Messages
16,743
Senate energy report calls for greater diversification of oil, gas markets





Canada needs to pick up the pace and diversify its oil and gas markets to become a competitive global energy player, including shipping western oil to eastern consumers, said a new senate energy committee report.




The prolonged and tenuous approval process for TransCanada Corp.'s Keystone XL bitumen pipe-line to the U.S. Gulf Coast was "a stark reminder" of the importance of export market diversification for Canada's oil and gas, the report, re-leased Thursday, stated.






Read the full article here.
 

Ally

Research Assistant
Registered
Joined
Mar 24, 2009
Messages
16,743
Calgary and Ottawa top country in price growth for repeat home sales





CALGARY ` A monthly price index of repeat home sales shows Calgary and Ottawa as having the highest percentage of month-over-month growth in the country.




The Teranet-National Bank National Composite House Price Index, released Wednesday, said house prices in Calgary and Ottawa rose by 1.7 per cent in June from May.




The index is estimated by tracking observed or registered home prices over time using data collected from public land registries.










Read the full article here.
 

Ally

Research Assistant
Registered
Joined
Mar 24, 2009
Messages
16,743
People flocking to Alberta





CALGARY, AB, Jul 25, 2012/ Troy Media/ ` Not since the boom years have so many people arrived in Alberta ` and if the pace keeps up it will have important implications for the local economy.




That people are coming to Alberta shouldn`t be a surprise. In fact, it`s slightly more surprising that it took until the first quarter of 2012 to see the numbers really spike. The unemployment rate is not only well below the national average, but wages have been steadily climbing. In fact, the average weekly wage in Alberta is now $156 higher than in Ontario.




While migrants from other provinces have recently shown more interest in the province, the upward trend in international migration has been occurring since the recession hit. Alberta gained about 6,000 migrants due to international migration in the first quarter, almost double what the province was recording just five years ago.





Read the full article here.
 

Ally

Research Assistant
Registered
Joined
Mar 24, 2009
Messages
16,743
Leave Alberta out of B.C.'s pipeline demands: Redford





Alberta Premier Alison Redford says when it comes to the controversial Northern Gateway pipeline proposal she has nothing to talk about with British Columbia`s Premier Christy Clark.




The two are in a very public spat over the proposed $6-billion project. And on Friday morning, that dispute goes behind closed doors as Ms. Redford kick-starts a debate over a pan-Canadian energy strategy at this last day of the Council of Federation gathering of premiers.






Read the full article here.
 

Ally

Research Assistant
Registered
Joined
Mar 24, 2009
Messages
16,743
Alberta economy to lead economic growth in 2012





CALGARY ` The Alberta economic outlook is generally positive with the highest rate of growth for all provinces of 3.8 per cent this year, says the Conference Board of Canada in its latest forecast released Friday.




`But weak natural gas prices and volatile crude oil prices ` particularly the wide spread between Canadian crude and the international benchmark ` are leading to uncertainty about future capital spending plans in the energy sector,` said the board.




The board forecasts that prices will remain sufficiently elevated so that energy sector investment continues to grow strongly in Alberta. In addition, the province has positive outlooks for employment, income growth and consumer spending, it said.






Read the full article here.
 

Ally

Research Assistant
Registered
Joined
Mar 24, 2009
Messages
16,743
Airdrie school construction on pace




The construction of three new schools in Airdrie is on pace to be completed by Fall 2014, according to Alberta Education Spokesman Timothy Chamberlain.




The three schools set to be built in Airdrie are a part of the $550 million announcement made last May by the Alberta government to build or modernize 35 schools across the province.




A new K-12 francophone school, a high school and a middle school will be constructed in the city.





Read the full article here.
 
Top Bottom