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May 2012 Alberta Economic Fundamentals

Ally

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Could Fort McMurray become an eco-tourist hot spot?




Fort McMurray, the boomtown at the centre of Canada's oil sands, may not exactly be known for its pristine natural surroundings. But one Alberta research consultant thinks it could someday become a haven for environmentally conscious tourists.




"If we just tackled land reclamation in a big way," Stephen Murgatroyd recently told a creativity conference in Edmonton, "we could become an ecotourist mecca."




The Imagination Conversation
http://http://www.creativealberta.com/, which Murgatroyd organized, examined creative ways for Alberta to thrive in an increasingly globalized world.





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Alberta upgraders an option if pipelines blocked, analyst says




EDMONTON - If new bitumen pipelines are not built to the West Coast, Alberta must opt for both new local upgrading projects, and more capacity to produce refined products which can be more easily shipped and exported, a global energy expert said Thursday.




`If Northern Gateway doesn`t go ahead, or Kinder Morgan`s TransMountain to Vancouver, Alberta could produce more synthetic crude to move east to Sarnia and beyond. Another option is more local refining, and certainly there is strong local demand for diesel,` said Robert Johnston, director of global energy and natural resources for the Eurasia Group, at the PricewaterhouseCoopers Energy Visions business forum.



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A glimmer of sunshine amid the oilpatch gloom




EDMONTON - Is the beleaguered energy sector finally poised to reward investors after a year of misery?




At first blush, it wouldn`t seem so. With the price of benchmark light crude down almost $20 US a barrel since March to just over $90, oil stocks have fallen sharply this spring.




The decline has been particularly acute in Alberta, where hefty discounts to U.S. and global oil prices are costing producers billions of dollars in revenue every month.





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Alberta economy praised by Canadian Bankers Association





In recent months, report after report has shown that Alberta`s economy just may be the envy of the rest of the country right now.



Friday morning, Canadian Bankers Association president Terry Campbell told a Calgary Chamber of Commerce breakfast meeting that a strong Alberta is important for a strong Canada.




And he highlighted how Canada`s strong banks have played a part in helping Alberta`s economy boom.





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Canada's oil and gas industry will need to fill at least 9,500 jobs by 2015





CALGARY, ALBERTA`(Marketwire ` May 25, 2012) -
Canada`s oil and gas industry will need to fill a minimum of 9,500 jobs by 2015, according to a report to be released May 29, 2012, by the Petroleum Human Resources Council of Canada. The report, Canada`s Oil and Gas Labour Market Outlook to 2015, states that between now and 2015, Canada`s oil and gas industry is at risk of losing about three per cent of its workforce overall, because of persistently low natural gas prices. However, two primary factors ` growth in certain operations and age-related attrition ` will offset most job losses and in fact contribute to industry hiring needs.




The Petroleum HR Council`s report, Canada`s Oil and Gas Labour Market Outlook to 2015
, will be launched at a press conference May 29, 2012.





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Alberta housing market most affordable in Canada





CALGARY ` Housing market activity in Alberta is showing increasing signs of strength as it benefits from attractive affordability and nation-leading economic growth, according to the latest Housing Trends and Affordability Report released Tuesday by RBC Economics.




RBC`s housing affordability measures for Alberta, which capture the province`s proportion of pre-tax household income needed to service the costs of owning a home at market value, remained among the lowest, if not the lowest, in the country in the first quarter of this year.




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Census shows Calgary remains biggest magnet for working-age people





CALGARY ` Calgary hasn`t needed the new economic development slogan `Be Part of the Energy` to retain its status as biggest magnet for working-age residents, the newest 2011 census release shows.




As the rest of the country copes with an increasing grey tide and its impact, the Calgary metro region remains the youngest. Only 9.8 per cent of it residents over 65 years old ` almost half the rate of Peterborough, Ont., which boasts the nation`s biggest proportion of seniors, and below the 14.5-per-cent national average, Statistics Canada reported on Tuesday.






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Alberta bucks demographic trend as young families come in droves




It's Sunday afternoon in Airdrie, and the playground is bustling. Bikes, scooters and strollers zigzag along paths, the swings are full and there's a lineup for the slide.




Canada`s population is aging, with census data released Tuesday expected to show nearly half the population now over 40. In many communities, it means playgrounds sit idle. But it`s a different story in Alberta. Young workers have flocked here, starting families and sending populations soaring in suburbs such as Airdrie.





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Oil price gains may signal end of slump




EDMONTON ` First oil stocks, now oil prices.




As I noted in Saturday`s column, shares of Alberta`s battered oil producers are finally starting to show a pulse, after months of decline.




Now, crude oil prices are following suit.




The price of light crude closed Monday at $91.15 US a barrel in New York, up 29 cents on the day. Since crude sagged to a 2012 low of $89.90 last week, it has gained $1.25 or 1.4 per cent.





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Developer plans condo tower near future downtown arena




EDMONTON ` Westrich Pacific Corporation will begin sales June 2 on a 32-storey luxury condominium development just south of the location of the future downtown arena.




The developer plans to begin construction on 103rd Street south of 103rd Avenue in October and finish the building in 2015 ` on the opening day of the new arena, according to David Sanche, partner and co-founder of Westrich.




`We`ve had our eye on the site for quite a while,` said Sanche, 27. `It`s at the epicentre of Edmonton.`





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Construction on Edmonton condo towers overlooking the river could soon start




EDMONTON - Construction of long-delayed condo towers overlooking the North Saskatchewan River valley could start by year`s end under a proposal to reduce the size of the project.




Zoning for a 1,000-unit development near Jasper Avenue and 85th Street, now called the Edgewater, was approved in 2009, but as the economy sagged, it wasn`t feasible, architect Brad Kennedy says.




`The original project was based on a different time and economics of what potentially could be sold in that area, including some high-end units,` he said Thursday.





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Canada's LNG export window closes 'this decade'





CALGARY ` The head of Royal Dutch Shell PLC says improving regulatory certainty in Canada is key to seizing upon a `narrow window` this decade in which West Coast liquefied natural gas projects must be built to vie for a slice of a growing Asian market.




Peter Voser, the 53-year-old chief executive of the Anglo-Dutch supermajor behind the largest LNG export terminal proposed in Canada, said Tuesday that projects in British Columbia need government approval and shovels in the ground `in the coming years,` to compete with a number of global facilities starting up in five to six years.






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Alberta resale housing market bounces back: RBC





CALGARY ` Calgary has experienced a resurgence in its resale housing market and bucking a national trend by showing improved affordability in the first quarter of this year.




The latest Housing Trends and Affordability Report by RBC Economics, made public Tuesday also said Alberta has the most affordable market in the country as market activity in the province is showing increasing signs of strength as it benefits from attractive affordability and nation-leading economic growth.




RBC's housing affordability measures for Alberta, which capture the province's proportion of pre-tax household income needed to service the costs of owning a home at market value, remained among the lowest, if not the lowest, in the country in the first quarter of this year.






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Retiring baby boomers spur oil patch labour crunch





CALGARY ` The Canadian oilpatch will have to recruit almost 10,000 people by 2015 just to maintain service levels as baby boomers retire and experienced personnel are recruited to warmer resource basins, said a national organization.




Older workers leaving the industry represent a "growing and alarming" gap in experienced and skilled labour in the oil-and-gas sector across the board, said the Petroleum Human Resources Council of Canada Tuesday.




"Workforce retirements will be a key driver behind the thousands of job openings that industry will need to fill within the next four years," said chief executive Cheryl Knight. "At a minimum, the industry will need to hire for 9,500 jobs up to 2015 just to keep pace with industry activity and age-related attrition."






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Investors await 'Klondike days' for Fort Mac




`The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo (home to Fort McMurray) is known as one of the fastest growing regions in Canada,` read invitations for bids on four parcels on land, put out by the Alberta government this month and closing Aug. 16. `Fort McMurray and the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo are experiencing development pressures relating to the supply of readily developable land, housing supply and a varying seasonal workforce at the major oil sands projects in the area.




"The purpose of these four separate Invitations to tender is to solicit bidders for the purchase of four individual parcels of land at Saline Creek Plateau, which is owned by the Province of Alberta. `





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Oilsands could produce $3.3 trillion




Federal Minister of Natural Resources Joe Oliver talked resource development at the Alberta Chambers of Commerce annual general meeting at Millennium Place on Friday morning.




In his speech, Oliver focused on the government`s Responsible Resource Development plan, which he said will create jobs across the country while establishing the highest standards for environmental protection in Canada.




Oliver stated that Canada cannot afford to subject major resource projects, such as pipeline infrastructure, to unnecessary delays.





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