May 2013 Alberta Economic Fundamentals

[Ally]

Study says residential construction gives Alberta economy $15.1 million boost




EDMONTON - Alberta`s economy received an injection of $15.1 billion last year from residential construction and renovation, according to a study released Friday by the Canadian Home Builders` Association ` Alberta.




The study, which was conducted by Will Dunning Inc., a specialist in housing market analysis, also determined that 48,000 Alberta jobs were created directly by the industry, with another 22,600 indirect jobs in the province and 21,800 more elsewhere in Canada during 2012.





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[Ally]

Fort McMurray: More than meets the eye





There is a lot more to Fort McMurray than mobile workers and oil sands. The city, which is located in the northeastern region of Alberta some 450 kms from the province's capital city of Edmonton, is often kindly referred to as 'Alberta's Northern Light'. Those who have experienced Fort McMurray may also have experienced the Aurora Borealis, or northern lights, for which the town is nicknamed.







From a remote trading post that expanded to include a salt plant and eventually sawmills, Fort McMurray's latest addition has been the one with the most impact. The discovery of the Athabasca oil sands has sent more than just oil companies scrambling. The result of this discovery in 1964 can be compared, with great levels of accuracy, to one of the many gold rushes from the days of panning - where there was a sudden explosion of people arriving in hopes of discovering great prosperity.





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[Ally]

Is the Edmonton arena a done deal?




EDMONTON - The final piece of the downtown arena funding puzzle might be about to fall into place in a matter of hours after a special city council meeting has been called for Wednesday at 1:30 p.m.




`We will come to tomorrow`s meeting and see what happens ` I`m optimistic, that`s the best I can say,` Mayor Stephen Mandel said Tuesday, declining to provide any details





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[Ally]

Calgary a bright light among Canadian housing markets




CALGARY ` Calgary`s resale housing market continued to shine in April compared with the rest of the country as the city recorded the best year-over-year price growth and the biggest annual sales increase among major markets.




The Canadian Real Estate Association, in releasing its monthly MLS data on Wednesday, said Calgary saw sales of 3,003 for the month, a jump of 10.4 per cent and the association`s MLS Home Price Index, which surveys eight major markets in the country, showed Calgary leading the way with a 6.94 per cent year-over-year hike. The index tracks benchmark property sales.





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[Ally]

Collapse in Brent-WTI oil spread spooks refiners, railways




NEW YORK ` After almost three years of churning bumper profits from the massive price gap between the world`s two most actively traded crude oil contracts, traders, refiners, railways and investors are all asking the same question: Is the game finally coming to a close?



For all the debate over building the Keystone XL pipeline, the oil is moving without it.





Railroads such as Warren Buffett`s Burlington Northern Santa Fe LLC are the rolling alternative, keeping oil flowing from the Bakken in North Dakota to refineries along the Texas Gulf Coast, as the White House deliberates on the fate of TransCanada Corp.`s petroleum artery.







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[Ally]

Edmonton arena deal approved by city council




EDMONTON - City council voted to approve the final funding deal and move ahead on the downtown arena Wednesday after the Katz Group volunteered an additional $15 million.




The new private money, plus a decision not to rely on provincial infrastructure funds, was enough to sway the votes of several holdout councillors.





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[Ally]

Redford looks for relationship reset with BC premier



EDMONTON - Alberta Premier Alison Redford congratulated British Columbia Premier Christy Clark Wednesday after Clark`s surprise election victory late Tuesday night ` a win that could have long-lasting implications for Alberta`s ability to export oil and for Redford`s own Canadian Energy Strategy.





Clark ran on a platform that promised to develop B.C.`s own resources and during the campaign she told reporters: `We don`t need the federal government and we don`t need Alberta.`





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[Ally]

Alberta has second highest private sector job vacancy rate




CALGARY ` Alberta has the second highest private sector job vacancy rate in the country, according to a report released Thursday by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.




`The vacancy rate in Alberta is still rising, but just not as fast as it has in the last couple of years,` said Richard Truscott, Alberta Director for the CFIB.





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[Ally]

Jobs, young population and entrepreneurial spirit drive Grande Prairie economy




GRANDE PRAIRIE ` This northwestern Alberta city is in an enviable economic position.


`Things are good, but there are lots of things on the horizon that will kick the economy into overdrive,` says Shawna Miller, chair of the Grande Prairie and District Chamber of Commerce.





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[Ally]

Transit projects top Calgary aldermen's wish lists for $25 million tax benefit




The public dialogue is only days old, but already a clear majority of Calgary aldermen favour funding transit with all or most of $52-million in newly raised taxes.




Interviews with council members reveal at least eight of the 15 council members prefer putting the money toward new `rapid` bus routes, rather than refunding taxpayers, lowering civic debt or the other two options.





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[Ally]

Alberta leads Canada in job gains in April




The Canadian economy managed only meager job growth in April, following a big drop in employment the previous month, as the jobless rate remained at 7.2%, reports the Financial Post`s Gordon Isfeld. There were 12,500 more people working last month, most of those in the public administration and manufacturing sectors, Statistics Canada said Friday. Those gains, while marginal, were in line with economists` forecasts.`Sometimes the Canadian jobs numbers don`t deliver a radical surprise, and this was one of them,` said Avery Shenfeld, chief economist at CIBC World Markets. `Overall, not much to move the market here, with hiring in line with expectations, and a mix of good and bad news in the details.`





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[Ally]

Private sector employment decline is no blip




Canada`s private sector is in no mood to hire.




Private companies shed 105,400 jobs in March and April, the largest two-month decline since early 2009, when the economy was in the throes of the recession.





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[Ally]

Canada's youth will have more spending power than parents, report says




Despite the widespread perception that today`s young people will have it worse off than their parents, BMO has released a report that says the kids should actually be all right.




In terms of real median income, there`s no question that Canadians aged 20 to 24 are earning less income today than those of the same age group in the late `70s or early `80s. But no one stays 20-years-old forever, Sal Guatieri, senior economist and vice-president of Economic Research at BMO Capital Markets, said.





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[Ally]

Major oil-sands producer is going green - as in algae





One of Canada`s largest oil-sands producers is building an algae-based processor at its Primrose South project in order to recycle greenhouse-gas emissions to produce biofuels and other products such as fertilizer for land reclamation.




Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. (CNRL) is working with the National Research Council and Toronto-based Pond Biofuels Inc. on a $19-million pilot project aimed at proving the commercial viability of using industrial flue gases from its processing plant to feed algae in a `biorefinery` unit. Pond has already built two small demonstration models in Ontario at St. Mary`s Cement and a U.S. Steel Canada plant.






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[Ally]

Alberta and BC setting the dial to defrost




B.C. Premier Christy Clark is heading back to Alberta for a visit with Premier Alison Redford.




We don`t know exactly when ` Clark is hoping `in the next couple of weeks` ` and we don`t know exactly what they`ll discuss. But you can bet on two things: They`ll talk about the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline and this time Clark will use the front door.





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[Ally]

Edmontonians at a loss to explain rising gas prices


The cost of gas has shot up more than 20 cents per litre in Edmonton over the past two weeks ` and as CBC`s Scott Stevenson found out, many Edmontonians are at a loss to explain why.




Some think the rapidly rising prices are the result of a greedy oil and gas industry ` others blame the government.




Whatever the cause, Edmontonians are frustrated.





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[Ally]

Leapfrogging development a concern for Calgary





As Calgary aims to place a tighter grip on its suburban expansion, developers and wary aldermen have consistently issued a warning: the city`s loss will be its neighbours` gain, to our detriment.




The risk of residential development shifting from Calgary to surrounding communities comes with it the threat of losing property taxpayers, and facing more out-of-towners using the roads, transit and other services they`re not helping to pay for.





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[Ally]

Calgary listed as one of Canada's more affordable housing markets




CALGARY ` Calgary`s housing market renaissance has not been a steady process, as the overall improving trend in resale activity was inconsistent last year, says a report released today by RBC Economics Research.




But the city remains one of the more affordable housing markets in Canada.





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[Ally]

Calgary homebuying intentions fall




CALGARY ` Fewer Calgary homeowners intend to buy a property in the next five years, according to the BMO Housing Confidence Report released on Wednesday.




The report said plans to buy in Calgary have decreased by 13 per cent since the fall (39 per cent versus 52 per cent).





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[Ally]

Multi-family housing back in vogue in Edmonton




After years of being overshadowed by the single-detached market, multi-family housing is back in vogue with Edmonton-region builders and homebuyers.




The first three months of 2013 have seen multiple-family starts soar by 54 per cent over the first quarter of last year, to 1,724 units.





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