By Sage Roeder
Alberta is a hot topic after the recent election. The voters of the province voted almost entirely blue, with a few exceptions of orange. Albertans have taken to the web to express their dismay over the reveal of the Liberal minority government. Contrasted to our more diverse voting results, it shows how the struggles in Alberta truly bind all the citizens there.
Canada has the third-largest oil reserve in the world. A large portion of this comes from the Athabasca oil sands in Alberta. Athabasca is an extremely large Bitumen deposit, covering 142,200 square kilometres. Although oil extraction of this kind may be frowned upon by the most slightly-environmentally conscious person, the tar sands make up a significant portion of the economy. Athabasca is responsible for 30% of the gross domestic product. Oil was great for the economy until 2014.
Following the boom years where Alberta had the cheapest oil, a recession occurred; one from which they have not recovered. With a loss of over 100,000 jobs in multiple sectors of the province, hopes were not high. Since 2014, when the recession started, Alberta has been steadily recovering. The saving hope could be the pipeline.
This pipeline would raise the value of Canadian oil and jumpstart Alberta’s biggest industry. It would allow the oil to be transported to the ocean and open our product to a wider market. This project will provide countless jobs to those in need.
Clearly, as demonstrated by the vote on October 21st, Albertans are desperate for this pipeline and to be rid of this recession. Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer promised completion of the pipeline, which I can assume lead to the mass sweep of blue votes across the province. In his reelection campaign, Prime Minister Trudeau also promised completion of the pipeline. The difference between the two candidates is Trudeau’s implementation of Bill-69, where environmental factors become much more relevant in the assessment of large infrastructure projects like pipelines. I am sure that Alberta is hoping that Trudeau will keep his promise of the pipeline, and with a minority government, things may be looking more hopeful for their five-year recession.
Sources:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/alberta-mild-recession-conference-board-summer-2019-1.5253534
Commentaires