Alberta leads country in 2017 GDP growth
Posted May 2, 2018 11:53 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Statistics Canada has released the GDP numbers for 2017, and it’s good news for the Canadian economy.
Canada’s GDP grew 3.3 per cent, with Alberta leading the way with an increase of 4.9 per cent.
University of Calgary Associate Professor of Economics Trevor Tombe said it’s not surprising an economy coming out of recession experiences faster than normal rates of economic growth.
“What I think was surprising here in today’s release was just the strength of that growth, faster than all but one private sector forecaster was expecting, it’s faster than what the government was expecting and by a pretty good margin,” he said.
A big factor was oil and gas.
“We’re certainly not at our pre-recession peak but overall the 4.9 per cent growth we saw in 2017, that brings us about two-thirds of the way back,” explained Tombe, adding if the oil and gas numbers grow at expected levels in 2018, they’ll be back at the 2014 peak.
Despite the overall economy doing well, Tombe explained that doesn’t mean everyone is experiencing the recovery in the same way.
“In particular young men, and young men with lower levels of education,” he said. “These were individuals that earned a fairly good living as labourers in oil and gas, in construction associated manufacturing activities,” he said.
He said they have fewer opportunities than they did before the recession and that should be a focus of policy makers.
Tombe also warned there is still a lot of uncertainty, especially with regards to NAFTA.
You can read the full report below:
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/180502/dq180502a-eng.htm
