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Alberta's economy is on pace to grow by a blistering 6.7 per cent this year, far outpacing every other province, according to the latest forecast from the Conference Board of Canada.! \& `% c4 b# I% s/ h& A
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"Thanks to rising oil production and a swift turnaround in drilling levels, Alberta surged out of recession this year," Marie-Christine Bernard, director of the organization's provincial forecasting, said in a release Wednesday.* B/ Z3 q2 E! W" N/ }8 {& @
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Calgary to have Canada's fastest growing economy this year, Conference Board says2 S" e: U4 ? f% q
The report comes two days after a projection from ATB Financial that pegs real GDP growth at 3.9 per cent in Alberta for 2017, "which is likely to be the highest among the Canadian provinces."- u" u8 b7 |* _3 Y; Y, _
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The Conference Board, meanwhile, points to numerous signs that Alberta's economy is growing even faster than that.- ^1 n9 B9 U; L# m( M' l
' F8 p6 S2 Z# O2 L# N, v"The domestic economy also performed well, as consumers who had delayed making major purchases during the recession flocked to car dealerships and retail stores," the report reads.
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"With oil prices steadily improving since the summer, Alberta's economic performance could well surprise on the upside once more."
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The "booming growth" in 2017 comes after two years of economic contraction, and the Conference Board cautions that Alberta won't keep up that pace next year.
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( j4 R5 L! R+ }4 T GIt forecasts provincial GDP to grow by 2.1 per cent in 2018, behind British Columbia's projected rate of 2.7 per cent and Newfoundland and Labrador's 2.4 per cent.
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"However, recent strength in oil prices could help maintain the momentum in drilling and push economic growth higher over the near term," the report adds.
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' W$ P/ ~/ U% `8 T) z6 @" T! MOil price rises to 2-year high above $58 US on supply slowdown5 }% N- v$ x( ?- j7 ?* s
Calgary's downtown office vacancy glut shrinks for 1st time since downturn began |
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