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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.
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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.% y+ e) D$ S) @$ V9 @$ W, a
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Calgary to have Canada's fastest growing economy this year, Conference Board says
# u5 C$ n' T: c$ H! I* [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."6 ^0 Y9 R/ D/ C+ }4 h# f9 M0 }
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The Conference Board, meanwhile, points to numerous signs that Alberta's economy is growing even faster than that.% C+ F' c! ]3 C( P' U* U( x6 W
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"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.6 [1 O6 r" R/ y$ c, G
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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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2 M" f1 F3 w" i0 e& q* |3 ?+ F) [1 }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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It 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.- C, A# v! E1 \/ r) G3 l5 _7 H/ T4 H
/ l9 G2 v* d0 I"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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Oil price rises to 2-year high above $58 US on supply slowdown3 ^% r6 \% ~1 L( {" i. ~
Calgary's downtown office vacancy glut shrinks for 1st time since downturn began |
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