Finance Minister Joe Ceci’s latest fiscal update shows a lower-than-expected deficit for 2018-19, but warns that pipeline constraints will continue to hurt the province’s economic recovery
Alberta Finance Minister Joe Ceci arrives at a press conference, in Edmonton on Thursday, June 29, 2017. Alberta is on track for a $6.9-billion budget deficit amid speculation voters will go to the polls this spring before a new budget is introduced.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason FransonAlberta’s NDP government has cut its expectations for the province’s economy in the coming year as volatile oil prices and constrained pipeline access continue to drag down growth.
Mr. Ceci said the numbers were nonetheless a sign that the province is heading in the right direction. Roughly 170,000 Albertans are unemployed, not including people who have stopped looking for work. The province expects its unemployment rate to average 6.4 per cent in 2019, a slight improvement over last year.
The government responded by imposing production cuts that took effect Jan. 1, which quickly narrowed the differential to less than $US10. The policy has received mixed reaction from the oil industry, with some producers complaining that it has made rail shipments uneconomical.
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