Recession-stricken Alberta gets support

Canada

CALGARY, February 4, 2016 – Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau held talks Wednesday with Alberta Premier Rachel Notley on federal support for environmental initiatives that should result in greater market access for oil sands crude.

The two also discussed ways to spur job growth and reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Trudeau said his government would invest USD 700 million in local infrastructure projects.

Alberta province, the epicentre of Canada’s energy industry, has been hit hard by the slump in oil prices. Extracting oil sands is notoriously expensive. Using steam-assisted gravity drainage, a complex method of extraction that has to be tailored to each individual project, requires an oil price of some USD 65 to break even.

The drop in oil prices has sent the Alberta economy into a recession. During the first eight months of 2015, more than 63,000 jobs were lost in the province.