Following two years of being in a recession, Alberta is finally getting back on its feet.
ATB Financial came out with its latest economic forecast Thursday and it predicts a 3.2 per cent growth this year.
ATB Senior Economist Todd Hirsch said during the recession the economy shrank by more than 7.5 per cent.
“I think in 2017, one thing that happened is a new reality set in the minds of Albertans that we’re not going back to 80 or 100 dollar oil at least not in the short or medium term that means this province has to learn how to operate permanently at perhaps 45 or 50,” he stated.
Hirsch added other sectors expected to pick up the slack include the agri-food industry, manufacturing, the tech sector and renewable energy.
He said although we are seeing a gradual improvement, Albertans won’t feel like we’re back to a fast growing economy for a while.
Hirsch explained some things that could potentially throw off Alberta’s recovery are an increase of the Canadian dollar, which would result in interest rates going up and lots of uncertainty surrounding regarding our neighbors with NAFTA renegotiations.
