In economically embattled Alberta, news of the Keystone XL pipeline’s approval by U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday was largely greeted with relief.
Thousands of jobs will be created by the project, Alberta Premier Rachel Notley said on Friday.
“We know that in the pretty immediate term, we're probably looking at about 5,000 jobs just in Alberta,” Notely told reporters. “So that's really good news, and probably over a billion dollars at least in direct investment. And given the state of the economy right now, that too is also very good news”
Four hundred of those jobs, Notley added, would be long-term.
When the price of oil tanked, so too did Alberta’s economy. The province’s unemployment rate now stands at 8.3 per cent, an improvement from nine per cent in November, which was the highest unemployment rate in the province in 22 years.
Last week’s provincial budget forecasted Alberta’s deficit at $10.3 billion, with the province’s debt growing to more than $71 billion by 2019.
Alberta-based economist Todd Hirsch says that while the pipeline’s approval won’t change much for the province in 2017, the announcement will give the economy a much-needed boost.
“The biggest thing it does, is it lifts the mood and the optimism for the future investment in the province,” Hirsch said. “It signals to markets and to investors that we're not going to end up with stranded product here in Alberta.”
One welding company that hopes to benefit from the pipeline, at least indirectly, is Minestar Maintenance Inc., located just outside Edmonton in the city of Leduc.
“There's lots of spin-offs for fabrication companies like ourselves,” owner Neal Barnes told CTV News. “We do a lot of the overall protection systems for heavy equipment that goes out on the line.”
With a report from CTV news Alberta bureau chief Janet Dirks
