New numbers show Alberta GDP still growing

Stats Can shows good news for Alberta Watch: A report from Statistics Canada indicates the province's economy actually improved last year. Timm Bruch has the latest.

CALGARY – A new national report says the province’s economy isn’t doing as poorly as you may think.

The 'Provincial and territorial economic accounts, 2018' report from Statistics Canada shows Albertan, and Canadian, real gross domestic product (GDP) rose once again in 2018.

In the province, the economic rise was 1.6 per cent. That’s not as high as the 4.8 per cent upsurge in 2017, but it still shows improvement.

Economics professor Anupam Das said the numbers aren’t entirely surprising, regardless of the “doom and gloom” outlook many in the province have.

"I think people will still be cautiously optimistic that the economy will improve," Das said. "[But] I think GDP growth will stay low for a little while.

"It’s hard to say that we will go back to where we were in 2013, especially with the falling trend of oil prices."

The rise was led by export growth, which the report attributes to bitumen and crude oil. Many believe that shows while the province is attempting to diversify, Alberta still heavily relies on a sector that has shown a decline in recent years.

GDP was also helped by increased household spending on services.

Alberta’s decreased housing investment leveled out some of the growth.

Overall, the country’s GDP rose by 2 per cent. Every province and territory except Newfoundland and Labrador saw an uptick.