Premier Jason Kenney used his first address to the Calgary Chamber of Commerce since the start of the pandemic to tout the recovery of Alberta's economy amid high energy prices.
Saying that 'Alberta is back', he noted that in the first quarter next year the provincial GDP is expected to finally surpass the level it was in 2014 before a crash in oil prices pushed the province into recession.
He says that is a sharp turnaround from the early days of the pandemic when unemployment hit 25 per cent and for close to 10 weeks the province was unable to sell an Alberta government bond.
Kenney says the recovery has been helped by an increase in demand for oil and gas, but argues that it's not part of a roller-coaster in commodities because rising prices show the continued importance of energy.
He used the address to emphasize his United Conservative government's strategy of low taxes to attract investment, noting that the province accelerated its corporate tax cut to make it the lowest in Canada.
Kenney also says his government is focused on attracting more people to the province to boost its labour pool through initiatives like rapid certification programs.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 8, 2021.
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Doing what conservatives do
Doing what conservatives do best, here's Kenney smirkingly ignoring the entire context.
It speaks to a certain way of "thinking" does it not? This is the phenomenon that is the "conservative brain." Google it.
Although we all tailor reality somehwat, this teflon, uniquely blinkered view explains that whole other level shared by believers, anti-vaxxers, climate science denialists, and conspiracy theorist nutbars everywhere.
One thing that should be happening far more in the media is the marginalization of people like this in the context of governance. It's not like they don't "out" themselves constantly as it is, but despite what is happening with democracy, the media still leans toward what has clearly become dangerous "bothsidesism."
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