Saskatchewan lags behind other provinces in capturing opportunities in the global transition to a net-zero carbon economy, according to a new report.
“I think this needs to be the priority of governments across Canada,” said Jonathan Arnold, senior research associate at the Canadian Climate Institute, a national nonpartisan independent think tank that provides policy advice to governments on long-term issues related to climate change.
“The global low carbon transition is accelerating rapidly. We’re really talking here about the future livelihoods, jobs and incomes of workers, families and of entire communities. And there is a risk that if we do not prepare ourselves for this transition, then parts of Canada and some provinces are at risk of being left behind. These markets are already becoming increasingly competitive. So it really is incumbent on governments to take this seriously and make sure that the economy and the workforce are geared up for this.”
Saskatchewan doesn’t have as many companies active in the clean hydrogen and low carbon electricity, transportation and mining technology markets, Arnold said.
The province’s oil, gas and coal sectors also lag in decarbonizing their activities to make themselves globally competitive, he said.
“When you consider the transformative investments being made in some provinces, like Ontario in their automotive manufacturing sector to really transform into making EVs or look at some of the activities that are happening even in Alberta to decarbonize some of their heavy industry, we’re not quite seeing that same level of activity in Saskatchewan.”
However, Saskatchewan has a lot of opportunities for the zero-carbon transition, as it has some of the biggest potential for wind, solar and geothermal energy, he said.
In addition, 43 per cent of the 23 transition sector companies the group identified are involved in agricultural technology and alternative proteins, he said.
“There’s lots of room to grow there, we know that demand for agriculture and alternative proteins is going to increase significantly. And then also things that may not be intuitive, necessarily, to some folks, like helium, and this is an area that I know the province has prioritized and is exploring. Helium will play a certain role in the transition as it’s an input to lots of different technologies. So that’s also another opportunity.”
The stakes for a successful transition are high, as six per cent of Saskatchewan’s workforce is in transition-vulnerable sectors, the third-highest mark in Canada. Four communities of at least 10,000 people have high workforce concentrations in oil and gas and mining: Lloydminster (14 per cent), Estevan (13 per cent, Weyburn (11 per cent) and Swift Current (three per cent.)
“The transition is incredibly important. We want to make sure that that is as smooth as possible for workers. You know, some sectors have pathways to transition that are clearer than others. The automotive sector, for example, it’s pretty clear that the future is in zero-emission vehicles and that transition is already happening.
“For a province like Saskatchewan, oil and gas is a harder nut to crack. I think there are still lots of opportunities there for companies in the sector to, first of all, reduce their emissions to become more globally competitive, as there’s a higher premium on carbon emissions, but also to transform into other business lines.
“Instead of remaining as oil and gas companies, they start transforming into energy companies more broadly. That might just mean getting into renewables, it might mean getting into low carbon hydrogen, which is already happening in Alberta. It means really leveraging carbon capture utilization and storage technologies.
“It really is about transforming into other activities where demand is expected to grow. And we’re already starting to see that in other provinces. I think Saskatchewan could do a lot more to capture some of those opportunities.”
He said one of the most important steps is having policy certainty for businesses and investors, including a price on carbon that increases over time and environmental and climate regulations that encourage things like low carbon vehicle adoption and low carbon fuel adoption.
“I think there’s tons of room there for the government to, in some cases, just rebalance how public funds are used to achieve economic benefit in the community and really go after the areas where demand is expected to grow.”
OTTAWA – Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland says the government is making some changes to mortgage rules to help more Canadians to purchase their first home.
She says the changes will come into force in December and better reflect the housing market.
The price cap for insured mortgages will be boosted for the first time since 2012, moving to $1.5 million from $1 million, to allow more people to qualify for a mortgage with less than a 20 per cent down payment.
The government will also expand its 30-year mortgage amortization to include first-time homebuyers buying any type of home, as well as anybody buying a newly built home.
On Aug. 1 eligibility for the 30-year amortization was changed to include first-time buyers purchasing a newly-built home.
Justice Minister Arif Virani is also releasing drafts for a bill of rights for renters as well as one for homebuyers, both of which the government promised five months ago.
Virani says the government intends to work with provinces to prevent practices like renovictions, where landowners evict tenants and make minimal renovations and then seek higher rents.
The government touts today’s announced measures as the “boldest mortgage reforms in decades,” and it comes after a year of criticism over high housing costs.
The Liberals have been slumping in the polls for months, including among younger adults who say not being able to afford a house is one of their key concerns.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says manufacturing sales rose 1.4 per cent to $71 billion in July, helped by higher sales in the petroleum and coal and chemical product subsectors.
The increase followed a 1.7 per cent decrease in June.
The agency says sales in the petroleum and coal product subsector gained 6.7 per cent to total $8.6 billion in July as most refineries sold more, helped by higher prices and demand.
Chemical product sales rose 5.3 per cent to $5.6 billion in July, boosted by increased sales of pharmaceutical and medicine products.
Sales of wood products fell 4.8 per cent for the month to $2.9 billion, the lowest level since May 2023.
In constant dollar terms, overall manufacturing sales rose 0.9 per cent in July.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
TORONTO – Strength in the base metal and technology sectors helped Canada’s main stock index gain almost 100 points on Friday, while U.S. stock markets climbed to their best week of the year.
“It’s been almost a complete opposite or retracement of what we saw last week,” said Philip Petursson, chief investment strategist at IG Wealth Management.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 297.01 points at 41,393.78. The S&P 500 index was up 30.26 points at 5,626.02, while the Nasdaq composite was up 114.30 points at 17,683.98.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 93.51 points at 23,568.65.
While last week saw a “healthy” pullback on weaker economic data, this week investors appeared to be buying the dip and hoping the central bank “comes to the rescue,” said Petursson.
Next week, the U.S. Federal Reserve is widely expected to cut its key interest rate for the first time in several years after it significantly hiked it to fight inflation.
But the magnitude of that first cut has been the subject of debate, and the market appears split on whether the cut will be a quarter of a percentage point or a larger half-point reduction.
Petursson thinks it’s clear the smaller cut is coming. Economic data recently hasn’t been great, but it hasn’t been that bad either, he said — and inflation may have come down significantly, but it’s not defeated just yet.
“I think they’re going to be very steady,” he said, with one small cut at each of their three decisions scheduled for the rest of 2024, and more into 2025.
“I don’t think there’s a sense of urgency on the part of the Fed that they have to do something immediately.
A larger cut could also send the wrong message to the markets, added Petursson: that the Fed made a mistake in waiting this long to cut, or that it’s seeing concerning signs in the economy.
It would also be “counter to what they’ve signaled,” he said.
More important than the cut — other than the new tone it sets — will be what Fed chair Jerome Powell has to say, according to Petursson.
“That’s going to be more important than the size of the cut itself,” he said.
In Canada, where the central bank has already cut three times, Petursson expects two more before the year is through.
“Here, the labour situation is worse than what we see in the United States,” he said.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.61 cents US compared with 73.58 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down 32 cents at US$68.65 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was down five cents at US$2.31 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$30.10 at US$2,610.70 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents US$4.24 a pound.
— With files from The Associated Press
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
