In his recent op-ed, UCP Finance Minister Travis Toews explained how his party is incapable of attracting investment or creating good industrial jobs in Alberta. The failures of the UCP are, in his telling, always someone else’s fault.
Toews did not explain how or why he let a $4-billion petrochemical project die in his own riding last month. Nauticol Energy would have produced 3.4 million tonnes of net-zero blue methanol annually, and more importantly, would have created more than 6,000 construction and permanent jobs just outside of Grande Prairie.
Toews and the UCP simply let this project slip through their fingers. Nauticol chairman Leo de Bever told media that despite many conversations with him, the province didn’t act.
It’s a worrisome trend, coming on the heels of the layoffs at Benevity and the departure of Google’s DeepMind artificial intelligence facility in Edmonton, which sent world-class tech jobs to Toronto and Montreal.
The UCP is too busy pandering to their extremist fringe to focus on attracting investment and creating jobs.
Make no mistake, we are now in direct competition with the United States for the investment and talent that will fuel our economy in the coming decades. I am very proud that the Alberta NDP has released the Competitiveness, Jobs, and Investment Strategy. First presented to the Calgary Chamber in December, the strategy has five specific actions to build a resilient jobs economy in Alberta.
First, an Alberta NDP government will establish the Alberta’s Future Tax Credit, which would provide a refundable credit of 20 per cent on capital investment in emerging sectors, with an additional 10 per cent available to projects that create high-skilled jobs or create new technological capacity in Alberta.
Based on similar incentives in the United States’ Inflation Reduction Act, this tax credit will attract $10 billion in investment and create 20,000 jobs.
Second, we will supercharge the Alberta Petrochemical Incentive Program, which is a rebranded version of an Alberta NDP program which began in 2016. We will inject another 30 per cent or $70 million annually, driving another $10 billion in investment and 27,000 industrial jobs.
We support the UCP’s Alberta Indigenous Opportunities Corporation. But we have heard from many communities that the program is too narrow to support the size and type of projects communities are interested in. We will consult on ways to update the corporation to make capital available for a broader range of projects and communities.
We will establish a Performance Fast Pass. This means that companies who have a strong record of paying their taxes, honouring their environmental obligations and protecting workers will move to the front of the line. Every proponent will face the same scrutiny, but good actors will get their projects reviewed and approved and operational sooner.
Lastly, we will repeal the UCP’s Sovereignty Act. Toews said this legislation “hurts everyday Albertans” and is “dangerous for the province” before he voted in favour of it himself. An Alberta NDP government will make it clear to investors that our province is a stable jurisdiction to invest in, where they can rely on due process and the rule of law, both of which have been repeatedly attacked by Danielle Smith and the UCP.
I encourage Albertans to visit AlbertasFuture.ca to learn more about the Competitiveness, Jobs and Investment Strategy, and to check out our proposals on a range of economic sectors, including hydrogen, tech, geothermal, and bitumen beyond combustion.
Our Alberta NDP vision is for a resilient jobs economy, one that supports families and communities with good-paying jobs in oil and gas and in emerging industrial sectors.
Kathleen Ganley is the Alberta NDP critic for Energy.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was down more than 200 points in late-morning trading, weighed down by losses in the technology, base metal and energy sectors, while U.S. stock markets also fell.
The S&P/TSX composite index was down 239.24 points at 22,749.04.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 312.36 points at 40,443.39. The S&P 500 index was down 80.94 points at 5,422.47, while the Nasdaq composite was down 380.17 points at 16,747.49.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.80 cents US compared with 74.00 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down US$1.07 at US$68.08 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up less than a penny at US$2.26 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was down US$2.10 at US$2,541.00 an ounce and the December copper contract was down four cents at US$4.10 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 6, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 150 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in technology, financial and energy stocks, while U.S. stock markets also pushed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 171.41 points at 23,298.39.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 278.37 points at 41,369.79. The S&P 500 index was up 38.17 points at 5,630.35, while the Nasdaq composite was up 177.15 points at 17,733.18.
The Canadian dollar traded for 74.19 cents US compared with 74.23 cents US on Wednesday.
The October crude oil contract was up US$1.75 at US$76.27 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up less than a penny at US$2.10 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$18.70 at US$2,556.50 an ounce and the December copper contract was down less than a penny at US$4.22 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 29, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
The crypto market has recently experienced a significant downturn, mirroring broader risk asset sell-offs. Over the past week, Bitcoin’s price dropped by 24%, reaching $53,000, while Ethereum plummeted nearly a third to $2,340. Major altcoins also suffered, with Cardano down 27.7%, Solana 36.2%, Dogecoin 34.6%, XRP 23.1%, Shiba Inu 30.1%, and BNB 25.7%.
The severe downturn in the crypto market appears to be part of a broader flight to safety, triggered by disappointing economic data. A worse-than-expected unemployment report on Friday marked the beginning of a technical recession, as defined by the Sahm Rule. This rule identifies a recession when the three-month average unemployment rate rises by at least half a percentage point from its lowest point in the past year.
Friday’s figures met this threshold, signaling an abrupt economic downshift. Consequently, investors sought safer assets, leading to declines in major stock indices: the S&P 500 dropped 2%, the Nasdaq 2.5%, and the Dow 1.5%. This trend continued into Monday with further sell-offs overseas.
The crypto market’s rapid decline raises questions about its role as either a speculative asset or a hedge against inflation and recession. Despite hopes that crypto could act as a risk hedge, the recent crash suggests it remains a speculative investment.
Since the downturn, the crypto market has seen its largest three-day sell-off in nearly a year, losing over $500 billion in market value. According to CoinGlass data, this bloodbath wiped out more than $1 billion in leveraged positions within the last 24 hours, including $365 million in Bitcoin and $348 million in Ether.
Khushboo Khullar of Lightning Ventures, speaking to Bloomberg, argued that the crypto sell-off is part of a broader liquidity panic as traders rush to cover margin calls. Khullar views this as a temporary sell-off, presenting a potential buying opportunity.
Josh Gilbert, an eToro market analyst, supports Khullar’s perspective, suggesting that the expected Federal Reserve rate cuts could benefit crypto assets. “Crypto assets have sold off, but many investors will see an opportunity. We see Federal Reserve rate cuts, which are now likely to come sharper than expected, as hugely positive for crypto assets,” Gilbert told Coindesk.
Despite the recent volatility, crypto continues to make strides toward mainstream acceptance. Notably, Morgan Stanley will allow its advisors to offer Bitcoin ETFs starting Wednesday. This follows more than half a year after the introduction of the first Bitcoin ETF. The investment bank will enable over 15,000 of its financial advisors to sell BlackRock’s IBIT and Fidelity’s FBTC. This move is seen as a significant step toward the “mainstreamization” of crypto, given the lengthy regulatory and company processes in major investment banks.
The recent crypto market downturn highlights its volatility and the broader economic concerns affecting all risk assets. While some analysts see the current situation as a temporary sell-off and a buying opportunity, others caution against the speculative nature of crypto. As the market evolves, its role as a mainstream alternative asset continues to grow, marked by increasing institutional acceptance and new investment opportunities.
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