In addition, more than 30 per cent of Albertans expect to be financially worse off six months from now, and real household consumption is expected to decline by a record 10.3 per cent this year — in part because of regulations that have limited the amounts of goods and services consumers are able to buy.
Macdonald said with public health restrictions now lifting, economic activity should pick up in the third and fourth quarters and gain momentum into 2021. Next year, Alberta could see economic growth of up to 6.5 per cent, she said.
“2021 is looking to be a much better year, but a lot of that is because we’re coming off such a bad year right now,” she said, adding that oil and gas investment in the third quarter of 2020 will likely hit a level lower than anything seen since the late 1990s. “We do see quarter four starting to pick up, but this is from exceptionally low levels. The cash flow hit from the decline in oil prices is really going to weigh on investment in the next few quarters, that’s for sure.”
