Lewis Lix still thinks about the sunrises he watched while working on oil rigs in western Canada.
“You could be covered in blood, sweat and diesel fuel, but you could take five minutes at 4:45 a.m. to watch the sun come up. When people ask what I miss about the job, I say ‘the skies.'”
Lix, a 34-year-old father who now lives in Edmonton, spent almost 10 years working in the oil and gas industry. He went through a few boom-and-bust cycles, a lot of time away from his family, and eventually a realization that he couldn’t continue the work forever.
“I could just see the writing on the wall,” he told CBC’s The House in an interview airing Saturday.
“I didn’t want to work in an industry that was so volatile and surrounded by so much political controversy. I just wanted a future in something … that my kids might be proud of me for doing.”
CBC News: The House6:02Moving on from oil and gas
Lewis Lix, a former oil and gas worker, talks about his journey to a new career and his continued concerns for the future. 6:02
Lix is now enrolled in the Alternative Energy Technology program at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology.
It’s not always an easy path. He says there’s a narrative in Alberta that, “if you’re not doing everything you possibly can for oil and gas, you’re anti-Albertan or anti-western Canadian.”
Energy central to Alberta’s economy, politics
The energy sector is still the backbone of Alberta’s economy, even as the industry faces waves of corporate consolidation, the ripple economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and national and international pressure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
In the 2019 federal election, the Conservative Party of Canada took 33 of the 34 seats in the province. The party’s platform this year promises to keep a price on carbon, invest in carbon capture and storage, and introduce a renewable natural gas mandate.
“The Conservatives are the only party that’s actually proud of Canada’s energy industry as the key driver of the country’s economy,” said Katy Merrifield of Wellington Advocacy, a national public affairs firm. Merrifield has previously worked for Alberta Premier Jason Kenney and former B.C. Liberal premier Christy Clark.
“The petroleum industry provides over half a million high-paying jobs for Canadians, generates about $10-million in government revenue through taxes and royalties every year, and about $100-billion in GDP annually. So, frankly, electorally, it’s no wonder they sweep the province every federal election.”
Most political analysts agree that this year’s federal election won’t be decided in Alberta. But the federal parties are still crafting their messages to Alberta voters carefully.
The NDP proposes an emissions reduction target of 50 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030 and wants to end all subsidies to the oil and gas industry. The Liberals have echoed the call to end those subsidies and have pledged $2-billion to help workers in oil-producing provinces transition to a greener economy.
“The Liberals are trying to have an honest faith conversation regarding the fact that many of the oil and gas jobs that people in this province have worked hard at and grown accustomed to, that many of those jobs might not be coming back,” says Zain Velji, a political strategist who has worked on federal Liberal campaigns in the province.
Velji acknowledges that message won’t translate into Alberta votes for the Liberals. But he says the party’s message is, “We will not leave you behind,” which could help bridge conversations around western alienation.
A handful of ridings at play in Alberta
While Alberta’s Blue Wall is expected to remain mostly intact in this election, there are a few places where chips might emerge — such as in Edmonton Griesbach, where NDP newcomer Blake Desjarlais is facing off against Conservative incumbent Kerry Diotte.
The riding is held provincially by NDP MLA Janis Irwin, who has thrown her support behind Desjarlais, a Métis activist who grew up on the Fishing Lake Métis Settlement.
Former Alberta Premier Rachel Notley and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh disagreed on the expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline. The federal NDP is now targeting new seats in Calgary and Edmonton. (CBC)
But the provincial and federal branches of the NDP aren’t always in alignment, a most noticeable point when it comes to the expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline. Alberta NDP Leader Rachel Notley fought vociferously for the project while she was premier, and clashed with Jagmeet Singh over whether it should go ahead.
Desjarlais says the Liberals’ decision to purchase the pipeline can’t be easily reversed.
“I’m against the TMX pipeline and its expansion, but I understand we’ve already invested in it,” he said.
“We might have to look at a future where the TMX pipeline is operational, but that means we have to make more aggressive steps in other sectors, like agriculture for example, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and hit our targets.”
Taking a break from his studies, Lewis Lix says he believes his future is bright in Alberta — and while the province’s economic prosperity might rely on oil and gas for some time yet, he thinks a transition will eventually occur.
“We have an opportunity to jump on board now instead of just arguing with one another and having no change happen or having change be so, so slow.”
OTTAWA – Canada’s unemployment rate held steady at 6.5 per cent last month as hiring remained weak across the economy.
Statistics Canada’s labour force survey on Friday said employment rose by a modest 15,000 jobs in October.
Business, building and support services saw the largest gain in employment.
Meanwhile, finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing experienced the largest decline.
Many economists see weakness in the job market continuing in the short term, before the Bank of Canada’s interest rate cuts spark a rebound in economic growth next year.
Despite ongoing softness in the labour market, however, strong wage growth has raged on in Canada. Average hourly wages in October grew 4.9 per cent from a year ago, reaching $35.76.
Friday’s report also shed some light on the financial health of households.
According to the agency, 28.8 per cent of Canadians aged 15 or older were living in a household that had difficulty meeting financial needs – like food and housing – in the previous four weeks.
That was down from 33.1 per cent in October 2023 and 35.5 per cent in October 2022, but still above the 20.4 per cent figure recorded in October 2020.
People living in a rented home were more likely to report difficulty meeting financial needs, with nearly four in 10 reporting that was the case.
That compares with just under a quarter of those living in an owned home by a household member.
Immigrants were also more likely to report facing financial strain last month, with about four out of 10 immigrants who landed in the last year doing so.
That compares with about three in 10 more established immigrants and one in four of people born in Canada.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
The Canadian Institute for Health Information says health-care spending in Canada is projected to reach a new high in 2024.
The annual report released Thursday says total health spending is expected to hit $372 billion, or $9,054 per Canadian.
CIHI’s national analysis predicts expenditures will rise by 5.7 per cent in 2024, compared to 4.5 per cent in 2023 and 1.7 per cent in 2022.
This year’s health spending is estimated to represent 12.4 per cent of Canada’s gross domestic product. Excluding two years of the pandemic, it would be the highest ratio in the country’s history.
While it’s not unusual for health expenditures to outpace economic growth, the report says this could be the case for the next several years due to Canada’s growing population and its aging demographic.
Canada’s per capita spending on health care in 2022 was among the highest in the world, but still less than countries such as the United States and Sweden.
The report notes that the Canadian dental and pharmacare plans could push health-care spending even further as more people who previously couldn’t afford these services start using them.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
As Canadians wake up to news that Donald Trump will return to the White House, the president-elect’s protectionist stance is casting a spotlight on what effect his second term will have on Canada-U.S. economic ties.
Some Canadian business leaders have expressed worry over Trump’s promise to introduce a universal 10 per cent tariff on all American imports.
A Canadian Chamber of Commerce report released last month suggested those tariffs would shrink the Canadian economy, resulting in around $30 billion per year in economic costs.
More than 77 per cent of Canadian exports go to the U.S.
Canada’s manufacturing sector faces the biggest risk should Trump push forward on imposing broad tariffs, said Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters president and CEO Dennis Darby. He said the sector is the “most trade-exposed” within Canada.
“It’s in the U.S.’s best interest, it’s in our best interest, but most importantly for consumers across North America, that we’re able to trade goods, materials, ingredients, as we have under the trade agreements,” Darby said in an interview.
“It’s a more complex or complicated outcome than it would have been with the Democrats, but we’ve had to deal with this before and we’re going to do our best to deal with it again.”
American economists have also warned Trump’s plan could cause inflation and possibly a recession, which could have ripple effects in Canada.
It’s consumers who will ultimately feel the burden of any inflationary effect caused by broad tariffs, said Darby.
“A tariff tends to raise costs, and it ultimately raises prices, so that’s something that we have to be prepared for,” he said.
“It could tilt production mandates. A tariff makes goods more expensive, but on the same token, it also will make inputs for the U.S. more expensive.”
A report last month by TD economist Marc Ercolao said research shows a full-scale implementation of Trump’s tariff plan could lead to a near-five per cent reduction in Canadian export volumes to the U.S. by early-2027, relative to current baseline forecasts.
Retaliation by Canada would also increase costs for domestic producers, and push import volumes lower in the process.
“Slowing import activity mitigates some of the negative net trade impact on total GDP enough to avoid a technical recession, but still produces a period of extended stagnation through 2025 and 2026,” Ercolao said.
Since the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement came into effect in 2020, trade between Canada and the U.S. has surged by 46 per cent, according to the Toronto Region Board of Trade.
With that deal is up for review in 2026, Canadian Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Candace Laing said the Canadian government “must collaborate effectively with the Trump administration to preserve and strengthen our bilateral economic partnership.”
“With an impressive $3.6 billion in daily trade, Canada and the United States are each other’s closest international partners. The secure and efficient flow of goods and people across our border … remains essential for the economies of both countries,” she said in a statement.
“By resisting tariffs and trade barriers that will only raise prices and hurt consumers in both countries, Canada and the United States can strengthen resilient cross-border supply chains that enhance our shared economic security.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.
