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Premier Jason Kenney calls it the greatest economic challenge facing Alberta since the 1930s and there are early signs to back up the sobering assessment.
More than 500,000 Canadians have applied for employment insurance in the past week, compared to 27,000 a year earlier.
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Officials in the prime minister’s office reached out to contact oilpatch leaders this week to discuss the short- and longer-term implications of the dire situation facing the energy sector and how to support it.
It could soon lead to a multibillion-dollar assistance package for the industry and its workers.
The provincial government is assembling its own fiscal stimulus package, while DBRS Morningstar downgraded Alberta’s credit rating on Thursday. It cited slumping oil prices and the downturn tied to combating the coronavirus as the underlying reasons.
Each one of these issues is daunting.
Government attention is rightly focused on an immediate response to slow down the spread of the virus and protect the public, while keeping the economy going and ensuring people have enough money for necessities.
