REASON FOR OPTIMISM

The toll of recent job losses in the city — and elsewhere throughout the province, for that matter — can’t be underestimated. Just this week, TransCanada Corp. announced it was chopping 185 positions, and Encana Corp. said it was contemplating more cuts as the oil and gas sector grapples with crude oil prices that have plummeted from $ 107 US a barrel to about $ 60 today.

Workers and their families pay a steep price for job loss, but conditions aren’t without hope. The Alberta Treasury Board and Finance, in its latest report, says the province’s population has grown by 2.17 per cent — the highest rate of growth in the country — to 4,175,409.

The figure is proof Canadians in other parts of the country still recognize Alberta’s appeal and believe it’s a good place to earn a living and raise their families. Ontario residents formed the largest group of people making their way to Wild Rose Country, at 3,177.

“Alberta’s got this wonderful potential for growth looking forward into the future,” says Susan Thompson, the research director at Calgary Economic Development. “Yes, we’re dealing with challenges right now, but everyone understands that things will turn around.”

Many of the newcomers are younger. The median age of Albertans was 36.6 years, compared to the national median of 40.6.

“The province’s fairly young population includes many adults in child- bearing years, keeping the number of births well ahead of deaths,” the Alberta Treasury Board and Finance said in this week’s report.

Few Calgarians would have wished for a drop in oil prices, but the decline has led to an easing of housing costs. Lower real estate prices may not be welcomed by those who already own property, and bristle at losing equity, but they do improve affordability for those making their way to the province in hopes of a better life.

RBC Economics, for instance, calculates housing affordability by using the proportion of pre- tax household income required to service the mortgage of an average home, including taxes and utilities. In Calgary, affordability improved in every category.

Calgary’s economy is becoming increasingly diversified, and is certain to be even stronger when oil prices begin to climb again. Indeed, Calgary Economic Development says the share of the energy industry in the overall economy has contracted from 54.9 to 31.5 per cent since 1987 and is now complemented by growth in sectors such as business services, construction, transportation and warehousing.

The Alberta economy is being tested by low oil prices, but there’s good reason to be optimistic about the future.