{"id":65705,"date":"2025-10-23T12:00:26","date_gmt":"2025-10-23T12:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/2025\/10\/23\/posthaste-why-alberta-might-be-too-popular-for-its-own-good\/"},"modified":"2025-10-23T12:00:26","modified_gmt":"2025-10-23T12:00:26","slug":"posthaste-why-alberta-might-be-too-popular-for-its-own-good","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/2025\/10\/23\/posthaste-why-alberta-might-be-too-popular-for-its-own-good\/","title":{"rendered":"Posthaste: Why Alberta might be too popular for its own good"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> \n<br \/><br \/>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"U.S. Consumers to Feel Auto Pact Fallout\" width=\"1080\" height=\"608\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/1w3Mowj6I6k?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><br \/>\n<\/iframe><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" data-has-syndication-rights=\"1\" data-license-id=\"\" data-portal-copyright=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/fp-posthaste-LOGO-01132023.jpg\" title=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<p> Alberta<\/p>\n<p>                         has a lot going for it: less exposure to the United States <\/p>\n<p>                        tariffs<\/p>\n<p>                         that other provinces face, rising oil production from the <\/p>\n<p>                        Trans Mountain pipeline expansion<\/p>\n<p>                         and economic performance that topped its peers this year. <\/p>\n<p> \u201cSolid consumer demand supporting spending and housing activity also leaves Alberta well-positioned compared to most provinces,\u201d Salim Zanzana, an economist at Royal Bank of Canada, said in a report. <\/p>\n<p> Despite all this good news, there\u2019s a major \u201cdisconnect\u201d in Alberta that hounds the province as it continues to record amongst the highest <\/p>\n<p>                        unemployment rates<\/p>\n<p>                        \u00a0in Canada. <\/p>\n<p> The jobless rate in Alberta stands at 7.8 per cent, above the national average of 7.1 per cent and well above those of neighbouring <\/p>\n<p>                        Saskatchewan<\/p>\n<p>                         and Manitoba, at six per cent and 6.2 per cent, respectively. <\/p>\n<p> Alberta\u2019s unemployment rate is just a tick under <\/p>\n<p>                        Ontario<\/p>\n<p>                        \u2018s at 7.9 per cent, although the latter is far more exposed to U.S. tariffs because of its <\/p>\n<p>                        automotive<\/p>\n<p>                         and <\/p>\n<p>                        steel\/aluminum<\/p>\n<p>                         manufacturing plants. <\/p>\n<p> Ontario is grappling with U.S. tariffs of 50 per cent on steel and aluminum and 25 per cent on automotive components that are not compliant with the <\/p>\n<p>                        Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement\u00a0(CUSMA)<\/p>\n<p>                        . Alberta, on the other hand, faces 10 per cent duties on energy exports, unless they are compliant with the CUSMA. <\/p>\n<p> Unemployment pressures are even worse for Alberta\u2019s workers aged 15-24, who face a <\/p>\n<p>                        jobless rate<\/p>\n<p>                         of 14.7 per cent compared with 13.5 per cent in Canada. In Calgary and Edmonton, the jobless rates clock in at 18.3 per cent and 18.5 per cent, respectively, for this cohort. <\/p>\n<p> That\u2019s a problem for Alberta since it is a relatively young province, with the second-lowest median age \u2014 38.1 \u2014 in Canada. <\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" data-has-syndication-rights=\"1\" data-license-id=\"\" data-portal-copyright=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/provincial-unemployment-rate-1.png\" title=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<p> Zanzana attributes Alberta\u2019s struggling job market to a multi-year wave of <\/p>\n<p>                        immigration<\/p>\n<p>                         and interprovincial migration that has swelled the number of workers and young people heading there over the past years. <\/p>\n<p> For example, net immigration jumped to levels well above the average recorded prior to the pandemic. The province also took in nearly 174,000 new non-permanent residents over the past two years. <\/p>\n<p> \u201cInterprovincial migration has also played a key role,\u201d Zanzana said, adding that the province had chalked up 12 consecutive quarterly population gains as of the second quarter, leading its provincial counterparts. <\/p>\n<p> Alberta has recently been a magnet for Canadians seeking affordability, especially in the <\/p>\n<p>                        housing market<\/p>\n<p>                        , which has drawn priced-out home hunters from Ontario and British Columbia, Canada\u2019s most expensive housing markets. <\/p>\n<p> \u201cThe boom has been a key source of economic momentum, but it has also presented challenges for newcomers looking for work,\u201d Zanzana said, adding that job creation has failed to keep up with the number of available workers. <\/p>\n<p> Where does Alberta go from here? <\/p>\n<p> First off, the labour market in September improved from August, when Alberta\u2019s unemployment rate stood at 8.4 per cent. <\/p>\n<p> Zanzana doesn\u2019t expect the unemployment problem to evaporate, but to start improving as federal immigration cuts take effect, something that\u00a0is already showing up in Alberta\u2019s <\/p>\n<p>                        population<\/p>\n<p>                         numbers. <\/p>\n<p> But he thinks the province will remain a draw for other Canadians. <\/p>\n<p> \u201cHowever, we expect Alberta\u2019s in-migration to remain relatively strong, supported, in part, by sustained interprovincial arrivals, which won\u2019t entirely eliminate absorption challenges for job seekers,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n<p> Royal Bank is forecasting an unemployment rate for Alberta in 2026 of 7.1 per cent compared with a national average of 6.6 per cent. <\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p> <em><strong>\u00a0Sign up here to get Posthaste delivered straight to your inbox.<\/strong><\/em> <\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p> <strong><br \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1758646\" height=\"114\" src=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/subhead_leading.png\" width=\"838\" \/><\/strong> <\/p>\n<p> \u00a0 <\/p>\n<section class=\"story-v2-content-element article-content__content-group article-content__content-group--story\">\n<div class=\"story-v2-content-element-inline\">\n<section class=\"story-v2-content-element article-content__content-group article-content__content-group--story\">\n<div class=\"story-v2-content-element-inline\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Canada travel to U.S. chart\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-3946122\" height=\"855\" src=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/travel--1.png\" width=\"1000\" \/><\/div>\n<div class=\"story-v2-content-element-inline\">\n<section class=\"story-v2-content-element article-content__content-group article-content__content-group--story\">\n<div class=\"story-v2-content-element-inline\">\n<section class=\"story-v2-content-element article-content__content-group article-content__content-group--story\">\n<div class=\"story-v2-content-element-inline\"><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"story-v2-content-element article-content__content-group article-content__content-group--story\">\n<div class=\"story-v2-content-element-inline\">\n<section class=\"story-v2-content-element article-content__content-group article-content__content-group--story\">\n<div class=\"story-v2-content-element-inline\">\n<p>The number of Canadian residents returning from trips to the United States declined again in August, dropping to 2.9 million trips or a 29.7 per cent decrease from a year ago, according to the latest monthly travel data from Statistics Canada.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"story-v2-content-element article-content__content-group article-content__content-group--story\">\n<div class=\"story-v2-content-element-inline\">\n<p>While the number of trips to Canada by U.S. residents was also down in August, decreasing 1.4 per cent from 2024 to 3.2 million trips, there were more U.S. residents travelling north of the border than Canadian residents travelling south. \u2014 <em>Denise Paglinawan, Financial Post<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Read the full story here.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section><\/div>\n<\/section><\/div>\n<\/section><\/div>\n<\/section><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"story-v2-content-element article-content__content-group article-content__content-group--story\">\n<div class=\"story-v2-content-element-inline\">\n<section class=\"story-v2-content-element article-content__content-group article-content__content-group--story\">\n<div class=\"story-v2-content-element-inline\">\n<section class=\"story-v2-content-element article-content__content-group article-content__content-group--story\">\n<div class=\"story-v2-content-element-inline\">\n<section class=\"story-v2-content-element article-content__content-group article-content__content-group--story\">\n<div class=\"story-v2-content-element-inline\">\n<hr \/><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"story-v2-content-element article-content__content-group article-content__content-group--story\">\n<div class=\"visually-hidden\"><\/div>\n<\/section><\/div>\n<\/section><\/div>\n<\/section><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1758643\" height=\"114\" src=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/subhead_breaking.png\" width=\"838\" \/> <\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span><strong>Today\u2019s data: <\/strong>Statistics Canada releases retail sales for August<br \/> <\/span><\/li>\n<li><span><strong>Today\u2019s earnings: <\/strong>Rogers Communications Inc., Honeywell International Inc., Intel Corp., Alaska Air Group Inc., Sunoco LP, Ford Motor Co.<\/span><br \/> <br \/>\n<hr \/>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> <strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-3080180\" height=\"114\" src=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/subhead_marketsam.jpeg\" width=\"838\" \/><\/strong> <\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" data-has-syndication-rights=\"1\" data-license-id=\"\" data-portal-copyright=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/chart-1023-ph.jpg\" title=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<figure class=\"embedded-image\"><\/figure>\n<hr \/>\n<p> <strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-3080181\" height=\"114\" src=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/subhead_reads.jpeg\" width=\"838\" \/><\/strong> <\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Death of a hedge fund prodigy<\/li>\n<li>Desjardins estimates federal deficit will be the highest in 30 years<\/li>\n<li>U.S. consumers will soon feel full impact of Auto Pact fallout<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<p> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2059284\" height=\"114\" src=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/subhead_personal_finance_2.png\" width=\"838\" \/> <\/p>\n<p> A FP reader would like advice on how to diversify out of guaranteed investment certificates and into something that pays a better return such as dividend or potential capital appreciation stocks. He said he in the process of deciding how to best invest $600,000 he received from the sale of his home. He has already maxed out his tax-free savings account, but has unused contribution room in his registered retirement savings plan. Keep reading <\/p>\n<p>                        here<\/p>\n<p>                         to find out what FP Answers suggests. <\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p> Are you worried about having enough for retirement? Do you need to adjust your portfolio? Are you starting out or making a change and wondering how to build wealth? Are you trying to make ends meet? Drop us a line at <\/p>\n<p>                        wealth@postmedia.com<\/p>\n<p>                         with your contact info and the gist of your problem and we\u2019ll find some experts to help you out while writing a Family Finance story about it (we\u2019ll keep your name out of it, of course). <\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>McLister on mortgages<\/h2>\n<p> Want to learn more about mortgages? Mortgage strategist Robert McLister\u2019s <\/p>\n<p>                        Financial Post column <\/p>\n<p>                        can help navigate the complex sector, from the latest trends to financing opportunities you won\u2019t want to miss. Plus, check out his <\/p>\n<p>                        mortgage rate page<\/p>\n<p>                         for Canada\u2019s lowest national mortgage rates, updated daily. <\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Financial Post on YouTube<\/h2>\n<p> Visit the Financial Post\u2019s <\/p>\n<p>                        YouTube channel<\/p>\n<p>                         for interviews with Canada\u2019s leading experts in business, economics, housing, the energy sector and more. <\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p> <em>Today\u2019s Posthaste was written by Gigi Suhanic, with additional reporting from Financial Post staff, Canadian Press and Bloomberg.<\/em> <\/p>\n<p> Have a story idea, pitch, embargoed report or a suggestion for this newsletter? Email us at <\/p>\n<p>                        posthaste@postmedia.com<\/p>\n<p>                        . <\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p> <em><strong>Bookmark our website and support our journalism:<\/strong> Don\u2019t miss the business news you need to know \u2014 add\u00a0financialpost.com\u00a0to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters here<\/em> <\/p>\n\n<br \/>Posthaste: Why Alberta might be too popular for its own good<\/a><br \/>\n<br \/>2025-10-23 12:00:26<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Alberta has a lot going for it: less exposure to the United States tariffs that other provinces face, rising oil production from the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion and economic performance&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":65706,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-65705","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-economy"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65705","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65705"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65705\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/media\/65706"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65705"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65705"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65705"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}