Alberta Economic Fundamentals

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Alberta builders tackle backlog

EDMONTON - Alberta`s non-home builders were busy the first three months of the year, show figures released Monday by Statistics Canada.

The total value of non-residential construction in Alberta rose to $2.5 billion, up 5.1 per cent from the last three months of 2007.

It`s the 19th consecutive quarterly increase.

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news...13-bf0fb918bfc1

 

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Farmland prices up 10.3 per cent

EDMONTON - Record grain and oilseed prices helped push up Alberta farmland prices 10.3 per cent in the second half of 2007, according Farm Credit Canada.

Demand for specialty crops like potatoes, and the growth of the biofuels industry also increased the demand for farmland, especially in the central and northern regions, FCC said in its spring report.

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news...74-5c001e218436

 

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Land-use blueprint alters how we work, live, play

More than a decade after Alberta abandoned regional planning, a move that fuelled battles over development across the province, the Stelmach government is proposing a dramatic shift that would affect everything from recreation to housing construction to oil and gas drilling.

In a draft copy of the province`s sweeping land-use framework obtained by the Herald, the government concedes Alberta`s development has reached "a tipping point." Albertans` quality of life will deteriorate, the report warns, if the province sticks with what it calls its current laissez-faire approach to planning.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/s...d0-925327a5c2fd

 

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Ponoka annexation would double town limits

Questions and concerns from Ponoka County residents riddled a Town of Ponoka annexation meeting Monday, despite the mayor`s praise for plans to pull up to 4,351 acres of land into town limits.

"If a community grows at a slow rate, or not at all, it goes backward," said Mayor Larry Henkelman. "We have people who want to come in and develop."

http://www.albertalocalnews.com/reddeeradv...own_limits.html

 

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Brownfield sites out of city`s hands

Most local residents are aware of one or two brownfield sites in Red Deer. But a listing prepared for the city five years ago identified more than a dozen former service stations or fuel storage facilities where contamination problems persist.

Whether such lands are vacant or underutilized, they represent a lost opportunity, suggests Red Deer Mayor Morris Flewwelling.

"We have an interest in seeing the sites redeveloped, because it`s going to increase our industrial-commercial tax base. But there really aren`t any levers that we have. The whole thing hinges on the relationship between Alberta Environment and the owner of the site, as I understand it.

http://www.albertalocalnews.com/reddeeradv...itys_hands.html

 

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Suncor Energy to build $55M interchange

CALGARY -- Suncor Energy Inc. plans to build a $55-million interchange on an increasingly busy highway near its Fort McMurray operations and then hand ownership over -- no strings attached -- to Alberta, a province flush with cash because of oil revenue.

"The province is looking at managing infrastructure with investments in the priority areas," said Heather McLachlan, a spokesperson for Alberta Transportation. "By having industry invest infrastructure, it allows [projects] to be built earlier than if we had been able to prioritize [the project] with all of the different projects we have across the province."

http://www.financialpost.com/story.html?id=447861

 

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Alberta biofuel push won`t drive up food prices: minister

Energy Minster Mel Knight said Tuesday Alberta`s push to boost biofuels production won`t significantly impact prices of food for people and animals.

The province`s plan for biofuels will be part of a new energy strategy, which Knight hopes to release within the next three months.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/s...c2-717ffb5cdfd4

 

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City staff asked to head off tax hike

City council has sent its budget back to staff to pare a growing wish list that would have required a 14 per cent tax increase next year.

Council members held an all-day meeting Tuesday to set the guidelines for the upcoming capital and operating budgets. But even before council went into the closed-door session, Mayor Dave Bronconnier asked aldermen to put off the operating budget until this fall.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/c...e6-32425fc6fd62

 

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N.E. overpass awaits developer`s cash

City Hall - The City of Calgary will start work on a pedestrian overpass near Westwinds LRT station once it receives a $3.5-million contribution from an area developer.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/c...a4-d9a969db1110

 

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Business flocking to suburban offices

Calgary companies continue to look for office space in the suburban market as booming construction activity takes place throughout the city, says a report by CB Richard Ellis.

The commercial real estate firm says 2.1 million square feet of new suburban office space should be completed by the end of 2008, with 71 per cent of that pre-leased. And there is a total of 3.66 million square feet under construction in the suburban market with various completion dates falling between 2008 and 2010 -- with 2.2 million square feet, or 60 per cent, already pre-leased.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/c...27-1988a9f9bb32

 

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Alberta gets chance to shine

Does anyone care anymore? Oil prices hit another all-time high on Tuesday, topping $114 US a barrel in after-hours trading, after reaching a record close of $113.86 on North American markets.

The seemingly endless upward trajectory of oil prices is almost becoming a non-event these days, a shrug of the shoulders, a passing thought as to what it might mean at the gas pump and perhaps some consideration given to what it means for Alberta.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/c...67-babd09820aeb

 

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16-storey condo tower approved by city council

EDMONTON - The first highrise building in the downtown district called The Quarters has been approved by city council.

Council unanimously approved waiving the six-storey height restriction to allow a 16-storey condo tower to be built on a parking lot at Jasper Avenue and 96th Street.

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news...74-07235b18d7e5

 

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Alberta `losing` its edge in West

EDMONTON - A tone of economic uncertainty was set early at the Edmonton Real Estate Forum Tuesday when a fiscal analyst warned that the Alberta Advantage is becoming the British Columbia and Saskatchewan Advantage.

All three western provinces are prospering, but the neighbours are catching up fast to Alberta, said Niels Veldhuis, director of fiscal studies at the Fraser Institute and a forum speaker at the Shaw Conference Centre.

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news...e6-e69305f8a679

 

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Energy board OKs addition to pipeline

EDMONTON - Enbridge Inc. obtained approval Tuesday for a 138-kilometre addition to its oil-pipeline network in the Edmonton region.

The $300-million project, known as the Line 4 Extension, will increase shipping service for new oilsands production between terminals on the city`s eastern boundary and Hardisty.

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news...ea-de93f2298432

 

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Tories focus on Alberta growth

The Stelmach government slammed its foot on the economic accelerator in Tuesday`s throne speech, serving notice that strengthening the provincial economy is the foundation of its long-term vision and future policy -- including environmental initiatives.

Opposition parties argued the blueprint is incredibly vague and abandons environmental stewardship for economic gain, although Premier Ed Stelmach maintained the two often-competing interests will work in concert.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/s...95-94eccc177dd4

 

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Sylvan beachfront will be revitalized

Visions for a pedestrian-friendly, vibrant and diverse waterfront at Sylvan Lake are well underway.

"The goal of this project is really to leave a legacy for Sylvan Lake," said David Brown, principal of Eidos Consulting Incorporated of Edmonton. "We really sort of won back the beachfront area for the people."

http://www.albertalocalnews.com/reddeeradv...evitalized.html

 

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County earmarks $250,000 for transportation study

Red Deer County will spend about $250,000 to study transportation flows in Gasoline Alley.

The county has done piecemeal studies over time of projects that would affect transportation routes, such as the new Community Savings branch, Mayor Earl Kinsella said during a break from council`s regular Tuesday meeting.

http://www.albertalocalnews.com/reddeeradv...tion_study.html

 

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New licences target foreign nurses

Alberta regulators want to make it easier to hire foreign nurses in the province by introducing a temporary work permit as part of an effort to relieve workforce shortages.

The College and Association of Registered Nurses of Alberta said it`s developing a "temporary, limited" licence that would allow some international nurses who wouldn`t otherwise qualify to practise here. The nurses will still be required to work toward completing all their licensing requirements.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/s...d4-4d7590d9dd12

 

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Power plant proposal questioned

The proposed water source for a natural-gas-fired electricity generating facility to be built in Shepard Industrial park sparked concerns during a public meeting Wednesday night.

More than 100 people showed up to hear Enmax officials talk about the proposed $1-billion-plus plant, which is still in the early planning stages.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/c...59-02a9f89a9f11

 

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Builders demand more consultation on city proposal

A landmark city plan that would significantly alter how development is done in Calgary could be delayed for up to nine months after building and development industry groups complained Wednesday they weren`t consulted sufficiently.

A spokesman from the Calgary Region Home Builders Association, which represents 700 companies, fired a broadside at the city team developing Plan It Calgary, saying he had "grave concerns" with the direction it was taking.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/c...99-c90c5bdfb1a7