Alberta outperforming Saskatchewan

White_Unifier

White_Unifier

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Feb 21, 2017
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mentalfloss said:
For more than a century, Canada's twin sisters of Confederation – Alberta and Saskatchewan – have always loved to compare themselves. The two became provinces on the same day in 1905, and for the first half of their lives Saskatchewan was the over-achiever. In the 1920s and 1930s, it boasted more than twice as many people as Alberta and was the preferred destination of waves of European immigrants.

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By the second-half of the century, however, Alberta kicked into high gear and easily outperformed Saskatchewan in economic growth and political influence. Saskatchewan looked on with jealously of her twin who had left her in the Prairie dust.

More recently, with the nasty recession that gripped Alberta in 2015 and 2016, the tables have turned. Alberta is once again looking at her sister with some envy; there's a notion that Saskatchewan is outperforming her. Saskatchewan's current unemployment rate of 6.4 per cent is much lower than Alberta's 8.8 per cent. And unlike Alberta, Saskatchewan has not recently changed its provincial government. Some in Alberta are crediting the small "c" conservative policies of the Brad Wall government for Saskatchewan's stronger economic performance.

But is it true? Is Saskatchewan's economy actually outperforming Alberta's? A closer look at the data would suggest that it is not – at least not with respect to jobs. Employment in both provinces has fallen over the course of the past few years by the same amount.

The graph below shows the annual year-over-year per-cent change in total employment. Because monthly data can jump up and down erratically, the data are smoothed using a 12-month trend line. This shows how closely the labour markets in both provinces have moved.

Back in 2012 when Alberta and Saskatchewan were enjoying a petroleum-induced boom, employment was growing steadily by about 3 per cent annually – more than twice the national average. But even before oil prices started to drop in mid-2014, job growth in Saskatchewan started to stall. Alberta's, on the other hand, remained solid until the end of 2015, at which point it started to drop steeply.

From the record-high level of employment a few years ago to January of this year, both provinces have seen precisely the same drop of 1.9 per cent. That fact runs counter to the narrative that Saskatchewan's job market has fared any better than Alberta's.

https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/re...http://www.theglobeandmail.com&service=mobile
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Quick! Saskatchewan needs to raise tariffs against Alberta!
 
Cannuck

Cannuck

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Feb 2, 2006
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The first thing Alberta would do is rename Regina to something that doesn't rhyme with vag ina (I can't believe that word gets censored). People are laughing at you Regina.
 
petros

petros

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You live in a Saskatchewan outpost. A place where it's easier to buy Roughriders toque than it is to buy anything Albertan.
 
Cannuck

Cannuck

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petros said:
You live in a Saskatchewan outpost. A place where it's easier to buy Roughriders toque than it is to buy anything Albertan.
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Yes, it's a sad commentary on the province that the best thing about it is a ridiculously inept football team in a second rate league.

While I appreciate your effort, I really don't need you to keep proving my point.
 
White_Unifier

White_Unifier

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I remember reading that negotiating trade deals with Canada is difficult because of all the differences between the provinces. Just a thought.
 
petros

petros

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Oh no, we trade with Alberta. Cannuck is able to be online thanks to his area being tied to the SK electrical grid. It is after all a SK outpost.
 
White_Unifier

White_Unifier

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petros said:
Oh no, we trade with Alberta. Cannuck is able to be online thanks to his area being tied to the SK electrical grid. It is after all a SK outpost.
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I meant that due to powers being shared between federal and provincial, if a trade deal involves education for example, then the provinces might need to be in on it too. Similar to why negotiating with the EU can be a pain sometimes.
 
Cannuck

Cannuck

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petros said:
It's OK. Maybe some day Albertans
will support one of their own teams.
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You mean one of the two CFL teams or one of the two NHL teams? We have NHL hockey here.

How pathetic is it that the Riders are held up as a success. More people in the world care about Anne of Green Gables then know who the Riders are.

I will admit that I erred calling the CFL a second rate league. It's actually a third rate league behind the NFL and NCAA
 
petros

petros

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But you aren't part of Alberta. You are in a Saskatchewan outpost. Your electricity even comes from SK. Enjoy.
 
Cannuck

Cannuck

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Oh-oh...you're talking silly again. You always start that when you're butthurt.

Medicine Hat - 5 Chynoweth Cups

All Saskatistan shyteholes combined - 7 Chynoweth Cups (and none in the last 25 years)

It's not just football they suck at.

Is there anything Saskatistan is good at (Besides raising gophers and drinking Pil-swill)?
 
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