Alberta's economy will grow again in 2017: BMO report

Another major Canadian bank is predicting Alberta's economy will return to growth in 2017, after two years of recession.

The BMO Blue Book report for October says Alberta's real GDP shrank by four per cent in 2015 and is expected to contract by another 2.3 per cent by the end of this year, before rebounding in 2017.

The report forecasts 2.3 per cent growth in Alberta next year — second only to B.C.'s mark of 2.5 per cent.

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BMO senior economist Benjamin Reitzes said Alberta's economy bounced back slightly in the third quarter of 2016 and he expects the trend to continue into the new year.

"You're seeing kind of some very early signs that broader investment is improving, that oil prices look as though they've bottomed and they're back over $50 today, so that's good news," he said.

But, he cautioned: "We're not expecting an investment boom, by any means."

"A return to the robust four per cent to five per cent growth clip seen prior to the oil price shock is unlikely in the near term," BMO chief economist and managing director Douglas Porter says in the report.






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