Oil prices dropped this week, Canada is in a technical recession, and the trade outlook with the United States remains as bumpy as skateboarding down a dirt road marred by potholes. 

Hopefully, the stomach-churning aspects of the journey will be smoother during the second half of the year.  

A new outlook by TD Economics forecasts Alberta’s economy will expand by 2.1 per cent this year, trailing only Newfoundland and Labrador, another energy producing province. 

Alberta’s growth rate in 2026 is expected to lag behind last year’s pace of 2.8 per cent, but outdistance the projected national level of 0.7 per cent expansion. 

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“Overall, the story is one of relative strength,” TD economist Marc Ercolao said Friday of Alberta’s economic outlook. 

“Just given the higher prices in energy markets, that’s provided a bit of a tailwind for the economy as well. So, we’d say that Alberta is basically bucking the trend a bit of the broader slowdown in national growth.” 

The economic outlook is supported by energy sector strength, as oil production is forecast to hit record levels this year and higher-than-expected prices will help boost corporate profits and incomes, the bank said. 

Oil prices surged above US$100 a barrel in April amid the war between the........

© Calgary Herald