Boomtown no more: How Alberta's economy has changed, in spite of sky-high oil prices
BNN Bloomberg
To take the temperature of the local economy, Lloydminster Mayor Gerald Aalbers only needs to look out the window.
From his office at City Hall, Aalbers — who, because Lloydminster straddles the Alberta-Saskatchewan boundary, has the unique distinction of serving residents in two provinces — has a direct line of sight to Highway 16. The highway is a major east-west corridor frequented by heavy-haul trucks and half-tons on their way to the oilfields that dot the surrounding region.
But in spite of 2022's sharp uptick in crude prices (hitting as high as US$120 per barrel earlier this year before declining to the mid-$80 range this fall), and even as Canadian oil companies boast record revenues and all-time high production levels, the volume of traffic along the highway has only moderately increased, Aalbers said.
"We're seeing traffic pick up earlier in the morning and a little more traffic throughout the city," Aalbers said.
