Alberta Economy – daveberta.ca – Alberta Politics and Elections

Episode 53: COVID-19 provides cloud cover over Alberta’s economic crisis

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“…in a crisis there are no capitalists left. Everybody is a socialist.”

Zain Velji Daveberta Podcast — Zain Velji

Zain Velji, campaign strategist and Vice President Strategy at Northweather joins host Dave Cournoyer and producer Adam Rozenhart on this episode of the Daveberta Podcast to discuss the how COVID-19 is providing cloud cover to and accelerating Calgary’s economic problems and how the pandemic could provide an opportunity to reshape politics and policies at the municipal, provincial and federal levels.

We also discuss whether the United Conservative Party government is pushing forward with a now outdated agenda and we dive into wild speculation about how this pandemic and economic crisis could impact the 2023 election in Alberta.

The Daveberta Podcast is a member of the Alberta Podcast Network, powered by ATB. The Alberta Podcast Network includes more than 30 great made-in-Alberta podcasts.

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Recommended reading:

Social trust is at the heart of beating this pandemic, and Canadians are showing it in spades (Jim Stanford, Toronto Star, April 25, 2020)
Can this pandemic be the crisis that finally forces us to fix long-term care? (Aaron Wheery, CBC, April 25, 2020)
Ignoring US Alarms, Alberta Meat Packers Spawned Canada’s Biggest Outbreak (Andrew Nikiforuk, The Tyee, April 24, 2020)
Kenney rejects idea of Alberta speaking to Green New Deal advocates after oil prices drop (Global News, April 24, 2020)
My Restaurant Was My Life for 20 Years. Does the World Need It Anymore? (Garbrielle Hamilton, New York Times, April 23, 2020)
Why we’re seeing negative oil prices in Alberta and across North America (The Narwhal, April 20, 2020)
The missing touch: the agony and ecstasy of endless screen time (Benjamin Leszcz, Globe & Mail, April 17, 2020)
Shell unveils plans to become net-zero carbon company by 2050 (The Guardian, April 16, 2020)
Facebook ads suggest UCP trying to build social license for pipelines through PPE donations (Daveberta.ca, April 15, 2020)
The rise of Alberta’s unapologetic petro-patriots (Jason Markusoff, June 15, 2019)

Oklahoma’s Oilfield Prayer Day and The Gospel According to Alberta

Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin has declared October 13, 2016 to be Oilfield Prayer Day, and praying for a the price of oil to recover is something the Republican Governor says people of all faiths, not just Christians, can do.

Oklahoma is an oil state. The State Legislature in Oklahoma City sits on top of an oil field and is the only state legislature grounds in the United States with active oil rigs. Intense use of fracking by the oil and gas industry is suspected to have caused a 5.6 magnitude earthquake in the state in September 2016.

Similar to the economic situation we currently face in Alberta, the sharp decline in the international price of oil has created a bleak situation in Oklahoma.

The Washington Post reports:

Falling oil prices have sapped the state’s economy in the past year and have caused companies to eliminate tens of thousands of industry jobs. The state has made a number of attempts to revive the sector, including giving oil companies huge tax breaks, but the outlook remains bleak.

When it comes to praying for higher oil prices, we Albertans are familiar with a few verses. Our prayer originates from a mythical 1980s bumper sticker and it has even been condensed into a single sentence:

“Dear Lord, please give us another oil boom and we won’t piss it away.” – Alberta, 20:16