Light at End of Tunnel
December 29, 2011 Lisa Joy, The Lacombe Globe
Throughout the world, 2011 was marked by the continued global economic crisis, which began in September 2008.
But it's not all doom and gloom.
According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Canada is better positioned than many countries to weather the global recession.
Charles Kramer, of the IMF, attributed Canada's stronger position to three things: 1) Entering the crisis from a position of strength because of our strong macroeconomic policy management, which cut debt and kept up price stability; 2) the federal Conservative's Economic Action Plan; and 3) Regulations that kept Canadian banks financially stable.
In November, the Fraser Institute, an independent Canadian public policy research and educational organization, released a report called Economic Freedom of North America 2011, which rated standards of living throughout North America.
The report revealed that Alberta is the most economically free jurisdiction in all of North America. Alberta came out ahead of all 60 U.S. States and Canadian provinces.
That's good news.
Fred McMahon, vice-president of international research and the co-author of Economic Freedom of North America 2011, said, "High levels of economic freedom are a key ingredient in creating prosperity."
Following Alberta in the top five were: Delaware, Texas, Nevada and Colorado, respectively. But the report said that Quebec and Ontario continue to lag behind, rating 58 and 49, respectively.
Also, Central Alberta is in a strong position for recovery.
Vancouver analyst, Don Campbell, of Real Estate Investment Network (REIN), Canada's leading real estate education, research and education organization, said Central Alberta is a great spot to be when the global economic downturn ends.
He said when the world economy recovers, they will be looking for three things, fuel, food and fertilizer – all of which Central Alberta has.