As the broader Canadian economy continues to produce an abysmal GDP growth of 0.8%, Alberta is thriving and growing at a rate over five times higher than Canada’s.

For two consecutive quarters, Canada has posted a GDP growth of just 0.8% — just high enough so that the government can say that we aren’t technically in a recession.

Conversely, Alberta, along with Saskatchewan, is leading the way in growth in real gross domestic product, largely due to the oil and gas sector.

According to TD Bank, Alberta is currently on track to grow the real GDP of the province by a rate of 5.5%, while an Alberta government news release says that the government is expecting GDP to grow by 4.9%. Either way, this is more than five times that of the country.

As TD Bank reports, “Alberta is likely to lead the way in terms of economic growth this year, as the steep climb in crude oil, natural gas and agricultural prices lift incomes in the province…. Job growth in Alberta has been solid so far this year, bolstered by gains in the private sector. In fact, private sector hiring has been the strongest of any province year-to-date, supported by industries tied to re-openings (e.g., accommodation and food services, retail trade), the professional, scientific, and technical services sector, and mining, oil, and gas.”

Thanks to the success of Alberta’s businesses, the province has boasted a record-breaking, oil-fueled surplus, allowing the government to make the largest single-year debt repayment in the province’s history.

According to the news release, the government will pay off $13.4 billion of its over $90 billion owing.

“Alberta’s commitment to fiscal discipline and our unrelenting focus on economic growth has helped bring about an extraordinary turnaround in our financial situation. We promised Albertans we would get our fiscal house in order, and that’s exactly what we’ve done,” said Premier Jason Kenney.

“Now, we’re paying down debt so future generations won’t have to, saving more for a rainy day, and putting more money in Albertans’ pockets.”

We get a totally different picture if we look at Canada as a whole. Thanks to the out-of-control spending of the Liberal government, Canada’s national debt has risen by over $300 billion from $721.36 billion in debt in 2020 to over $1 trillion in 2022 — higher than anyone could have imagined before COVID.