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COVID-19 has put Canada in a “deep fiscal hole,” and the only way to get out of it is to spark the oil and gas sector, Premier Jason Kenney said Friday.
Noting the federal government’s announcement Wednesday it expected to post a $343-billion deficit, Kenney expressed optimism that demand for oil would bolster Alberta’s recovery.
“When the global economy comes back from COVID, when demand returns for oil and gas, we are going to see something of a supply shortage, because of the upstream exploration that has been cancelled,” he said at a Friday news conference.
“So we’ll see prices go up, and that will be a great opportunity for Alberta especially as we make progress on pipelines,” Kenney said.
At Friday’s market close, West Texas Intermediate crude was priced at just over US$40.
TC Energy’s Keystone XL pipeline, which the government of Alberta has committed $7 billion in financial support, faced a legal hurdle this week when the U.S. Supreme Court refused to let construction begin on the project.
Read More: Jason Kenney sees supply shortage in oil and gas when global economy
