WATCH: Alberta Premier Jim Prentice admits all options are on the table as oil revenues plummet, including the introduction of a provincial sales tax. As Reid Fiest reports, even talking about sales tax gets Albertans blood boiling.
EDMONTON – Premier Jim Prentice says the impact of Alberta’s collapsing petro-economy will be felt not just at home but across Canada.
Prentice says Alberta’s oilpatch employs workers from all over the country and central Canadian businesses manufacture oilfield equipment and provide related services.
The premier made the comments to reporters after meeting in Toronto with bank analysts and U.S. Ambassador Bruce Heyman.
READ MORE: Tumbling oil prices mean Alberta faces $500M deficit: premier
Alberta is dealing with the loss of billions of dollars in revenue following a collapse in oil prices to less than US$50 a barrel from US$100 a barrel in the summer.
Oilsands giant Suncor has already announced it is planning to cut about 1,000 jobs.
Prentice is promising fundamental change to Alberta’s books, saying it’s time to get day-to-day spending off the roller-coaster of volatile oil revenues.
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