Alberta is cutting business taxes, pumping billions into infrastructure and making a full court press to lure jobs from Toronto, Montreal and elsewhere to rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Canadian exports of crude oil by rail dropped by more than half in April compared to March as North American fuel demand plunged due to measures taken to control the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers says if bridge loans for smaller oil and gas companies aren't ready to flow soon some companies will have to turn to less-safe options to survive the COVID-19 slowdown.

Enbridge Inc. says 800 employees have voluntarily left the company, allowing it to avoid layoffs as it cuts costs to counter impacts from COVID-19 and lower global oil prices.

New forecasts show dramatically lower expectations for 2020 capital spending in the oil and gas sector both nationally and in Alberta, the province that produces 65 per cent of the country's natural gas and 82 per cent of its oil.

The curbed output represents some 10 per cent of the world's overall supply.

The Canadian dollar traded for 72.53 cents US compared with 72.65 cents US on Thursday.

N.L. Natural Resouces Minister Siobhan Coady warns that as each week passes, companies are closing and jobs are being lost.

Western Canadian producers are moving to restore some oil production as crude prices rise with demand thanks to the gradual opening of the world economy and OPEC and Russian output cuts.

Alberta's energy minister says it's a good time to build a pipeline because public health restrictions limit protests against them.