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Alberta

The world is full of options

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The world is full of options.

Keep dreaming or cut your hopes? With opinions dominating every aspect of life, whose judgment can you trust? Should we step outside or wait until the siren stops wailing?

Right now, almost at this moment, the National Hockey League is asking those questions: push aside all obstacles and restart the abbreviated current season, or accept that games without fans won’t provide the answer, and the emotional, fan-driven thrills, that supporters truly want? Those questions are front and centre for commissioner Gary Bettman and his paid advisers, as well as for all of us who count on sports – especially hockey, even in what should be baseball season – to fill essential blanks in our schedules. Another group waits more anxiously than ticket-buyers or big-screen addicts possibly could.

The players, of course.

For many, their future next season – even beyond whatever shape their game takes in the short term – is transcendent. Those who have endured a difficult partial season obviously have more concerns than those whose team standings and personal statistics are beyond rebuke. But that, in every sport, is a minority. Far more common are those who cannot tell what next year will bring.

It’s entirely possible that one such man will be Mark Pysyk, the former Edmonton Oil Kings captain who became a first-round draft choice of the Buffalo Sabres in the 2010 entry draft and later was traded to the Florida Panthers, where his career has been solid but, as he would clearly admit, not spectacular.

Pysyk holds a high place in Oil Kings junior history. Although his profile never reached the level of Hall-of-Famers Johnny Bucyk or Norm Ullman, nor Al Hamilton and coaching great Pat Quinn and Hall-of-Fame builder Glen Sather, he was the first prospect to don an Edmonton uniform when the franchise returned to organized hockey in 2007 after a long period of ugly sports politics kept this community on the outside looking in.

Pysyk played only 14 Western Hockey League games that season but was a junior star from then on. After Buffalo grabbed him, he played part of one season in the American Hockey League. Since then, he has been fully employed, except for three games in Rochester while recovering from an injury in the 2015-16 season, shortly before he became part of a draft day trade that sent him to the Florida Panthers.

In the next two seasons at his sunny South home, Pysyk performed almost exactly as before: go to work, do the job, get ready for practice tomorrow. seven goals and 33 points in 164 regular-season games; impressive enough, he was, to remain protected in the Las Vegas expansion draft. Then, last season, it was down to one goal and 10 points in 70 games. Word leaked that he would be available for the right trade offer.

Some idle time at the start of this season could not have been unexpected. New head coaches – Joel Quenneville, in this case – always bring change. Blueliners Aaron Ekblad and Anton Stralman played longer minutes. Mike Matheson and MacKenzie Weegar contributed to Pysyk’s extra rest. Then came the change that provided a whole new picture – at least potentially.

Pysyk became a right winger. He scored nine goals – easily his best ever – and the Panthers remained, somehow, as playoff possibilities. His defensive abilities helped keep opposition scoring chances down while this third (sometimes fourth) line improved the offence.

That happy collection of events certainly has presented new possibilities. Will he be a Panther next season? Will he be a forward or a defenceman? Is there any chance that the astute Quenneville saw something other analysts missed before Pysyk arrived.

Eventually, this quality young man will use his ability and his character to answer those questions.

What is Calvin McCarty’s future with the Eskimos?

Alberta

Big win for Alberta and Canada: Statement from Premier Smith

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Premier Danielle Smith issued the following statement on the April 2, 2025 U.S. tariff announcement:

“Today was an important win for Canada and Alberta, as it appears the United States has decided to uphold the majority of the free trade agreement (CUSMA) between our two nations. It also appears this will continue to be the case until after the Canadian federal election has concluded and the newly elected Canadian government is able to renegotiate CUSMA with the U.S. administration.

“This is precisely what I have been advocating for from the U.S. administration for months.

“It means that the majority of goods sold into the United States from Canada will have no tariffs applied to them, including zero per cent tariffs on energy, minerals, agricultural products, uranium, seafood, potash and host of other Canadian goods.

“There is still work to be done, of course. Unfortunately, tariffs previously announced by the United States on Canadian automobiles, steel and aluminum have not been removed. The efforts of premiers and the federal government should therefore shift towards removing or significantly reducing these remaining tariffs as we go forward and ensuring affected workers across Canada are generously supported until the situation is resolved.

“I again call on all involved in our national advocacy efforts to focus on diplomacy and persuasion while avoiding unnecessary escalation. Clearly, this strategy has been the most effective to this point.

“As it appears the worst of this tariff dispute is behind us (though there is still work to be done), it is my sincere hope that we, as Canadians, can abandon the disastrous policies that have made Canada vulnerable to and overly dependent on the United States, fast-track national resource corridors, get out of the way of provincial resource development and turn our country into an independent economic juggernaut and energy superpower.”

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Alberta

Energy sector will fuel Alberta economy and Canada’s exports for many years to come

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From the Fraser Institute

By Jock Finlayson

By any measure, Alberta is an energy powerhouse—within Canada, but also on a global scale. In 2023, it produced 85 per cent of Canada’s oil and three-fifths of the country’s natural gas. Most of Canada’s oil reserves are in Alberta, along with a majority of natural gas reserves. Alberta is the beating heart of the Canadian energy economy. And energy, in turn, accounts for one-quarter of Canada’s international exports.

Consider some key facts about the province’s energy landscape, as noted in the Alberta Energy Regulator’s (AER) 2023 annual report. Oil and natural gas production continued to rise (on a volume basis) in 2023, on the heels of steady increases over the preceding half decade. However, the dollar value of Alberta’s oil and gas production fell in 2023, as the surging prices recorded in 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine retreated. Capital spending in the province’s energy sector reached $30 billion in 2023, making it the leading driver of private-sector investment. And completion of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project has opened new offshore export avenues for Canada’s oil industry and should boost Alberta’s energy production and exports going forward.

In a world striving to address climate change, Alberta’s hydrocarbon-heavy energy sector faces challenges. At some point, the world may start to consume less oil and, later, less natural gas (in absolute terms). But such “peak” consumption hasn’t arrived yet, nor does it appear imminent. While the demand for certain refined petroleum products is trending down in some advanced economies, particularly in Europe, we should take a broader global perspective when assessing energy demand and supply trends.

Looking at the worldwide picture, Goldman Sachs’ 2024 global energy forecast predicts that “oil usage will increase through 2034” thanks to strong demand in emerging markets and growing production of petrochemicals that depend on oil as the principal feedstock. Global demand for natural gas (including LNG) will also continue to increase, particularly since natural gas is the least carbon-intensive fossil fuel and more of it is being traded in the form of liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Against this backdrop, there are reasons to be optimistic about the prospects for Alberta’s energy sector, particularly if the federal government dials back some of the economically destructive energy and climate policies adopted by the last government. According to the AER’s “base case” forecast, overall energy output will expand over the next 10 years. Oilsands output is projected to grow modestly; natural gas production will also rise, in part due to greater demand for Alberta’s upstream gas from LNG operators in British Columbia.

The AER’s forecast also points to a positive trajectory for capital spending across the province’s energy sector. The agency sees annual investment rising from almost $30 billion to $40 billion by 2033. Most of this takes place in the oil and gas industry, but “emerging” energy resources and projects aimed at climate mitigation are expected to represent a bigger slice of energy-related capital spending going forward.

Like many other oil and gas producing jurisdictions, Alberta must navigate the bumpy journey to a lower-carbon future. But the world is set to remain dependent on fossil fuels for decades to come. This suggests the energy sector will continue to underpin not only the Alberta economy but also Canada’s export portfolio for the foreseeable future.

Jock Finlayson

Senior Fellow, Fraser Institute
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