5.11 – Introduction deck: Key Prairie economic and environmental challenges

Shift from leading to average economic growth largely due to reduced capital expenditures (i.e., investment)

• Capital expenditures down 29% from 2014 high ($126 billion), entirely accounted for by decline in oil and gas.

Reduced capital intensity explains nearly all the decline in labour productivity growth

• The Prairies are leading in labour productivity but concentrated in few industries and is declining.
• Driven by primary resource extraction – directly related to size of mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction industry.

The Prairies’ biggest economic strengths are also the Prairies’ biggest environmental challenges

• Prairie greenhouse gas emissions are now larger than the rest of Canada, combined.
• Oil and gas comprises just over 50% of total emissions in 2022.
• On a “per Gross Domestic Product” basis, every single sector on the Prairies has higher emissions compared to the same sectors for the rest of Canada.

In the face of drought, fire and other natural disasters, climate resiliency gains importance

• Water is a basic necessity for life and industry. But shortages are causing poor crop yields and quality, culled herds, and low water levels for hydroelectric power generation, among other effects.
• Large and destructive wildfires are becoming a common occurrence.
• Five of the past six years appear in the Top 10 highest insured severe-weather loss years in Canada.