Oilsands development will play a bigger role in job creation and economic benefit - more so than any other business in Canada over the next 25 years, according to a new report released Wednesday highlighting the impact of oilsands expansion.
The Conference Board of Canada's study, titled ‘Fuel for Thought,’ estimates $364 billion will be invested into further developing the oilsands by the private sector over the next 25 years.
It’s expected that will create about 140,000 jobs per year, generate more than $170 billion in wages and salaries and create about $80 billion in revenue for provincial and federal governments.
“We’re talking about $364 billion over the next 25 years, if you add in the investment that’s already taken place you’re into that ballpark,” said Michael Burt with the Conference Board of Canada.
Burt says the oil sands development is one of the largest development projects in Canada’s history – and says it is so large it rivals massive public works projects.
“The best analogy I’ve been able to find is, the building of the U.S. Interstate Highway System cost half a trillion dollars over a period of about 40-50 years… we’re talking about something equivalent to building the interstate highway system in the U.S.,” Burt said.
“There’s no other individual project that would account for that much economic activity."
The report says Alberta is expected to receive the most employment impact but other provinces will also be affected. Ontario is expected to experience the largest effects outside of Alberta.
Along with direct impacts, the study says there will also be “supply chain effects” – employment associated with “the use of intermediate inputs or other support services that are part of oilsands development.”
The report suggests a number of different industries will experience supply chain effects as a result of oilsands investment including oil field services, professional services, manufacturing, transportation and warehousing, financial services and wholesale trade.
The report also says oilsands investment will have a significant impact on international trade and investment.
But environmental critics say oilsands development at that scale means more harmful greenhouse gas emissions.
“Already we see tar sands pollution creating almost as much greenhouse gas emissions as all the cars in Canada combined so if we see this type of development, we really are sacrificing our environment,” said Mike Hudema with Greenpeace.
"If we had $365 billion invested in green energy, we'd actually see more jobs, we'd see more economic diversification than this report lays out without sacrificing our environment or fueling a growing climate crisis."
The province says development will occur slowly and says the environment will be protected.
“As we develop and ramp up the development of the oilsands, we have things in place to make sure that the environment and the economy are equally balanced,” said Diana McQueen, Alberta's environment minister.
"We're prepared for the growth, but we're making sure the environmental outcomes are being achieved as well."
McQueen also said she expects technology to improve over the next 25 years – making the extraction process in the oilsands more environmentally-friendly.
The report also mentions challenges to oilsands development including available labour, environmental concerns, capacity constraints and any future federal legislation around capping of greenhouse gases.
The estimates also refer to the impact of ‘developing’ the oilsands region only – they do not include revenue generated from the actual extraction, processing or sale of the oil.
The study was funded by the Government of Alberta and Industry Canada.
With files from Bill Fortier
