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Add TD Economics to a growing list of forecasters predicting Alberta’s economy will be in a recession this year.

On Thursday, it released a report saying the province’s economy will contract by 0.9 per cent this year after leading the country in 2014 with 4.5 per cent growth.

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The report said the Alberta economy would rebound in 2016, growing by two per cent.

The contraction is “driven largely by the construction sector,” said the report.

“A double whammy of reduced capital spending in the oilpatch and a projected 10 per cent decline in housing starts are expected to take a toll,” it said. “In contrast, oil production is on track to grow (four to five per cent) this year, providing a partial offset to the retrenchment in investment.

“The recent wildfires will put a dent in oil output in the second quarter, but the impact on an annual average basis is expected to be marginal as only 10 per cent of oilsands production was affected for roughly three weeks.”