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By Elizabeth Cannon

With the Alberta legislature reconvening this week, serious challenges face our province. The economy has taken a sharp downturn. The price of oil has dropped to six-year lows. Layoffs plague the workforce as companies try to minimize costs.

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Indications are that the government will respond by launching an infrastructure stimulus program in today’s budget, perhaps investing in long-awaited projects like Calgary’s new cancer centre, flood mitigation and completion of the ring road.

Investing in infrastructure now is a prudent financial decision. The current downturn is creating a favourable investment climate, with the cost of labour and cost of borrowing relatively low. As well, new construction will help retain skilled workers in the province who will then be available when the economy rebounds. Making strategic infrastructure investments now will help stabilize Alberta’s economy over the short term and position the province for future growth.

While determining where to invest in infrastructure, our political leaders should consider the impacts of the post-secondary sector — one of our province’s key economic drivers. Each year, the sector contributes billions of dollars to the local economy. The University of Calgary alone drives more than $8 billion in economic impact to the province. This is both directly through our operating and research activities, but also indirectly as a result of the skilled graduates we produce and the innovative ideas we generate to support Alberta’s socio-economic growth and diversification.