Article content

It’s a tale of one province, two cities, and two starkly different economies. And it’s a division that poses significant political challenges — and leadership opportunities — for Rachel Notley’s government.

According to the latest job report from Statistics Canada, the unemployment rate in Calgary last month was a sobering 8.4 per cent, up from 6.9 per cent this past October. That means Calgary actually has a higher unemployment rate right now than traditionally soft job markets including St. John’s, N.L., or Saint John, N.B. In fact, the only major city in Canada with a higher unemployment rate is Montreal.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Paula Simons: Job numbers reveal Edmonton, Calgary as two Alberta solitudes Back to video

In Edmonton? Well, we’re not completely insulated from the collapse in world oil prices. But with Alberta as a whole experiencing its worst unemployment in 30 years, we’re still in a bit of a bubble.

In the last 12 months, Calgary has lost 20,000 jobs. But over that same time period, says the City of Edmonton’s chief economist, John Rose, Edmonton actually gained 25,000 jobs. In February alone, says Rose, the city gained 1,300 new jobs, though most of those were part-time positions.