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This is the second in a series of columns about the new Alberta economy.

I had over-interpreted the chairman’s message.

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Murray Mullen, leader of Mullen Group Ltd., the Okotoks, Alta.-based trucking and logistics company that generated about $1 billion in revenue in 2018, said in his annual letter to shareholders that he “will continue to invest in the strength of our business,” specifically, “our business units, our people, and technology.” Mullen reported that he had set aside a capital budget of $75 million for the purpose.

Sounded good to this correspondent, who has experienced the rush of piloting a Freightliner FLC120 on the TransCanada Highway, but who otherwise knows nothing about the trucking business. However, the Bank of Canada has been holding out for a surge in business investment, and here was an example of just that — or not.

“Compared to where we’ve been, we are really, really cautious,” Mullen said in an interview at his company’s Calgary office. “The deals I do today are only for our shareholders. If I do a deal, I consolidate this company and that company and I get rid of jobs because there is no growth in the economy.”