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Increased exports and strong job creation mean the economy should grow faster in Alberta than in almost any other province this year, RBC chief economist Craig Wright said Thursday.

He described the 2.3 per cent increase he expects in gross domestic product, exceeded only by the gains in Saskatchewan, as a “bounce” following years of recession, rather than part of Alberta’s traditional boom-bust cycle.

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“We don’t have the big energy investment that we had in the previous boom periods to count on to lift growth prospects,” he said following a speech to the Economics Society of Northern Alberta.

But the province is still recovering from the hit it took after oil prices cratered in 2014, so Wright isn’t worried Alberta’s $10.3-billion deficit will overheat the economy.

“I probably wouldn’t say this to the minister of finance, but I wouldn’t get terribly stressed about the fiscal situation in the province, because there’s capacity in the economy.”