(Dreamstime)

By David Opinko

still lowest in canada

Report: Consumer confidence in Alberta returns to pre-pandemic levels

Jan 25, 2021 | 12:29 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – Nearly a full year after the COVID-19 pandemic began, Albertans are feeling more confident about their financial situations.

A new report from the Conference Board of Canada (CBOC) says the province’s index score for consumer confidence surpassed the level seen in February 2020 for the first time since the pandemic began.

Their tool uses the score from January 2014 as a benchmark out of 100.

In February 2020, the provincial confidence level was 63. That dropped as low as 21 in April.

By December, the number increased to 49, and in January, it shot up 15.3 points to 64.6.

Nighttime construction on Hwy 3 in Lethbridge starts April 17

Apr 17, 2025

SASHA launches #BuyABed fundraiser to support vulnerable Lethbridge residents

Apr 04, 2025

$20K grants available: TELUS STORYHIVE Pan-Asian Edition opens applications April 1

Mar 18, 2025

According to CBOC, this means Alberta is the first province to recover to its pre-pandemic level. However, they acknowledge that consumer confidence in Alberta remains historically low.

“Rising oil prices along with COVID-19 cases falling since mid-December 2020 has helped Albertans’ confidence recover on all four survey questions this month,” reads a section of CBOC’s report.

“With improved optimism about the future, the positive response rate on the question of major purchases rose 9.3 percentage points to 24.8 per cent this month, the greatest improvement across regions.”

At the same time, they expect February’s consumer confidence score to be lower due to the cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline expansion permit in the U.S.

The national consumer confidence score in January 2021 was 90.7.

The Atlantic Provinces (122), Quebec (113), and B.C. (110) helped to push the Canada-wide number to this height.

Although Alberta’s score has recovered to its pre-pandemic level, the most recent number is still the lowest of all provinces.

(Conference Board of Canada)