By The Canadian Press

Economic Downturns – Ontario 2009 was Worse than Alberta 2016

Aug 15, 2016 | 6:39 AM

OTTAWA:   Federal documents say Ontario’s auto sector absorbed a far greater economic wallop during the financial crisis than the damage low oil prices have inflicted on Alberta.

The memo circulated earlier this year examined the two economic crises after some observers had called on governments to help Alberta’s energy industry much like the 2009 bailout of the automotive sector.

The document says the auto sector’s situation was much more dire when the federal and Ontario governments spent 13.7 billion dollars to bail out Chrysler and General Motors.

It says the unemployment rate in Alberta’s oil sector climbed to 7.9 per cent last year, up from 2.9 per cent in 2011.

By comparison, the analysis found the jobless rate in Ontario’s auto sector peaked at 21.9 per cent in 2009, an increase from 8.4 per cent in 2007.

What's Happening in Lethbridge this weekend: April 19, 2024

2h ago

What's Happening in Lethbridge this week: April 15, 2024

Apr 15, 2024

Week-in-review: Street sweeping, policing in Coaldale and #SlowYourRoll

Apr 13, 2024

The latest job numbers showed Alberta’s overall unemployment rate climbed last month to 8.6 per cent its highest mark in nearly 22 years.

The federal government announced earlier this year that Alberta was eligible for an automatic payment of $251.4 million in financial relief through a seldom-used fiscal stabilization program.