According to the Conference Board of Canada, Calgary’s economy will decline by 1.2 percent and will be the country’s poorest performer this year.
The think tank researches and analyzes economic trends and says the sharp drop in oil prices will have severe consequences for Calgary.
"The collapse in oil prices has significantly altered the economic outlook among Canada's largest cities. In fact, among the 13 cities covered in this edition of our report, Calgary will have the worst-performing metropolitan economy this year," said Alan Arcand, Associate Director, Centre for Municipal Studies. "The city's economic growth should resume next year as oil prices begin to recover, albeit at a modest pace of 1.5 percent."
The Conference Board of Canada says the city's resources and agriculture and utilities sector, which includes the oil extraction industry, will pull back by 2.3 percent and energy jobs are expected to drop by 8.1 percent this year.
They say the plunge in oil prices will also affect housing starts, which are expected to fall by over 30 percent, because of a slowdown in net migration and job growth.
Construction activity is also expected to weaken as business investment drops and a cutback by consumers in spending is predicted to impact wholesale and retail trade by 1.5 percent this year.
The board says the transportation and warehousing sector will also be depleted by about 3.1 percent because of lower energy prices.
Calgary is not the only city to feel the pinch. Edmonton, Regina and Saskatoon will also feel the effects of a shrinking economy.
The spring outlook indicates that Toronto, Vancouver, and Halifax will be the fastest growing metropolitan economies in the country this year, each with gains of 3.1 percent.
The numbers were released in the Conference Board of Canada's Metropolitan Outlook: Spring 2015.
