According to new numbers from Statistics Canada, about three out of four businesses in Alberta (72.5%) are either very optimistic (19.6%) or somewhat optimistic (52.9%) about their future over the next 12 months.*

This is about eight percentage points higher than in the first quarter of the year when 64.2% of Alberta businesses said they were feeling optimistic.

As of the second quarter, 14.2% of Alberta businesses were somewhat or very pessimistic about the next 12 months while the remaining 13.2% did not know what to expect.

The national numbers are very similar with 73.5% of Canadian businesses in the “very or somewhat optimistic” category as of the second quarter compared to 67.5% at the start of the year.

Breaking it down by sector, a larger proportion of businesses in 12 out of the 16 main industries in Alberta were in the optimistic category than was the case in Q1.

The construction sector saw the largest increase in optimism, going from 54.1% of businesses saying they were very or somewhat optimistic in the first quarter to 79.9% in the second quarter.

The industry with the highest proportion of businesses feeling optimistic in the second quarter was the arts, entertainment and recreation sector at 83.8%.

At the start of the year, 62.7% of Alberta businesses in the mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction sector said they were optimistic about the next 12 months compared to just 50.0% saying the same in the second quarter.

Oil and gas businesses were also the most likely to say their outlook was “unknown” at 27.5%, up from 12.9% in the previous quarter.

*The Canadian Survey on Business Conditions collects information on the environment businesses are currently operating in and their expectations moving forward. The most recent survey was conducted from April 3 to May 8, 2023.

Answer to the previous trivia question: Including yesterday’s, there have been 31 provincial elections in Alberta.

Today’s trivia question: Calgary has a new team playing in the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL). What is the name of the team?