Alberta’s economy remains in the red with tweaked $6.4B deficit

Falling oil prices and trade troubles continue to threaten Alberta’s finances, but the province’s deficit is expected to shrink only slightly. It has been pegged at $6.4 billion, down $40 million from a projected $6.5 billion this summer. The latest update still means this year’s budget represents a massive multibillion-dollar swing from an $8.3-billion surplus last year. The biggest factor is a 30 per cent decline in natural resource revenue since last year. While February’s budget projected the price of West Texas Intermediate oil — the North American benchmark — to be US$68 a barrel, the province now predicts it…