Fort McMurray's rebuild to have positive economic impact: analyst

The Fort McMurray wildfire has hit right at the foot of Canada’s oilsands.
 
CJME business analyst Paul Martin believes the wildfires will have an impact on oil production in the area.
 
“It produces about a million barrels of oil a day and that amounts to about one per cent of the world’s supply and a big chucks of Canada’s obviously,” Martin explained to the CJME Morning Show Tuesday.
 
While production levels may not be impacted globally, it does mean we all could be paying more at the pump this summer.
 
“When you take that kind of supply out, it’s bound to have a little bit of an effect on price because a shortened supply means higher prices,” Martin speculated.
 
But Martin contends that there are some positives on the horizon when Fort McMurray starts to rebuild.
 
“Anytime you spend that kind of investment money, it is going to have an impact and it will be positive and it will go a long way to mitigating Alberta’s downturn.”