If Premier Jason Kenney wanted to get people's attention with his new 12 member Economic Recovery Council that was named yesterday (March 20), he accomplished that with one council member.

Canada's 22nd Prime Minister, the Honourable Stephen Harper was named to the council that is being tasked with providing advice and guiding Alberta through, what Kenney says will be the most challenging time in our economy in the past several decades.

The council is made up of policy and industry experts who are being asked to provide insight and expert advice on how to protect jobs during the economic crisis stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent price collapse in the energy world. Kenney says the council will also focus on strategies for long-term recovery from the crisis, including efforts to accelerate diversification in the Alberta economy.

"I told the panel I really want them to have an absolutely no-holds-barred approach to this. To think boldly, not to feel constrained by conventional political limitations, to really reimagine what we need to do in the future coming out of this time of serious adversity."

The council will be chaired by economist Jack Mintz and, along with Harper includes:

Clive Beddoe – former chair, president and CEO, WestJet
Robert Blakely – Canadian operating officer, Canada’s Building Trades Union
Brent Belzberg – founder and senior managing partner, TorQuest Partners
Bob Dhillon – founder, president and CEO, Mainstreet Equity Corporation
Chris Fowler – president and CEO, Canadian Western Bank
Peter Kiss – owner and president, Morgan Construction and Environmental
Zainul Mawji – president, Telus Home Solutions
Nancy Southern – chair and CEO, ATCO Ltd.
Kevin Uebelein – CEO, AIMCo
Mac Van Wielingen – founder, ARC Financial
Kenney is pleased to have his old boss Harper on the panel. "Stephen Harper's presence on there is just tremendous because he's dealt with the only economic crisis of a similar scale and that was the 2008 global financial crisis so I really appreciate his presence."

Kenney says even if the COVID-19 crisis is brought under control, he thinks Alberta's recovery may take much longer than other parts of the world because of the significant drop in the price of oil. Yesterday, a barrel of Alberta oil, Western Canadian Select, was trading at $5.60.

"Look," says Kenney, "I'm not saying these things for people to have a sense of despair, but I think it's important for Albertans to be psychologically and financially prepared for what is coming at us. This will be, I believe, the most challenging time in our economy for several decades."