[EXCERPT]
Jock Finlayson, economist for the Business Council of British Columbia, said in an e-mail on Tuesday that a spike in gasoline prices would slightly dampen consumer spending and raise operating costs for many businesses, but this would not trigger a sharp economic downturn on its own.
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“There’s always unintended consequences when you have a trade war,” Mr. D’Avignon said of the impact that could be felt in both B.C. and Alberta. “There’s the increased price of goods, everything from produce to clothing over the course of time.”
The GDP impact of higher prices is hard to exactly quantify, Mr. D’Avignon said, and the business council has not done the analysis yet. But Mr. D’Avignon said an array of negative factors could include a decline in the Canadian dollar as foreign investors sidestep Canada because of the political fights and perceived instability. “It just doesn’t make a lot of sense,” Mr. D’Avignon said of the escalating tensions between B.C. and Alberta.
