Encyclopedia of the oil crash: J is for jobs

JOBS

JUNE 20, 2014

It’s often the case that when history turns, we don’t realize it until well after the fact. June 20, 2014, may have been one of those moments. That was the last day before the oil slump—which eventually became a full-on crash—took hold. Oil closed at $107.95 that day. The buoyant loonie, at around US93 cents, was marching toward its highest level in 2014. Average gasoline prices were close to $1.50 a litre. In Iraq, the Islamic State terror group was battling for control of the country’s largest oil refinery, and analysts were predicting oil could rise to $120, or even $140 a barrel. In Alberta, businesses were up in arms over Employment Minister Jason Kenney’s changes to rules governing temporary foreign workers, because of their impact on the province’s red-hot labour market. If anyone had an inkling they were seeing the last of high-priced oil for some time, they were keeping mum about it. Jason Kirby

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• K is for Keystone XL
• L is for Lac-Mégantic, layoffs, Leduc 1, loonie
• M is for McAdam (Little Mac), N.B.