Oil Prices effect on Canada's economy?

Will the drop in the price of oil help or hurt Canada's economy? Oil Prices effect on Canada's economy?
Both.





As long as the price of oil is high, it brings lots of money into Canada. That's good for the Canadian economy.





But as long as it brings in lots of money, people are not going to be looking elsewhere, but are going to try to get more of the revenue stream from the oil. This is bad for the economy in the long term.





Canada's economy is unusually dependent on exporting primary sector products (oil and gas, minerals, timber, grain, etc.) rather than manufactured goods or services. In that sense, it almost has a third-world economy (though a first-world income).





You see exactly the same tendency in other countries which have much oil and little else (such as Saudi Arabia, Russia, etc.).





On the other hand, a widely diversified economy is much healthier, more resistant to economic shocks, more innovative; etc.





It is interesting that countries such as Canada and Saudi Arabia always claim they are going to use the income to diversify, but they never do. And this is not the first ';rush'; Canada has had, so its failure to diversify in the past is clear.