West to fuel Canada's growth: Conference Board

A Conference Board study suggests Western Canada will keep powering the economy over the next couple of years while the rest of the country chugs along at more measured pace.

The Ottawa-based think tank says in its fall outlook that most provinces can expect to see economic improvement in 2012 and 2013 as private sector activity heats up.

That will help offset a sharp drop in federal and provincial infrastructure spending as governments struggle to deal with the deficits they racked up during the recession.

The Conference Board says Alberta is poised to boom again, while B.C.'s economy will grow at a more moderate pace and Manitoba will also see a strong performance from its manufacturing sector.

Central and Atlantic Canada will likely see tepid economic growth as they are hampered by sluggish growth in the United States, weak consumer spending and tightening government purse strings.

Although Canada has little direct exposure to European markets, the think tank cautions that all provincial economies would be affected if the EU government debt crisis spreads across the world.