Alberta isn't like Ontario or BC, where population growth is steady and predictable. Alberta's population swings with the energy cycle — dramatically.

When oil booms, workers flood in from Ontario, BC, the Maritimes, and Saskatchewan. They need housing, so rents spike and house prices climb. When oil busts, many of those same workers leave. Apartments empty out, house prices soften, and vacancies climb.

This creates a secondary wave that amplifies the original energy shock. Boom means shortage means prices up. Bust means vacancy means prices down. It's the same dollars, moving through the system.