Even if Mark Carney approves a massive new oil pipeline as part of his nation-building drive, the days of the oil sector producing a confetti cannon of cash are likely gone for good

Tyler Pubben was making as much as $1,000 a day working in the oilpatch when he was fresh out of university in the early 2010s. The pay was enormous for a man in his 20s, but he worked hard. As a trained geologist, he was also a hot commodity in a rapidly growing industry, putting in 12-hour days and bouncing from one project to the next.

A big, black gold rush had taken hold in Alberta. Many of the world’s biggest oil companies — hailing from Beijing to Houston — converged on a remote patch of Canadian hinterland to strike it rich.

Workers such as Pubben got in on the action. Anyone with “a pulse and a deg

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