There was a time last year, not long after COVID-19 first arrived in Saskatchewan, that the price of oil was so low that some sellers were having to pay people to take their oil. The price of oil has begun to bounce back, however, and that's good news for Estevan. 

Since the start of February this year, oil and other commodities have been getting more expensive. In fact, the price of West Texas Intermediate crude rose 29 percent from the start of the year to the end of February. 

"We've been through this so many times over the last few years that we're always approaching it with cautious optimism," said Estevan Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Jackie Wall. "But I have seen a lot more traffic. I think anything we can take a look at as a potential upswing in our economy is fantastic."

A rising price of oil does well for Estevan in a number of sectors, but the biggest upside is also the simplest. When the oil patch is booming, more people come here to work, live, and spend money. 

"The entire community of Estevan is impacted when we're talking about oil and gas," Wall said. "It goes right down to the hospitality industry. The restaurants are busier, the hotels have more bookings, a lot of the companies that serve the oil industry have crews that come in."

According to Wall, people traveling to Estevan for work more often is a big boost to the economy as hotels and restaurants directly benefit from it. What she called the multiplier effect is huge with industries on the scale of oil. 

This is why the rebounding price of oil is such good news, but it's news that's been a long time coming. COVID-19 hit all sectors of the economy hard, oil not least of all, and for a long time it seemed the news on that front was all bad. 

"I'm hoping oil continues to rebound and to remain strong," she said. "I think that's probably the hope of most people in the industry. It's one thing to have a rebound, but can it stay for a while, can we have some consistency? Can we have some long-term stability within the industry? That will probably have a bigger impact than just a quick rebound."

Wall added the flip side of the coin was that the price of gas was likely to go up as the price of oil rebounded, so people could expect to pay more at the pump.