Yes, it is happening now
A lot of facilities are being built in Alberta right now. This is not without controversy up here; the process uses a LOT of natural gas, and it's driving the prices for natural gas up. A lot of homes in Canada use natural gas for heating, and it's hitting a lot of people in the wallet. The other issue is the water, and just what will be done with it afterwards.
The trade press and business pages up here run stories on the development of the tar sands a lot these days. The added activity is also lifting up some of the provinces; Alberta became debt-free earlier this year, and Saskatchewan is now officially a "have" province (within the context of federal transfer payments between provinces).
Saskatchewan (birthplace of Canadian socialism and socialist medicare) could become a good place to settle, when looking at the long term; land's cheap, there aren't many people there, and the only major drawback is that the winters are completely brutal.
