As 2023 draws to a close there’s good reason to celebrate the departure of a year marred by a stagnant war in Europe, a deplorable resurgence of antisemitism and prodigious incompetence from our federal government.But while the previous 12 months have set a shaky foundation for 2024, it in no way condemns it to the same fate — especially if you live in the prairie provinces.I’ll accept that many of you will be skeptical. Some might even share the opinion a fellow reader once posted in the comment section under one of my columns proclaiming, “John Thomson is out of his god damned mind!”Perhaps. After all, we are facing the worst increase in cost of living in several generations. Most Canadians worry about having to seek health care from a system that is in such utter shambles that MAiD may be their best option. And last, but not least, we have a national defence force incapable of dealing with something so benign as a passive-aggressive spy balloon.These are pan-Canadian problems and I’m sorry to say that none will be rectified in 2024. There are also some problems unique to the prairie provinces as an increasingly hostile federal government seems to deliberately target key western economic industries with harmful and seemingly punitive regulations.Two examples of that. First, the Government of Canada's new ‘Oil and Gas Emissions Cap’ was announced on December 7. The cap will likely result in thousands of jobs lost across the oil and gas sector which will be almost exclusively felt in the prairies. Not only that, but it will also cost the Canadian economy more than $6 billion per year with “a negligible impact on the environment” according to the Montreal Economic Institute (MEI).If that wasn’t enough, Environment and Climate Change Canada announced their draft REME Protocol on December 10. REME stands for “Reducing Enteric Methane Emissions from Beef Cattle.” In essence it outlines the federal government intends to change what beef producers feed their beef cattle in order to reduce the amount they burp.However that idiocy plays out, it will disproportionately affect the prairie provinces because according to the 2016 Stats Can data on provincial cattle distribution in Canada, Alberta has 41.2% of all cattle and calves in the country while Saskatchewan follows in second place with 20.7%. If you add in Manitoba’s 8.8%, that bring the total percentage to a whopping 70.7%.Yet despite all that, problems federal and provincial, I’m optimistic for 2024.First, the days of our current federal government are clearly numbered. While technically a change in government may not come until 2025, I am keeping my fingers crossed for an election in 2024. Either way it is consoling to know the Liberals are likely headed to third place or even non-party status if the polls and voter intention hold true.Furthermore, I’m optimistic because even if the election doesn’t happen until 2025, that means we spend one more year under a Trudeau government and he who will do more to unite the prairies than anything since the Reform Party erupted onto our political scene in the late 80s and early 90s.In fact I’d wager that in the 119-years that Alberta and Saskatchewan have been part of Confederation, never have our two provinces been so in sync in regard to advocating for our autonomy and demanding fair treatment from Ottawa.Listen to Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe! His government's “Saskatchewan First Act” is akin to Danielle Smith's 'Alberta Sovereignty Act.' Both seek to assert exclusive legislative jurisdiction over a number of areas under Section 92 (A) of the Constitution of Canada.I’m looking forward to an ongoing strengthening of this ideological alignment throughout the new year.I’m further optimistic because even Manitoba, Canada’s eldest prairie province, is aligning with its neighbours in calling for the removal of the carbon tax from natural gas. This is noteworthy as the province is now run by an NDP government. But they're with us on this.Lastly, I’m optimistic because big projects will be happening all across the prairies. These will help to create jobs, encourage enterprise, foster pride, and will buttress our burgeoning sense of regional autonomy.Dow is investing $8.9 billion in Alberta to build a net-zero petrochemical project in Fort Saskatchewan. BHP approved $6.4 billion in funds to start building stage two at the Jansen mine project in Saskatchewan, which when complete will make it the largest potash mine in the world. Meanwhile Manitoba is exploring the possibility of building a new deep-water port in Churchill to ship western energy products through the Arctic.All of that to say, I am excited to see what 2024 brings to the prairies. Have a happy and prosperous New Year.
