In 2012, Policy Options magazine named Peter Lougheed as “the Best Premier of the Last 40 Years.” The subtitle of the announcement stated it was “Lougheed in a landslide.” No other Canadian premier even came close.. Peter LougheedPeter Lougheed... the best premier? .Of course, during his premiership, Lougheed was exceedingly popular in Alberta. After first winning the 1971 election, Lougheed had overwhelming election victories in 1975, 1979, and 1982. During that period, some people joked Alberta was essentially a one-party state. No one could beat the Progressive Conservatives while Lougheed was leader. His popularity was unparalleled..Any party that could capitalize on Lougheed’s achievements and image would certainly have an electoral advantage. And, indeed, the Alberta NDP is currently trying to do just that..A recent article by University of Alberta political scientist Jared Wesley outlines various factors that could help the NDP win the upcoming election. Among these factors is this:.“A key part of the NDP strategy involves tying themselves to the Lougheed PC brand. This included explicit references in tweets, speeches, and advertisements, and securing endorsements from prominent progressive conservatives. If the NDP wins, it will be because Albertans see them as an extension of the Lougheed brand of politics.” [Emphasis in the original.].So, how accurate is it to see the NDP as an extension of the Lougheed Tories? Not accurate at all..First of all, for most of Lougheed’s term in office, the leader of the Alberta NDP was Grant Notley, Rachel Notley's father. Was he a Lougheed supporter? Not one bit. He was arguably Lougheed’s chief opponent in the Legislature and he considered Lougheed to be harmful to the province and potentially dangerous to democracy itself..Howard Leeson, in the pro-NDP book, Grant Notley: The Social Conscience of Alberta, writes Notley considered Lougheed to be “the handmaiden of a foreign dominated oil industry.” Notley believed Lougheed deliberately encouraged Western alienation to benefit “foreign controlled oil interests that had little loyalty to the province.”.According to Leeson, Notley “firmly believed” Alberta’s first two Social Credit premiers, William Aberhart and Ernest Manning, “had entrenched the politics of alienation and hate in Alberta” leading to “an unthinking electorate” comfortable with a one-party state. In Notley’s view, “Peter Lougheed had inherited this tradition and perfected it, making him even more dangerous than Social Credit had been.’.Wow! So Rachel Notley wants to inherit the mantle of the man her father claimed was the “handmaiden” of American oil interests and more dangerous to democracy than Social Credit? I wonder what Grant Notley would think of that..Consider some other aspects of Lougheed’s legacy. For one, his government did more for school choice than any previous government in Alberta history. Lougheed brought in legislation to make alternative schools within the public system possible; he dramatically increased government funding for private schools; and he created a new category of unfunded private schools that were loosely regulated and could employ uncertified teachers. Lougheed, in essence, made genuine school choice possible in Alberta..Is this the kind of education policy the NDP would like to emulate? Not a chance. Then what business do they have promoting themselves “as an extension of the Lougheed brand of politics,” to use Prof. Wesley’s phrase?.And then there’s Lougheed’s signature policy of fighting Pierre Trudeau tooth-and-nail to defend Alberta’s resources from the federal government. Does the NDP even know about this? Of course they do, because Grant Notley was the one-and-only Alberta MLA to oppose Lougheed’s oil production cutbacks in retaliation for Trudeau’s National Energy Program (NEP). The federal leadership of the NDP openly supported the NEP. It was a socialist policy, after all..University of Calgary political scientist Tom Flanagan refers to Justin Trudeau’s climate change policies as a “second National Energy Program.” Like the first NEP, the second NEP is based on the idea that Alberta’s resources are subservient to the policy goals of the federal government. And just as the NDP supported Pierre Trudeau’s first NEP, it also supports Justin Trudeau’s second NEP. Like father like son (Trudeau); like father like daughter (Notley)..Lougheed’s fight against Trudeau and his policies was a central reason for his popularity in Alberta. Albertans knew they could trust him to stand up to the federal government. Then and now, the NDP opposes that approach..It’s shameful the NDP would try to identify itself with Lougheed when it — while being led by Grant Notley — was opposed to so much of what he did and what he stood for..When you hear the NDP tie itself to the Lougheed brand, be careful not to step in the cow pie..Due to a high level of spam content being posted in our comment section below, all comments undergo manual approval by a staff member during regular business hours (Monday - Friday). Your patience is appreciated.
