Referring to the National Energy Program (NEP), University of Manitoba historian Gerald Friesen has written “the turmoil of the 1980s stands out more sharply in the public memory of Albertans than does the Great Depression of the 1930s.”.It’s a period in the province’s history that should stand out..The NEP is unique in Canadian history. Never before has the federal government targeted a particular province for ruin the way Pierre Trudeau’s government went after Alberta. And it's happening again..Much like his father, Justin Trudeau plans to go after Alberta too, this time under the guise of fighting global warming..As Saskatchewan premier Scott Moe recently stated about the Liberals’ climate policies, “If it wasn’t clear before, it is now. The Trudeau government doesn’t want to just reduce emissions in our energy sector, they want to completely shut down our energy sector.”.Justin Trudeau’s policies need to be viewed in historical context..Looking at his father’s policies makes it clear Liberal strategy follows a particular trajectory that scapegoats Alberta as a way of increasing Liberal support in central Canada..This strategy was successful for Pierre Trudeau and it will likely be successful for Justin as well..It’s bad news for Alberta..One of the best summaries of Pierre’s approach to Alberta is Dr. Tammy Nemeth’s article, 1980: Duel of the Decade..As she notes, the roots of the NEP go back to 1973 when the price of oil skyrocketed due to war in the Middle East..As prices spiked, the Trudeau government initiated policies to reduce the amount of revenue Alberta received from its oil resources, lower the cost of energy to consumers and assert federal power over oil and gas..At the time, Alberta's Premier Peter Lougheed tried to resist Trudeau’s policies..Since oil is non-renewable, Lougheed wanted Alberta to receive as much revenue as possible to diversify the economy and save for the future when the oil would be gone. He created the Alberta Heritage Savings Trust Fund in 1976 for this purpose..After the brief interlude of Joe Clark’s 1979 minority Progressive Conservative government, an election was held in February 1980..During the election campaign, Nemeth writes, the Liberals “fanned resentment of the West in order to gain votes in Central Canada..Candidates repeatedly told audiences, much as they had in the 1970s, that the oil and gas producing provinces were being selfish; that they didn’t want to share their new-found wealth; that it was unfair for excess wealth to build up in less populated areas of the country.”.This divisive tactic prevailed and Trudeau won a majority government. Soon his officials were scheming over plans for the NEP..Before the NEP was released, Deputy Minister of Finance Ian Stewart wrote it “would be seen by many to be the biggest revenue grab in the history of the country.” He added that its measures “would allow eastern oil and gas consumers to continue enjoying massive rents (via lower prices).”.The Liberal energy minister at the time was Marc Lalonde. He met with some Alberta officials to give the appearance of working with the province. But as Nemeth notes, “Lalonde, and his officials, had no intention of seriously negotiating with Alberta and planned from the start to impose an energy package unilaterally.”.When the NEP was announced in October 1980, the policy document stated Alberta had been enjoying a windfall from its oil resources and this was “no longer compatible with the national interest.”.Since 1973, oil produced in Canada had been priced well below world prices for the benefit of central Canada and the NEP made that policy permanent..Alberta was hit hard..Nemeth writes “that by September, 1983, the number of oil rigs operating in Alberta dropped from 400 to 130 and that upwards of $70 billion was lost to the Alberta economy in the first few years of the NEP.”.In contrast, oil producing American states continued to boom for a couple of years until oil prices began a steep decline..“Most scholars agree that the sharp downturn in Alberta’s economy, unlike Texas and other oil producing American states, occurred before the oil prices collapsed and was a direct result of the NEP.”.Soon after the NEP was announced, Premier Lougheed indicated that Alberta’s response would be to cutback oil production..Marc Lalonde “then polarized East and West by adding a consumer tax to pay for increased oil imports caused by the Alberta production cutbacks, which he called the ‘Lougheed Levy.’.If consumers wanted to know who was responsible for higher prices at the pumps, Lalonde wanted to be sure they would think that it was Alberta.”.The cutbacks forced Trudeau to negotiate with Alberta, and a revenue sharing agreement was reached in 1981 – although not to the satisfaction of many Albertans..Then, in 1984, Brian Mulroney’s Tories beat the Liberals in a federal election and began to dismantle the NEP..Nemeth notes the significance of this whole episode: “The NEP was a turning point for Alberta. Never before had a federal government attempted such a comprehensive restructuring of the federal-provincial balance of power and of an industry predominantly located in one province.”.Pierre Trudeau attacked Alberta to strengthen his support in central Canada..Justin Trudeau is eager to follow the template created by his father to bolster his own support in the same region. His incoming policies are meant to hurt Alberta because that will benefit him politically..Canada is not a safe place for Alberta anymore..Trudeau and his cronies have put a target on Alberta’s back. Only a successful independence referendum can save our province from another economic disaster imposed by the federal government.
