Dumb Luck Alberta

Canadian Broadcasting Company ^ | Dec 20, 2005 | Kate McMillan

[caveat emptor]

Dumb luck Alberta
Kate McMillan

"Frankly, the Conservatives cannot shake the picture that they are a party centred on Alberta. That is not bad in itself, of course, but it causes a loss in translation. You can't claim for years that you are different and misunderstood and then expect everyone will get what you are saying when you ask for our votes. So much of that province's fortunes are tied to its blessings - the resource, the global price of the resource being well past the cost of extraction and the kindly division of powers that gives the province exclusive benefit to the resource - that holding it up as an example of anything for the rest of us is a bit of a leap. " - Alan McLeod [Canadian "left-center" blogger and contributer to CBC forums..CE]

[caveat emptor]

Graphic courtesy the Prairie Centre Policy Institute and presented to undermine the popular myth that the only factor in Alberta's success is an energy-based "fluke of nature" economy.

As you might have deduced from the graphic above, successful resource development involves a little more than sticking a pipe in the ground and standing back with a bucket to catch the falling toonies. Government regulation, taxation, royalty structures, labour laws, environmental policy - all influence whether or not fields are developed, or even explored.

Capital is a finite commodity - and a discriminating one. It tends to flow to jurisdictions that not only offer a good chance of returning a profit, but exhibit the willingness to leave as much of it as possible in the hands of the risk-taker.

There is no mystery as to why Prairie energy reserves seem to have been walled off at the Saskatchewan border - the much heralded Tommy Douglas chased the oil companies from their headquarters in Regina to Calgary with policies that were openly hostile to the industry.

Read more at source .

Kate McMillan is a good writer and has a blog at SmallDeadAnimals . Recommended by Mark Steyn.

[headsonpikes]

This election WILL be a watershed, one way or the other - either the beginning of a Conservative reform, or the continued downward spiral into Liberal kleptocracy.

Either way, the Trudeaupian state is doomed.

[Alberta's Child]

So much of that province's fortunes are tied to its blessings - the resource, the global price of the resource being well past the cost of extraction and the kindly division of powers that gives the province exclusive benefit to the resource - that holding it up as an example of anything for the rest of us is a bit of a leap.

This sentiment is apparently quite common among Canadians, but is utter baloney. Two specific points refute it . . .

1. Some geologists estimate that Saskatchewan's oil and gas reserves could be even greater than Alberta's, but that province is an economic basket-case because it is one of the most business-unfriendly jurisdictions in North America.

2. Some of the most robust growth in Alberta's recent history occurred in the mid-1990s, when the price of oil was much lower than it is today. Alberta's economy was humming along even when oil was trading at $12-$15 per barrel in 1998-99.

[caveat emptor]

This election WILL be a watershed, one way or the other - either the beginning of a Conservative reform, or the continued downward spiral into Liberal kleptocracy.

You could be misoverestimating your average Canadian voter.

Check out the thread. I mainly posted it to introduce Kate McMillan to FR. (Good blogger. Recommended by Mark Steyn )

[caveat emptor]

Check out the thread. I mainly posted it to introduce Kate McMillan to FR. (Good blogger. Recommended by Mark Steyn )

[headsonpikes]

You could be misoverestimating your average Canadian voter.

True enough, but as I've posted elsewhere, I'm an inveterate optimist. ;^)

[-=[_Super_Secret_Agent_]=-]

"1. Some geologists estimate that Saskatchewan's oil and gas reserves could be even greater than Alberta's..."



Source?

[Alberta's Child]

I don't have a source at my fingertips for that. I think it's commonly understood that Saskatchewan has enormous untapped resources like oil and gas. Even with their Marxist provincial government they still have a lot of oil/gas operations in the province, and the fact that the separation between Alberta and Saskatchewan in this regard is purely one of government is most clearly evident in a place like Lloydminster. This city straddles the border between the two provinces, and the vast majority of the oil and gas rigs are on the Alberta side of the border simply because it makes more sense economically -- due to the business-unfriendly environment in Saskatchewan.

[RockinRight]

If Alberta ever felt like seceding from Canada and joining the US, I'd personally welcome Albertans with open arms!

[Dimez Apart]

Welcome aboard, 51st star!

[Alberta's Child]

Yes, but consider this . . . polls done in various parts of Canada over the years show an interesting trend. People in Quebec and Alberta are more receptive to the notion of seceding from Canada than people in any other province, but when asked about what happens "after secession" they provide completely different answers. People in Quebec are among the strongest supporters of the idea of joining the U.S., while Albertans are more strongly opposed to this than anyone else in Canada.

The attitude of Albertans is actually quite simple, and I really do commend them for it. They fully recognize that being governed by a bloated Federal bureaucracy in Washington is no better than being governed by a bloated Federal bureaucracy in Ottawa.

[RockinRight]

Very true.

But we don't WANT Quebec! Heck, I don't even think France would take Quebec back.

I'd trade Alberta for Washington state in a heartbeat. I guess I can't blame them for not wanting to join our bloated bureaucracy!

[VOA]

bump