End of The NEP
The rationale for the program weakened when world oil prices began to slowly decline in the early 1980s and then collapsed in late 1985 (see figure Long-Term Oil Prices, 1861–2007). A phased shutdown was commenced by Jean Chrétien while he was Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources.
In the 1984 election the Progressive Conservative Party of Brian Mulroney was elected to a majority in the House of Commons with the support of Western Canada after campaigning against the NEP. However, Mulroney did not eliminate the last vestiges of the program until two and a half years later, at which time world oil prices had dropped below pre-1980s levels (as adjusted for inflation - see figure Long-Term Oil Prices, 1861–2007). The conservative government's delay was a contributing factor to the creation of a new political party, Western Canada's Reform Party of Canada.
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