National Energy Program - Reaction in Western Canada

Reaction in Western Canada

The program was extremely unpopular in Western Canada, especially in Alberta where most of Canada's oil is produced. With natural resources falling constitutionally within the domain of provincial jurisdictions, many Albertans viewed the NEP as a detrimental intrusion by the federal government into the province's affairs. In Western Canada – and Alberta especially – the NEP was perceived to be at their expense in benefiting the eastern provinces. Particularly vilified was Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, whose Liberals didn't hold a seat west of Manitoba. Ed Clark, a senior bureaucrat in the Trudeau Liberal government, helped develop the National Energy Program earning himself the moniker 'Red Ed' in the Alberta oil industry. Shortly after Brian Mulroney took office, Clark was fired.

Petro-Canada, the government-established oil company headquartered in Calgary, was made responsible for implementing much of the Program. Petro-Canada was backronymed to "Pierre Elliott Trudeau Rips Off Canada" by opponents of the National Energy Program, and the Petro-Canada Centre in Calgary became known as "Red Square." The popular western slogan during the NEP – appearing on many bumper stickers – was "Let the Eastern bastards freeze in the dark".

Lougheed stopped development on several oil sands projects. After negotiations between Trudeau and Lougheed, the NEP was revised so that the price of so called "new" Canadian oil (discovered after December 31, 1980) would eventually rise to the world price but existing "old" oil would still be capped at 75% of the world price.

Read more about this topic:  National Energy Program

Famous quotes containing the words reaction in, reaction, western and/or canada:

    Christianity was only a very strong and singularly well-timed Salvation Army movement that happened to receive help from an unusual and highly dramatic incident. It was a Puritan reaction in an age when, no doubt, a Puritan reaction was much wanted; but like all sudden violent reactions, it soon wanted reacting against.
    Samuel Butler (1835–1902)

    In contrast to revenge, which is the natural, automatic reaction to transgression and which, because of the irreversibility of the action process can be expected and even calculated, the act of forgiving can never be predicted; it is the only reaction that acts in an unexpected way and thus retains, though being a reaction, something of the original character of action.
    Hannah Arendt (1906–1975)

    Democracy is the menopause of Western society, the Grand Climacteric of the body social. Fascism is its middle-aged lust.
    Jean Baudrillard (b. 1929)

    Though the words Canada East on the map stretch over many rivers and lakes and unexplored wildernesses, the actual Canada, which might be the colored portion of the map, is but a little clearing on the banks of the river, which one of those syllables would more than cover.
    Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)