{"id":66689,"date":"2025-05-08T11:45:15","date_gmt":"2025-05-08T18:45:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/energi.media\/?p=66689"},"modified":"2025-05-08T11:45:15","modified_gmt":"2025-05-08T18:45:15","slug":"opinion-alberta-has-long-accused-ottawa-of-trying-to-destroy-its-oil-industry-thats-a-dangerous-myth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/energi.media\/opinion\/opinion-alberta-has-long-accused-ottawa-of-trying-to-destroy-its-oil-industry-thats-a-dangerous-myth\/","title":{"rendered":"Opinion: Alberta has long accused Ottawa of trying to destroy its oil industry. That\u2019s a dangerous myth"},"content":{"rendered":"

This article was published by The Conversation<\/a> on May 8, 2025.<\/em><\/p>\n

By Ian Urquhart<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cAlberta is a place soaked in self-deception.\u201d Those words began Alberta-based journalist\u00a0Mark Lisac\u2019s 2004 book<\/a>\u00a0aimed at shattering the myths that have unhelpfully animated too much of Alberta\u2019s politics over the past few decades.<\/p>\n

Current and former Alberta politicians<\/a>\u00a0are once again embracing and treating separatist grievances seriously. That means it\u2019s time once again to highlight and challenge political misconceptions that have the potential to destroy Canada.<\/p>\n

Oil is the root of one such myth. The misconception? That Ottawa perennially opposes the oil and gas sector and is determined to stop its continued growth. The National Energy Program<\/a>\u00a0(1980), the\u00a0Northern Gateway pipeline project<\/a>\u00a0(2016), the\u00a0Energy East Pipeline<\/a>\u00a0(2017) and the proposed\u00a0greenhouse gas pollution cap<\/a>\u00a0allegedly prove Ottawa\u2019s hostility.<\/p>\n

Notably missing from these grievances is the\u00a0Keystone XL pipeline<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0Trans Mountain Expansion Project<\/a>. Ottawa supported these projects aimed at transporting Alberta oil sands crude to foreign markets. The federal government even purchased the Trans Mountain project<\/a>\u00a0from Kinder Morgan in 2018 \u2014 not to kill it, but to build it.<\/p>\n

\n

Read more:\u00a0Justin Trudeau’s risky gamble on the Trans Mountain pipeline<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\n

As for Keystone XL, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney thanked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for\u00a0supporting the project<\/a>. This doesn\u2019t fit the separatist narrative, so it\u2019s largely ignored.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\"A
A protester holds a photo of an oil-soaked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during a demonstration against the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion in Vancouver in May 2018.\u00a0THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Darryl Dyck<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Oil sands booster<\/h2>\n

No one should dispute the\u00a0National Energy Program\u2019s devastating impact<\/a> on Alberta\u2019s conventional oil and gas sector 40 years ago. But the oil sands, not conventional oil, propelled Canada to its position as the\u00a0world\u2019s fourth largest oil producer<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Has Ottawa facilitated or obstructed the spectacular post-1990 growth of oil sands production?<\/p>\n

The record shows that, since the mid-1970s, Ottawa has facilitated and supported the oil sands sector. The federal government helped keep the Syncrude project<\/a> alive in 1975 when it took a 15 per cent interest in Canada\u2019s second oil sands operation.<\/p>\n

Ironically, Ottawa\u2019s enthusiasm for more, not less, petroleum from the oil sands also appeared in 1980 via the National Energy Program (NEP), the devil in Alberta\u2019s conservative catechism. What most accounts of the NEP don\u2019t mention is that Ottawa offered tax benefits to oil sands companies<\/a>\u00a0while stripping them from conventional oil producers.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, the NEP\u2019s \u201cmade-in-Canada\u201d pricing effectively guaranteed Syncrude would receive the world price for its production. At $38 per barrel,\u00a0Syncrude received more than double<\/a>\u00a0what conventional producers received. If the NEP was harsh on conventional oil producers, it helped create a golden future for the oil sands.<\/p>\n

In the mid-1990s,\u00a0Ottawa helped propel the post-1995 oil sands boom<\/a>. The industry-dominated\u00a0National Task Force on Oil Sands Strategies<\/a> sought federal tax concessions to promote oil sands growth. The federal government delivered them in its\u00a01996 budget<\/a>, despite Prime Minister Jean Chretien\u2019s general concern with cutting the deficit.<\/p>\n

Again, these measures clearly contradict the myth of federal opposition to the oil industry.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"A
Prime Minister Jean Chretien talks to Syncrude workers at the open pit oil sands mine in Fort McMurray, Alta., in 1996 after he announced the signing of a $5 billion expansion in the oil sands by 18 of Canada\u2019s largest oil companies. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Dave Buston<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Generous emissions caps<\/h2>\n

Ottawa\u2019s policy favouritism towards the oil sands didn\u2019t end there. It has consistently animated the federal government\u2019s treatment of the oil sands in its climate change policies.<\/p>\n

The federal\u00a0Climate Change Plan for Canada (2002)<\/a>\u00a0treated oil and gas leniently. Its measures for large industrial emitters bore a striking resemblance to the climate change policy preferences of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers.\u00a0Suncor<\/a> and Syncrude, the two leading oil sands producers, estimated these federal proposals would add a pittance, between 20 and 30 cents, to their per barrel production costs.<\/p>\n

Justin Trudeau\u2019s response to Alberta\u2019s 2015 oil sands emissions cap also underlined Ottawa\u2019s favouritism, not hostility, to the dominant player in Canada\u2019s oil patch.<\/p>\n

Rachel Notley\u2019s NDP government set this cap at 100 million tonnes of GHG per year, plus another 10 million tonnes allowed to new upgrading and co-generation facilities. This cap was a whopping 39 million tonnes or 55 per cent higher than what the oil sands emitted in 2014.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"A
Alberta Premier Rachel Notley walks past a heavy hauler truck during the Suncor Fort Hills grand opening in Fort McMurray Alta, in September 2018.\u00a0THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Jason Franson<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This generous cap contributed to a tremendous increase in oil sands production. Healthy profits became record profits in 2022<\/a>. Ottawa embraced Alberta\u2019s largesse, incorporating the province\u2019s cap into its post-2015 climate policies.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, Ottawa increased its leniency towards the oil sands by exempting new in-situ (non-mining) oil sands projects in Alberta from the federal Impact Assessment Act<\/a>. This exemption applies until Alberta\u2019s emissions cap is reached. Canada\u2019s latest\u00a0National Inventory Report on greenhouse gas emissions<\/a> reported record oil sands GHG emissions of 89 million tonnes in 2023, still 11 million tonnes shy of the 100 million tonne threshold.<\/p>\n

Weaponizing myths<\/h2>\n

Finally, we have today\u2019s proposed national cap on greenhouse gas emissions. Alberta is apoplectic about the cap. But whether or not it\u2019s intentional, Premier Danielle Smith\u2019s outrage feeds into secessionist sentiment by seemingly misrepresenting the cap\u2019s impact on oil and gas production.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"A
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith at a news conference in Edmonton on April 29, 2025.\u00a0THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Jason Franson<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Smith and her environment minister use the work of the\u00a0Parliamentary Budgetary Officer<\/a>\u00a0(PBO) to nurture their \u201cOttawa hates oil\u201d narrative.\u00a0They claim<\/a>\u00a0the officer\u2019s analysis of the cap\u2019s economic impact showed it \u201cwill cut oil and gas production by five per cent, or more than 245,000 barrels per day.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is simply not true.<\/p>\n

In fact, the PBO concluded that, with the cap, oil sands production \u201cis projected to remain well above current levels\u201d \u2014 15 per cent higher than in 2022. The proposed federal emissions cap, like the Alberta NDP\u2019s cap of a decade ago, is higher than current oil sands emissions levels. The PBO concluded the proposed ceiling for oil sands emissions would be six per cent higher than 2022 emissions.<\/p>\n

Ottawa\u2019s proposed cap, in fact, continues its decades-long support of the oil ands.<\/p>\n

Myths are central to our being. When I tell my grandsons about the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, I hope to inspire curiosity, imagination and interest in their grandmother\u2019s Irish heritage.<\/p>\n

But in politics, fanciful stories can be dangerous. Some weaponize myths, using the fictions at their core to encourage followers to let falsehoods rule their behaviour. That seems to be playing out yet again in Alberta. We must demand better from the political class.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This article was published by The Conversation on May 8, 2025. By Ian Urquhart \u201cAlberta is a place soaked in self-deception.\u201d Those words began Alberta-based journalist\u00a0Mark Lisac\u2019s 2004 book\u00a0aimed at shattering the myths that have [Read more]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":66691,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[13,548,80,14,95,266,529,1276],"class_list":{"0":"post-66689","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-opinion","8":"tag-canada","9":"tag-emissions","10":"tag-environment","11":"tag-featured","12":"tag-fossil-fuels","13":"tag-government","14":"tag-policy","15":"tag-politics"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAlberta - Thoughtful Journalism About Energy's Future<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Current and former Alberta politicians\u00a0are once again embracing and treating separatist grievances seriously.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/energi.media\/opinion\/opinion-alberta-has-long-accused-ottawa-of-trying-to-destroy-its-oil-industry-thats-a-dangerous-myth\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Alberta - Thoughtful Journalism About Energy's Future\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Current and former Alberta politicians\u00a0are once again embracing and treating separatist grievances seriously.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/energi.media\/opinion\/opinion-alberta-has-long-accused-ottawa-of-trying-to-destroy-its-oil-industry-thats-a-dangerous-myth\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Thoughtful Journalism About Energy's Future\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/energimedia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-05-08T18:45:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/energi.media\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Alberta-Syncrude.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1164\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"811\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Energi Staff\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@EnergiMedia\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@EnergiMedia\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Energi Staff\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/energi.media\\\/opinion\\\/opinion-alberta-has-long-accused-ottawa-of-trying-to-destroy-its-oil-industry-thats-a-dangerous-myth\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/energi.media\\\/opinion\\\/opinion-alberta-has-long-accused-ottawa-of-trying-to-destroy-its-oil-industry-thats-a-dangerous-myth\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Energi Staff\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/energi.media\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/07051d0cfb14da284c97fb8ff214caf7\"},\"headline\":\"Opinion: Alberta has long accused Ottawa of trying to destroy its oil industry. That\u2019s a dangerous myth\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-08T18:45:15+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/energi.media\\\/opinion\\\/opinion-alberta-has-long-accused-ottawa-of-trying-to-destroy-its-oil-industry-thats-a-dangerous-myth\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1180,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/energi.media\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/energi.media\\\/opinion\\\/opinion-alberta-has-long-accused-ottawa-of-trying-to-destroy-its-oil-industry-thats-a-dangerous-myth\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/energi.media\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/Alberta-Syncrude.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Canada\",\"emissions\",\"Environment\",\"featured\",\"Fossil Fuels\",\"Government\",\"policy\",\"politics\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Opinion\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/energi.media\\\/opinion\\\/opinion-alberta-has-long-accused-ottawa-of-trying-to-destroy-its-oil-industry-thats-a-dangerous-myth\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/energi.media\\\/opinion\\\/opinion-alberta-has-long-accused-ottawa-of-trying-to-destroy-its-oil-industry-thats-a-dangerous-myth\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/energi.media\\\/opinion\\\/opinion-alberta-has-long-accused-ottawa-of-trying-to-destroy-its-oil-industry-thats-a-dangerous-myth\\\/\",\"name\":\"Alberta - Thoughtful Journalism About Energy's Future\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/energi.media\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/energi.media\\\/opinion\\\/opinion-alberta-has-long-accused-ottawa-of-trying-to-destroy-its-oil-industry-thats-a-dangerous-myth\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/energi.media\\\/opinion\\\/opinion-alberta-has-long-accused-ottawa-of-trying-to-destroy-its-oil-industry-thats-a-dangerous-myth\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/energi.media\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/Alberta-Syncrude.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-08T18:45:15+00:00\",\"description\":\"Current and former Alberta politicians\u00a0are once again embracing and treating separatist grievances seriously.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/energi.media\\\/opinion\\\/opinion-alberta-has-long-accused-ottawa-of-trying-to-destroy-its-oil-industry-thats-a-dangerous-myth\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/energi.media\\\/opinion\\\/opinion-alberta-has-long-accused-ottawa-of-trying-to-destroy-its-oil-industry-thats-a-dangerous-myth\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/energi.media\\\/opinion\\\/opinion-alberta-has-long-accused-ottawa-of-trying-to-destroy-its-oil-industry-thats-a-dangerous-myth\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/energi.media\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/Alberta-Syncrude.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/energi.media\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/Alberta-Syncrude.jpg\",\"width\":1164,\"height\":811,\"caption\":\"In the 1980 National Energy Program, Ottawa offered tax benefits to oil sands companies\u00a0while stripping them from conventional oil producers. Syncrude photo.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/energi.media\\\/opinion\\\/opinion-alberta-has-long-accused-ottawa-of-trying-to-destroy-its-oil-industry-thats-a-dangerous-myth\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/energi.media\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Opinion: Alberta has long accused Ottawa of trying to destroy its oil industry. That\u2019s a dangerous myth\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/energi.media\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/energi.media\\\/\",\"name\":\"Thoughtful Journalism About Energy's Future\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/energi.media\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/energi.media\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/energi.media\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Energi Media\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/energi.media\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/energi.media\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/energi.media\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/06\\\/cropped-cropped-EnergiMedia-v3-logo-e1625024297484.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/energi.media\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/06\\\/cropped-cropped-EnergiMedia-v3-logo-e1625024297484.png\",\"width\":302,\"height\":61,\"caption\":\"Energi Media\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/energi.media\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/energimedia\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/EnergiMedia\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/energi-media\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/@EnergiMedia\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/energi.media\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/07051d0cfb14da284c97fb8ff214caf7\",\"name\":\"Energi Staff\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/8aab8747a56101912653d395e4d5b76c013eb58c9c0d846ee34f94382c2a3bbb?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/8aab8747a56101912653d395e4d5b76c013eb58c9c0d846ee34f94382c2a3bbb?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/8aab8747a56101912653d395e4d5b76c013eb58c9c0d846ee34f94382c2a3bbb?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Energi Staff\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/energi.media\\\/author\\\/aen-staff\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Alberta - Thoughtful Journalism About Energy's Future","description":"Current and former Alberta politicians\u00a0are once again embracing and treating separatist grievances seriously.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/energi.media\/opinion\/opinion-alberta-has-long-accused-ottawa-of-trying-to-destroy-its-oil-industry-thats-a-dangerous-myth\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Alberta - Thoughtful Journalism About Energy's Future","og_description":"Current and former Alberta politicians\u00a0are once again embracing and treating separatist grievances seriously.","og_url":"https:\/\/energi.media\/opinion\/opinion-alberta-has-long-accused-ottawa-of-trying-to-destroy-its-oil-industry-thats-a-dangerous-myth\/","og_site_name":"Thoughtful Journalism About Energy's Future","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/energimedia","article_published_time":"2025-05-08T18:45:15+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1164,"height":811,"url":"https:\/\/energi.media\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Alberta-Syncrude.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Energi Staff","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@EnergiMedia","twitter_site":"@EnergiMedia","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Energi Staff","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/energi.media\/opinion\/opinion-alberta-has-long-accused-ottawa-of-trying-to-destroy-its-oil-industry-thats-a-dangerous-myth\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/energi.media\/opinion\/opinion-alberta-has-long-accused-ottawa-of-trying-to-destroy-its-oil-industry-thats-a-dangerous-myth\/"},"author":{"name":"Energi Staff","@id":"https:\/\/energi.media\/#\/schema\/person\/07051d0cfb14da284c97fb8ff214caf7"},"headline":"Opinion: Alberta has long accused Ottawa of trying to destroy its oil industry. That\u2019s a dangerous myth","datePublished":"2025-05-08T18:45:15+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/energi.media\/opinion\/opinion-alberta-has-long-accused-ottawa-of-trying-to-destroy-its-oil-industry-thats-a-dangerous-myth\/"},"wordCount":1180,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/energi.media\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/energi.media\/opinion\/opinion-alberta-has-long-accused-ottawa-of-trying-to-destroy-its-oil-industry-thats-a-dangerous-myth\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/energi.media\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Alberta-Syncrude.jpg","keywords":["Canada","emissions","Environment","featured","Fossil Fuels","Government","policy","politics"],"articleSection":["Opinion"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/energi.media\/opinion\/opinion-alberta-has-long-accused-ottawa-of-trying-to-destroy-its-oil-industry-thats-a-dangerous-myth\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/energi.media\/opinion\/opinion-alberta-has-long-accused-ottawa-of-trying-to-destroy-its-oil-industry-thats-a-dangerous-myth\/","url":"https:\/\/energi.media\/opinion\/opinion-alberta-has-long-accused-ottawa-of-trying-to-destroy-its-oil-industry-thats-a-dangerous-myth\/","name":"Alberta - Thoughtful Journalism About Energy's Future","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/energi.media\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/energi.media\/opinion\/opinion-alberta-has-long-accused-ottawa-of-trying-to-destroy-its-oil-industry-thats-a-dangerous-myth\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/energi.media\/opinion\/opinion-alberta-has-long-accused-ottawa-of-trying-to-destroy-its-oil-industry-thats-a-dangerous-myth\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/energi.media\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Alberta-Syncrude.jpg","datePublished":"2025-05-08T18:45:15+00:00","description":"Current and former Alberta politicians\u00a0are once again embracing and treating separatist grievances seriously.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/energi.media\/opinion\/opinion-alberta-has-long-accused-ottawa-of-trying-to-destroy-its-oil-industry-thats-a-dangerous-myth\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/energi.media\/opinion\/opinion-alberta-has-long-accused-ottawa-of-trying-to-destroy-its-oil-industry-thats-a-dangerous-myth\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/energi.media\/opinion\/opinion-alberta-has-long-accused-ottawa-of-trying-to-destroy-its-oil-industry-thats-a-dangerous-myth\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/energi.media\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Alberta-Syncrude.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/energi.media\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Alberta-Syncrude.jpg","width":1164,"height":811,"caption":"In the 1980 National Energy Program, Ottawa offered tax benefits to oil sands companies\u00a0while stripping them from conventional oil producers. Syncrude photo."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/energi.media\/opinion\/opinion-alberta-has-long-accused-ottawa-of-trying-to-destroy-its-oil-industry-thats-a-dangerous-myth\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/energi.media\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Opinion: Alberta has long accused Ottawa of trying to destroy its oil industry. That\u2019s a dangerous myth"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/energi.media\/#website","url":"https:\/\/energi.media\/","name":"Thoughtful Journalism About Energy's Future","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/energi.media\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/energi.media\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/energi.media\/#organization","name":"Energi Media","url":"https:\/\/energi.media\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/energi.media\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/energi.media\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/cropped-cropped-EnergiMedia-v3-logo-e1625024297484.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/energi.media\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/cropped-cropped-EnergiMedia-v3-logo-e1625024297484.png","width":302,"height":61,"caption":"Energi Media"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/energi.media\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/energimedia","https:\/\/x.com\/EnergiMedia","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/energi-media","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@EnergiMedia"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/energi.media\/#\/schema\/person\/07051d0cfb14da284c97fb8ff214caf7","name":"Energi Staff","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8aab8747a56101912653d395e4d5b76c013eb58c9c0d846ee34f94382c2a3bbb?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8aab8747a56101912653d395e4d5b76c013eb58c9c0d846ee34f94382c2a3bbb?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8aab8747a56101912653d395e4d5b76c013eb58c9c0d846ee34f94382c2a3bbb?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Energi Staff"},"url":"https:\/\/energi.media\/author\/aen-staff\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/energi.media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66689","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/energi.media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/energi.media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/energi.media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/energi.media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66689"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/energi.media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66689\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":66693,"href":"https:\/\/energi.media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66689\/revisions\/66693"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/energi.media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/66691"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/energi.media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66689"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/energi.media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66689"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/energi.media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66689"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}