Alberta's Petroleum Heritage Edukit

This section features the CKUA Radio Network’s Heritage Trails series. Related to the Leduc No. 1 discovery, these 2-minute audio-vignettes present valuable information on the oil boom, urbanization in Alberta and the economics and politics of oil exploration.

CKUA Heritage Trails

Alberta Elections: 1948 Leduc Strike, Alberta Debt-Free
New opportunities created for veterans and an oil boom contribute to Alberta's economy following World War II. The Social Credit government benefits from this prosperity, but its leader, Ernest Manning, faces opposition from within the party over his abandonment of Social Credit ideology.
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Alberta Elections: 1952 Oil Boom Continues, Urbanization Gives Manning a Smooth Run
Alberta's oil and gas industry expands greatly after World War II, with the building of new wellheads, pipelines and refineries. In the province, New towns develop cities rapidly expand, and many farms consolidate.
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Alberta Elections: 1963 Land of Prosperity, Expansion, Oil Royalties and Education
Fear of nuclear holocaust and optimism surrounding the development of the province's oil and natural gas reserves and its educational facilities dominate the minds of Albertans during the early 1960s. This contributes to the success of Ernest Manning's Social Credit Party as it heads into the 1963 provincial election.
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Alberta Elections: 1975 Oil Crisis of 1973 Creates Boom Economy in Alberta
Peter Lougheed's Progressive Conservatives come to power in Alberta in 1971, just before the OPEC embargo sends oil prices skyrocketing. The resulting wave of prosperity attracts many people to the province and encourages the further development of Alberta's oil resources. The government expands services to meet the province's increasing needs.
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Alberta Elections: 1975 National Energy Program Lougheed Fights Trudeau, Raises Oil Revenues and Wins Election for PC's
The Progressive Conservative government in Alberta expands its services in the early 1970's as oil royalties fill the provincial coffers. Pierre Trudeau intervenes to help those not benefiting from the high oil prices, but faces stiff opposition from the Alberta government.
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