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Alberta Elections: 1975 National Energy Program Lougheed Fights Trudeau, Raises Oil Revenues and Wins Election for PC?s

Between the elections of 1971 and 1975, the oil boom allowed Peter Lougheed?s government to go on an unprecedented spree of spending and expansion. According to historian David Leonard, this glut of prosperity served to dampen any youthful, radical sentiment:

So with this youth orientation that you had by the election of 1971, so many of them by 1975 were themselves joining the establishment, taking jobs. And even though they may give lip service to left-wing causes, they were very much in favour of the laissez-faire government of Peter Lougheed, which itself was doing many things on behalf of the people. Government services really expanded during the early 1970?s. The Civil Service boomed to 35 000 people. And the government was doing some things that would have been unheard of in the business community, like purchasing Pacific Western Airlines, and by owning one half of the Alberta Energy Company, and doing things that extreme right-wingers would think of as socialistic.

The boom that resulted from the international oil shortage of 1973 pushed oil prices ever higher. Resentment built in the rest of Canada over Alberta?s prosperity, for it seemed that Alberta was profiting at their expense. So it wasn?t long before a fight erupted between Alberta and Ottawa.

There was a feeling of apprehension about the federal government. Prime Minister Trudeau was noted to be looking askance at the developing boom in Alberta. And in 1974, he undertook to put a freeze on the oil prices in the province, which Mr. Lougheed and others thought was an intrusion into Alberta?s right to control its natural resources. And so Lougheed responded by simply raising the royalties to keep more money coming into the coffers. And this seemed to be satisfactory to most of Albertans.

The election came early in 1975. And the electorate showed it was solidly behind Peter Lougheed and his Progressive Conservatives.

And on the 26th of March in 1975, the Progressive Conservative government won the election with sixty-three percent of the popular vote and also taking sixty-nine of seventy-five ridings. And the only real voice of opposition to this big government and big in the provincial Legislature was the one NDP vote of Grant Notley, who represented the riding of Spirit River Fairview.

As the Progressive Conservatives headed into their second term, oil, inflation, and the feud with Ottawa continued to dominate Alberta?s political agenda.

On the Heritage Trail, I?m Cheryl Croucher.

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