Big infrastructure spending plans in both Canada, the United States, and the European Union, all place a lot of emphasis on renewable energy displacing coal, gas and petroleum burning generating stations and motor vehicles. Yet little attention is given to the one...
The conservative or free market foundational principle that government should stay out of business was ignored by the United Conservative Party of Alberta and the premier of the provincial government. Their regime ‘invested’ what has come to be revealed as $1.3...
Michigan’s governor has launched the latest political hit job on a Canadian or international pipeline. Gretchen Whitmer is targeting Enbridge’s Line 5, which runs from Alberta through the Great Lakes region to refineries and chemical plants in Sarnia, Ontario. The...
Canada’s energy security is top of the news this week with the threatened closure of Line 5, a cross-border Canadian oil pipeline that has been operating since the 1950s. It supplies nearly half of the Ontario and Quebec market for light crude oil, light synthetic...
Trade barriers among provinces in Canada are a problem. Canada has signed trade agreements with foreign countries like the U.S. and regions like the European Union. Yet, trade barriers still exist in Canada even though countries like Germany or Belgium don’t have...
The attack on the Capitol in Washington and its aftermath have taken a toll, but unfortunately, the incident will remain remote and extraordinary for most. It has been politicized, sensationalized and reconstructed, but its tragic impact on those on the front lines is...
Ben Eisen and Kenneth Green show that high levels of resource consumption in North America enables economic production and wealth creation that brings benefits to people all over the world.
When western Canada entered confederation, the construction of a national rail line was a key element of connecting the country east-to-west. In today's world, I wonder if we need a new national dream to enable infrastructure systems, namely roads, rail lines, power...
I will leave it up to the reader to judge the merits of this commentary suggesting a pipeline to eastern Canada for oil is desirable in a National Energy Strategy. The one thing I will assert is that all alternatives should be discussed in Canada at a time when our...
This is a reasonably balanced article from the Globe and Mail. As a farmer and rural landowner, I have been somewhat concerned about the mantra coming out of the oil and gas industry that there is zero risk associated with fracking techniques. Finally the...
Joe Oliver has assumed the mantle as the Defender of the Oil Sands, a role he is clearly relishing. The fourth natural resources minister to serve under Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Mr. Oliver has more than any of his predecessors taken up the cudgels for Alberta oil producers who face a concerted, international campaign to shut down their aggressive expansion plans.
Eric Merkley, Ben Eisen and Kenneth Green examine 8 case studies in carbon pricing from around the world, and assess their economic, environmental and political consequences.
Premier Redford’s Canadian energy strategy sounds well-intentioned but it risks being hijacked by radical environmentalism and fuelling unintended consequences such as an enlarged civil service, weakened democratic values and the autonomous spirit of Albertans.
When I read a news item like this one profiling the riches that Alberta is reaping from the natural, non-renewable resource asset base, I often try to simplify it to making an analogy to my own farm. I own 200 acres of land that most years will produce a bit of...
Frontier Centre Intern Eric Merkley shows that the use of grains for biofuel production instead of feedstock can contribute to undesirable increases in the price of food.