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As one example of this short-termism, in September 1982, just before a provincial election, and during the last separatist insurgence, Peter Lougheed surprised Albertans by announcing it was “raining” and the Heritage Fund would be raided. Poor Alberta, let’s remove all the income. Woe is us, although the 1982 budget boosted spending by a remarkable 30 per cent. And the result? Lougheed’s Tories increased their dominance of the legislature from 73 to 75 of the 77 seats while unseating the lone separatist in the legislature. Wow!

Instead of accepting the fact that oil prices were outside the government’s control, our political leaders go to the default position. Victims of Ottawa, conveniently ignoring how decade after decade, political leaders have depended on oil to remain in power.

What Alberta requires now is some empathy from the rest of Canada. But receiving empathy will also require some humble pie. When commodity prices were high, we felt special. We felt entitled to vast capital works projects and enhanced public services. However, a significant portion of the cost was financed by selling the resources we owned.

As the climate emergency accelerates and as consciousness changes about the emergency, Alberta, Saskatchewan, B.C. and Ottawa must find leadership models that avoid the blame-victimhood dynamic. It requires a clear-eyed vision of a green future, a future our species deserves. The path to the future is not through blaming Ottawa (or the oil industry for not investing), but rather mapping out a massive multi-decade program for moving Alberta and Canada to a country of clean air and water — a vision like a Manhattan Project which co-ordinates public and private resources in a war we must win.