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but his father was apparently a great PM
If you plan to move to Alberta and work in oil then you better not say anything good about Pierre Trudeau, and his National Energy Program from 1980 to 1985- you will not be too popular out here!
Basically, in 1973, the Yom Kippur War between Israel and Egypt prompted OPEC to establish an oil embargo for nations that supported Israel, namely, the United States. Canada had discovered massive oil pools in Leduc, Alberta in 1947, and began a productive oil business. But after the embargo, the US needed a new source for oil amid skyrocketing oil prices, so they turned to Canada. Almost overnight, Alberta became the dominant economy in Canada due to the petroleum business. American investment in Canada increased and more and more people from the West made fortunes. In 1979, another 'oil crisis' occurred as global output of oil fell due to the Iranian Revolution, and once again, oil prices climbed and the oil companies in Calgary raked in the cash. However, this made manufacturing out East expensive, as people in Ontario and Quebec struggled to economically adjust to higher energy prices.
The 1980 federal election was a massive turning point in Canadian political history- Trudeau won a majority government, despite having not won a single seat in BC, Alberta and Saskatchewan, but 74/75 seats in Quebec and another 52 in Ontario. As his base was out East, he clearly needed to appease them, so he implemented the National Energy Program (NEP). The plan had three principles:
1) security of supply and ultimate independence from the world oil market;
2) opportunity for all Canadians to participate in the energy industry; particularly oil and gas, and to share in the benefits of its expansion; and
3) fairness, with a pricing and revenue-sharing regime which recognizes the needs and rights of all Canadians.
The third point was the kicker- Trudeau set a ceiling on the selling price of Canadian oil, meaning that Alberta had to sell Ontario and Quebec oil below market value. As well, he levied an export tax, meaning that profit on every barrel of oil sold to the USA went directly to the feds. He established Petro-Canada as the nationalized oil company, which used these tax dollars to compete with private Albertan companies.
Due to the high oil prices across the globe, manufacturing declined, and a glut of oil in the world market led to a price collapse in the early 1980s. Still, Alberta was penalized for selling oil to Americans and could not sell their oil at market price to Easterners due to the NEP, and the economies of oil-producing provinces collapsed. Trudeau became public enemy #1 as unemployment soared out West, and Petro-Canada Square became known as Red Square to the locals.
This led to the concept of 'Western Alienation.' The Liberals didn't have the interests of the West in mind as their entire base was out East, which began the rise of the Reform Party. in 1987, Preston Manning kicked off the party, which preached Conservative values, a hard-right rise in response to what many saw as a spineless federal Progressive Conservative party led by Brian Mulroney that still pandered to Eastern interests. The influence of the party slowly rose over time, and after Jean Chretien destroyed the federal PCs in 1993, the Reform became the face of conservatives in Canada. They became the Official Opposition in 1997, and slowly gained prominence through the rest of the country. They became the Alliance in 2000, and finally merged with the remaining PCs in 2003, creating the current Conservative party. They continued to gain seats, forcing the Liberals into minority governments in 2004 and 2006, finally winning in 2008.
Stephen Harper is the result of the NEP, without a question. It took almost 20 years, but the Reform party, initially a bunch of Christian hard-right conservatives, managed to evolve to more moderate Conservatives we see today, and Stephen Harper is the face of this transition that the Reformers had to undergo in order to appeal to the rest of Canada. Some people, especially your elite Toronto types, resent the rise of Western influence in Canadian politics, but personally, I think Harper has done a solid job as leader. The economy has been strong, as shown by Canada's impressive stand during the so-called Great Recession of 2008. He isn't Obama in terms of riling up the public, but he has been the steady hand Canada has needed after decades of Liberal, Ontario-focused dominance. Compare him to Justin Trudeau, a former substitute drama teacher (who admittedly has great hair) with no formal education in law or economics and only a few years as an MP & is ditzier than a blonde chick. It's a no brainer in my opinion, but I'm a redneck oil industry guy from the prairies, so I am obviously biased