Energy

 Originally posted 12 July 2016 Energy drives politics in Alberta.  Since the early days of the twentieth century when natural gas (1911) and oil (1914) was discovered in the Turner Valley, the politics of Alberta have been influenced by the growing wealth of the oil and gas sector. Three pillars of the Calgary establishment- Sir James Lougheed, R.B. Bennett and W.H. McLaws - created the Calgary Stock Exchange in 1913.  Like so many Alberta financial stories, the stock exchange grew by leaps and bounds until its building was foreclosed upon. While Alberta's premiers have not come directly from the oil patch, premiers ignore the oil patch at their peril. (more…)