Pierre Trudeau's National Energy Program

The National Energy program was a program created under the Liberal government of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. The 1980 National Energy Program was an attempt by the federal government increase Canadian content in the oil industry by giving incentives to Canadian companies. Keep the price of oil below the world price to protect consumers. Tax oil exports to increase the federal share of the profits. The national energy program tried to change two different prices of oil, one that was inside Canada and the other was outside of Canada. The question to be asked is was the National Energy Program beneficial for Canada? Did the program increase Canadian content in the oil industry, keep the prices of oil low, and tax oil exports?
Firstly, The
They did this to increase federal share of the profits. The tax that was placed on these oil exports triggered an outcry, not only in Alberta but in the U.S, where American based energy companies accused the Trudeau government of nationalization and filling investment in the industry. Foreign companies began selling off energy assets in Canada, which eliminated many jobs, particularly in Alberta. Thousands of Albertans were unable to pay mortgages and the real estate market crashed due to this. Most of the jobs in Alberta had to do with oil, since they are so rich in oil. When people lost their jobs it didn’t allow them to have enough money to pay mortgages or buy new houses. It affected the economy of Canada, not significantly but by a little bit due to people losing their jobs. The Trudeau government also introduced a tax to fund Ottawa's energy company Petro-Canada, and gave grants to Canadian owned companies to encourage exploration. In conclusion, The National Energy program had it’s advantages and disadvantages. In the end it was beneficial to Canada. It met all three of its goals, it increased Canadian content in the oil industry. It kept prices of oil lower than the world prices. They also taxed oil exports to increase federal share profits. These three things benefited Canada but at times also was a loss for Canada. Such as many Albertans losing their jobs. This was an important time in Canadian history. In the future something similar to the National Energy program could happen