As Canada’s trade war with the United States continues, more voices within and outside Alberta are proposing using Western Canada’s resources as leverage in trade negotiations. The federal government can impose export tariffs or even curtail oil and gas exports to pressure the USA. But using Alberta’s oil as a bargaining chip in a trade war would be economically risky and politically explosive.
The problem is that Canada has limited pricing power. The costs would land first on Canadian producers and consumers, and the political memory of the National Energy Program (NEP)—the last time Ottawa tried to conscript Alberta’s energy wealth—is still raw.
