There’s an end-of-Roman-Empire feel about things these days.
It’s understandable. After all, War and Plague are two of the Apocalypse’s trusty horsemen and we’re currently getting somewhat saddle-sore, courtesy of a double dose of those ancient horrors.
Historically, they’ve often arrived as a deadly duo, so, while it’s little consolation, at least we know mankind’s been down this dark and dreary road many times before and yet here we are, still standing.
Proving it’s indeed difficult to walk and chew gum simultaneously with feelings of dread, we’ve now settled upon the awful war in Ukraine as our primary worry, meaning those pandemic concerns endured for two years will by necessity gradually fade in importance. Good riddance, say I.
So, with the acronym NATO moving ahead of WHO in search engine requests, where does Alberta sit in regard to Russia’s invasion of its Slavic neighbour and the corresponding fallout?
On a human level – always the most important – Ukrainians have a proud history in the development of our province, being among the most numerous cohort of settlers to overcome dreadful privations and carve out a life on this northern plain.
Likely there will soon come a time when we open our doors to many more; this province certainly has both the room and need for dynamic newcomers, especially those with something to prove and a willingness to work. Plus, there are many Albertans who share that same central European heritage and therefore will undoubtedly make such newcomers welcome.
So, let’s turn from the heart to the head: Ours is a province rich in natural resources, in a world suddenly realizing an ostracized Russia happens to provide a lot of them.
This is a huge opportunity for Alberta. Most of us already knew in our bones that, if and when the energy hammer came down and heating and transport costs shot up, the whole glorious Green agenda would crack like lake ice during an inevitable late-March thaw.
Never was this change of tone as evident as in a recent CBC story about the difficulties of getting more Alberta oil to market. Three weeks ago and the prose would have been thick with negative environmental commentary, but no longer. Instead, just a straightforward piece about the need for more pipeline capacity.
Meanwhile, there’s US President Joe Biden, trying to balance the tough talk on Russia with a desperate need to keep gas prices below four bucks a gallon as mid-term elections loom. Bet that decision to kibosh the Keystone XL pipeline a year ago doesn’t sit quite so well today.
Suddenly our once-dirty oil has been miraculously transformed into a clean elixir: in fact that costly discount the US refineries were placing on Alberta’s Western Canadian Select is falling – once as wide as 35 bucks, it’s now closing in on single digits.
And then there’s natural gas – the Europeans are scrambling to build liquefied gas importation facilities, as they hurriedly attempt to wean themselves off the Russian piped variety. Of course, Canada long ago missed the LNG boat, literally, by not building out expansive export facilities. Hey, but we can still ship it stateside via pipeline for a smaller slice of this very rich pie.
Plus, wheat, lumber and coal futures are skyrocketing as well, in the globe’s desperate hunt for all manner of natural resources.
It has been almost seven years since the fates last shone on our province in such a manner. Surely we deserve this good fortune.
And yes, it’s within reach. The only cloud on this otherwise dazzling horizon is a mushroom-shaped one. So yes, let’s pray that particular horseman isn’t saddling up.
Chris Nelson is a long-time journalist. His columns on Alberta politics run monthly in the St. Albert Gazette.
