User:Caddyshack01/sandbox/Lougheed

Legacy
Jeanne and Peter Lougheed were often compared to Jackie and John F. Kennedy as well as Margaret and Pierre Trudeau. Time Magazine alluded to the "movie star" treatment the Lougheeds were greeted with across the province. Fil Fraser described Lougheed's time as Premier were the "Camelot for arts in Alberta". The couple was viewed

As a politician, Lougheed traveled Alberta to meet voters in their communities and impressed up on Progressive Conservative candidates the importance of door-to-door politics. When selecting candidates he looked for community leaders and ethic diversity to ensure the Progressive Conservative Party reflected Alberta's increasing diversity. He lamented "professional politicians" and sought candidates with professional experience in multiple industries. Lougheed understood the power of television, and was one of the first major Canadian politicians to build an electoral and government strategy around it. He advocated for a decentralization of the Government of Alberta, moving offices outside of Edmonton and Calgary to newly constructed provincial buildings in rural parts of the province.

During his 14 years as Premier, Lougheed oversaw significant economy and cultural growth in Alberta, largely fueled by oil and gas royalty revenues. Lougheed's domestic policies saw the development of the Athabasca Oilsands and the creation of the state-owned Alberta Energy Company to facilitate development of the oil and gas industry. Despite his party's Conservative label, Lougheed consistently made policies and investments that significantly expanded the government's role in the economy, impacted industries across the province, both in oil and gas and other areas of the free market, such as the purchase of Pacific Western Airlines. Lougheed implemented large-scale increases in provincial royalty rates for oil and gas production, and during the National Energy Program he reduced oil and gas production and paused two oil sands projects. These policies were unpopular with the Alberta oil and gas industry and conservatives in Alberta. The close ties of the state-owned Alberta Energy Company to the government gave critics the impression of an "unfair competitive advantage", and Lougheed's intervention in the free market through controlling oil and gas production worried his conservative base.

From an investment standpoint Lougheed did not believe in corporate welfare, and instead sought equity stakes in businesses the province supported resulting in large holdings. In 1976, Lougheed created the Alberta Heritage Savings Trust Fund as a "rainy day" fund for oil and gas royalties. He also placed a significant emphasis on diversification of the Alberta economy away from oil and gas revenues. However, under Lougheed the government of Alberta continued to fund a significant portion of the provincial budget from non-renewable resource revenue, growing from 35 per cent of revenue in 1973 to 51 per cent in 1979.

His advocacy extended beyond provincial borders and was a driving force for Canadian premiers during the Constitutional repatriation debates of the late-1970s and early-1980s. He is credited for the amending formula and introduction of the notwithstanding clause in the Constitution Act, 1982. However, former University of Calgary professor Roger Gibbins notes that Alberta remained in a defensive position during constitutional debates due to the National Energy Program and Trudeau's willingness to independently repatriate the constitution, in that sense Gibbins viewed Lougheed's contribution to constitutional debates as maintaining the status quo, which was not in the best interest of Western Canada.

Former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney described Lougheed as a "great leader for Alberta...and for the entire nation". Biographer Alan Tupper described Lougheed as exemplifying Alberta's best qualities, and as the "principal architect of modern Alberta". Former prime minister and justice minister during the constitutional debates Jean Chrétien described Lougheed as "he was tough, but he was a gentleman". Former Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi described Lougheed's legacy as "I have never known an Alberta or a Canadian that did not benefit from his legacy. We owe him so much: our strong industries, our magnetic cities, our sense of identity within Canada".

In 2012, Policy Options a magazine published by the public policy think tank Institute for Research on Public Policy brought together a jury of 30 prominent Canadians which named Peter Lougheed the best Canadian Premier in the past 40 years (1972–2012). Lougheed was ranked first amongst 21 of the 30 jurors.