Question

(A) Do you think that exports of oil from Alberta will result in a higher, sustainable standard of living for Canadians? Explain your answer with reference to Canada’s economic history, the Staples Thesis and the Resource Curse.

(B) Would Canada’s prospects for an improved standard of living be better with a pipeline to access foreign markets (for example Keystone to the US or Gateway to BC tidewater in order to access Asian markets)?

(C) An alternative proposal is to build a pipeline from Alberta to Eastern Canada and encourage more upgrading and refining of raw bitumen to capture more of the value added from the resource. In addition, by selling oil to the East at the below the world price, manufacturing in central Canada could be stimulated. discuss the implications of this strategy compared to the one in b)?

(D) Should Canada have used the recent renegotiation of NAFTA to reconsider free trade with the United States and instead to use tariffs to protect domestic manufacturing in Canada? Refer to Canada’s economic history.

Answer 1