Where the Oil Sand Owners Stand

Albertans want a new narrative on oil sands development, a survey suggests. Get rich quick? No, they want to prosper, but they also want sensible policy.

As owners of the oil sands, Albertans are defensive about them, and it’s easy to see why. The negative comments on the subject from the Copenhagen Summit and the recent “Rethink Alberta” dirty oil billboard campaign in the U.S. have made Alberta the political bull’s-eye for environment and climate-change thought leaders.

To better understand how Albertans feel about oil sands development, my firm, Cambridge Strategies, did a conjoint survey to determine the value priorities Albertans feel should drive and guide oil sands development.
The results are very different from the conventional wisdom that sees Albertans as being in the get-rich-quick business when it comes to oil sands development. In fact, the results show that Albertans are more focused on an integrated long-term environmental stewardship approach to oil sands development.

Between May 6 and 11, 2010, we randomly surveyed 1,032 Albertans and asked some pointed attitudinal questions on political and policy-related perceptions concerning oil sands development.

We found that 89 per cent of Albertans believe the oil sands are vital to their future prosperity and that 87 per cent believe oil sands companies should be held responsible for all environmental damage they cause. Only 12 per cent were significantly satisfied with the performance of the Stelmach government, and only 31 per cent felt their oil sands resources were being managed responsibly. Just over 50 per cent of Albertans think they are listened to by or have any influence on their government.

Fewer than 20 per cent of Albertans were satisfied with how their members of Parliament represented Alberta’s interests in Ottawa. When asked who was most trusted to responsibly manage Alberta’s growth, the Wildrose Alliance got 19 per cent support and Stelmach’s government 23 per cent, while percentages for the Liberals (nine per cent) and the NDP (four per cent) were insignificant. Forty-five per cent of Albertans chose “None of the above”; clearly there is a lack of confidence in the conventional political parties and leadership.

As for what values should drive and guide oil sands development, the most popular answer among Albertans was through reclamation of lands that will support biodiversity, followed by protection of wildlife habitat and then ecological monitoring. The next three ranked value concerns were greenhouse gas emissions, water usage, and the actual pace of reclamation.

Our study demonstrated a serious disconnect between what the public thinks should be happening to address these concerns and what is in fact happening. So far, government and oil sands industry have failed to align their actions with the public’s values. This is resulting in a growing sense that the public’s trust is being betrayed. The clear message is that Albertans want to prosper from their oil sands development. But they also want a policy approach that is long-term, comprehensive, and integrated around environmental, social, political, and economic concerns.

Albertans clearly don’t trust government and industry to do the right thing these days. Unless government and industry start listening, aligning and delivering results consistent with Albertans’ values around oil sands development, the province is destined to become a much more politically volatile and increasingly activist place to govern and do business.