Alberta's Oil Economy Built on State-Sponsored Science

Alberta's oil economy may seem like a straightforward story of geological discovery and technological innovation. However, according to scholar Jeremy Schmidt, the reality is more complex.

In his book 'Landlocked: Water, Energy, and Planetary Politics in Alberta,' Schmidt argues that the province's modern energy economy emerged from decades of state-funded science and technological development. This helped transform the province's vast oil sands reserves into one of the world's largest petroleum industries.

Schmidt notes that private capital was essential to the development process, but the state played a crucial role in creating the scientific and technological conditions for large-scale extraction. He also highlights the interconnected history of water and energy in Alberta, where early agricultural settlement required irrigation, governments developed institutions for allocating and managing water, and industrial energy production created new demands for the same resource.

The changing hydrology of Western Canada poses significant challenges to this arrangement. As less snowfall means reduced summer runoff and lower late-summer river flows, the allocation of water will become increasingly important in shaping Alberta's development.