Roger Gibbins and Canada West

On the theme of new approaches to Canadian politics, the political scientist Roger Gibbins has been writing some of the most essential and interesting analysis of the next stage in Canadian politics.   His National Post piece of July 13, 2005 , put the arguments for a new Alberta approach to national politics cogently and innovatively.    The  dynamic Alberta entrepreneurial community has always wanted to be  engaged in  national politics.   Just as the entrepreneurial Quebec community in the 1980s found a role in national politics, their equivalence in Alberta has been seeking a role in national politics for a while.   It is fascinating for a non-Albertan to see the similariarity of logic Gibbins uses to that of the most effective Quebec federalists.  Sovereignty is viable,  a "firewall" or radical decentralization  is a strategic option, but filled with negative unintended consequences and opportunity costs.    What is best is for these new sources of energy for find a role in the national process.  For this to happen, there has to be an interest in other Canadian provinces in making this new coalition work.   Those supporting a growth and competitiveness agenda in Ontario and Quebec must now articulate their willingness to support Albertans who share a similar vision and develop a strategy to bypass the out-of-date assumptions which have held back Canadian federalism the last decade.    The "buying in" of Alberta has to be an opportunity to participate in the kind of national decision-making which makes politics relevant:  a national energy grid that creates win-win economic restructuring opportunities; a strategic approach to new energy sources that builds national critical mass with Calgary's expertise; an approach to foreign policy that recognizes that Canada is an energy superpower and creates a leadership role for Canadian politics in the restructuring of the global oil market and the development of emerging market oil resources.   This is quite different from the quicksand of another debate about institutional reform of the kind that has hampered Canadian growth and innovation for decades.    A national public policy that is built on the needs and skills of all of Canada is a prerequisite to a Canadian strategy for global competitiveness.   That starts in Calgary and a good place to start is for non-Albertans to engage the discussions launched by Gibbins and his colleagues at the Canada West Foundation, and ensure that they are read by the next generation of Canadian decision-makers who are correctly bored to tears and highly skeptical of institutional discussions.     www.cwf.ca