Oil, the state, and federalism
Subtitle: the rise and demise of Petro-Canada as a statist impulse
By: John Erik Fossum
Series: Studies in comparative political economy and public policy -- 2
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
Published: 1997
Place of publication: Toronto
Language: eng
Number of pages: 368
Subjects: Petro-Canada; Petroleum industry and trade -- Government ownership -- Canada -- Case studies; Corporations, Government -- Canada -- Case studies; Energy policy -- Canada; Federal government -- Canada
Description: The creation and privatization of Petro-Canada provides an important lesson in state intervention and Canadian public policy. John Erik Fossum explores the reasons for the federal government's intervention in the energy industry between 1973 and 1984 and shows how its initial objectives failed, culminating in the privatization of Petro-Canada in 1990. In other countries, state oil policy unfolded along state-industry lines of conflict.

Fossum shows us how in Canada the conflict was deflected to focus on the jurisdictional and constitutional concerns of governmental actors. The dismantling of state intervention was associated with a reverse deflection and reduced conflict in both the state-industry and intergovernmental arenas. Oil, the State, and Federalism is a sophisticated analysis of statist and federalist theories of Canadian public policy-making that will spark debate among political scientists, analysts, and policy-makers.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index