National Energy Program

The National Energy Program was enacted by the government of Pierre Trudeau in 1980. It was introduced in the wake of the energy crises of the 1970s and was designed to promote oil self-sufficiency, maintain the oil supply, particularly for the industrial base in eastern Canada, promote Canadian ownership of the energy industry, promote lower prices, promote oil-exploration, promote alternative energy sources, and increase government revenues from oil sales through a variety of taxes and agreements.

The program was enormously unpopular in Western Canada, and heightened distrust of the federal government, especially in Alberta and British Columbia. The economic consequences in the west were severe. The justification for the program died when oil prices lowered in the early 1980s, leading to its abandonment.