In Conversation with Jordan O'Brien: Alberta Insights

Porter O’Brien partner Jordan O’Brien flew out to Alberta the day after the federal election to meet with current, former and future clients in Calgary, and to attend the Invest Alberta North Star Energy Security Summit, as the only attendee from Atlantic Canada. There, he had the chance to talk to several business leaders and locals about their thoughts on the new federal government, Alberta separatism, and the path forward for Alberta and Canada. We spoke to him about his experience upon his return.

Note: This interview has been shortened for conciseness.

Q: So Jordan, what were your expectations going into Calgary? What did you think the political landscape would be like out west?

JO: I think that people in Alberta feel disconnected from Ottawa, particularly when there are Liberal governments. We have a lot of good contacts in Alberta, and I travelled there to talk about people's concerns and priorities and attend the Invest Alberta North Star Energy Security Summit this past month. I was really surprised it wasn't as negative as I expected it to be. 

There’s a lot of talk of Albertan separatism right now in the media, and I had a lot of very interesting conversations during my time in Alberta, including with some people that have been perceived to be associated with the separatist movement. And that wasn't the way they described their position. There was nobody there that was in favour of separation that I talked to, but there were a lot of people that were worried about it. It's not business leaders and politicians that want Alberta to separate but there are some really aggrieved people that do, and if there isn't a change in the way that Ottawa talks and the way that Ottawa governs then those aggrieved people are going to be the majority.

What I heard was that people were quite accepting of the election results in Alberta and cautiously optimistic that this was going to be a different kind of government than the government it replaced. The devil’s in the details though, specifically in choices of the cabinet, the budget, and the throne speech. So far, we've seen who’s in the cabinet and although there are some misgivings about the new Environment Minister, Julie Dabrusin, who was the former parliamentary secretary to the environment minister at the time, Steven Guilbeault, I think people will be relatively happy in Alberta. With Tim Hodgson in the energy and natural resources file, I think there’s cause for optimism.

Q: What are the most common concerns coming out of Alberta right now?

JO: There's certainly a feeling that Ottawa doesn't understand how the resource sector works and doesn't understand or doesn't care about the impact that some of the more recent government policies and legislation has had on the sector. Alberta is hoping for some changes to policy and some changes to legislation. The reality is tone matters a lot. Investment decisions are based on perception of risk and the tone largely informs that. Policies may need to change but a different tone will also help the investment climate in the resource sector in Western Canada. So far, I think we’re seeing that.

Q: So you said Alberta would be relatively happy with the cabinet decisions. Can you elaborate on that?

JO: One of the things I heard over and over was that they didn't really care whether or not there were Albertans in cabinet and what portfolios they held. I mean, Alberta has had representation in cabinet for the majority of the last 10 years and they didn't feel like it made a difference. The choices of natural resources minister and environment minister really mattered to them and whether these ministers were people that they could deal with or people who were ideologically opposed to the way Alberta sees the world. As it’s a Liberal government, they're not going to be ideologically simpatico with Alberta and Alberta's current government but they were looking for pragmatists as opposed to ideologues and I think that they've got that with Tim Hodgson.

Q: On that note, Prime Minister Carney did have some points about resource development in his platform. What are your thoughts about where he might go with that and how he might involve Alberta in the process?

JO:  I think that they'll take a very business approach to it. That's the prime minister's background and it's certainly the background of Energy and Natural Resources Minister Hodgson. I think they'll be looking at the economics and consider which projects have the best return on investment, which projects will make the most sense, and which projects are most aligned with the public interest, which is the government's goal. Presumably, they’ll want to make sure that those projects proceed in a responsible way but without undue red tape. 

Q: What opportunities are there out in Alberta that you think Ottawa might be missing out on?

JO: I think at the end of the day, the integration between the Canadian economy and the American economy is a risk to Canada and we've seen that very much in the last few months. Right now, most Canadian energy moves through the US, right? And so, we need to ask ourselves, “Does that make sense going forward?” Alberta gets a below market price for its oil because the only place it can go is the US. In Atlantic Canada, we're particularly vulnerable. Most of our natural gas comes through Maine and so, there's a lot of risks to the way our energy infrastructure is built right now. Right now, we have this resource that we're going to need for the foreseeable future and we can't access it very well in our own country. 

I heard at the conference that the majority of money being spent on renewable energy in Canada is being spent in Alberta. I hadn't heard that and I doubt many Canadians in the eastern half of the country have either. All these projects and economic activity means opportunities for investment opportunities, for partnership opportunities, and for jobs.

Q: How can Alberta companies and corporations ensure that they are being heard by Ottawa?

JO: I've said to clients before, the better you are at business, the harder it's going to be for you to understand how the government works because they function in opposite ways to one another. It’s important to have someone on your side who can navigate the complex machinery of government. That’s where consultants can come in. Government relations consultants can speak the language of business people and that of government officials, so we can help business people convey their message in a way that the government will understand and resonate to. They can also help businesses understand the government decision-making process which can be very very different from a corporate decision-making process and let them know what to expect, what to anticipate, how long it's going to take, and where they can intervene to improve their success.

Q:  What do you think Porter O’Brien can bring to clients out in Alberta, in terms of bridging the gap between them and Ottawa?

JO:  So, there was a guy at the North Star Energy Security Summit who I thought was insightful. He’s originally from Alberta, but he spent a lot of his career in the United States and he said that he speaks American, Canadian, and Albertan. That resonated with me because again it comes down to understanding how Albertans feel about central Canada and Ottawa and the government. A number of our consulting team have roots in Alberta, or have lived and worked in Alberta. Many of us have worked on client files with Alberta clients in numerous sectors. So as much as an outsider can, I think we get Alberta. Porter O’Brien also has staff who are experts in the machinery of government in Ottawa. We're well connected with both the political side and the civil service there. So we are in a position to bridge that gap in a way that maybe central Canadians aren't. The Atlantic region and the West have a lot more in common than we have different. We both feel at times aggrieved and forgotten and left behind by decisions in Ottawa and Toronto. And so between the work and the connections we have to Alberta and our connections and experience in Ottawa, Porter O’Brien has a relatively unique value proposition.