The Shock Doctrine

Alberta Launches Major Public Relations Strategy to Reshape Image of Canadian Oilsands in the U.S.

Jason Fekete, Calgary Herald, July 8, 2008

"Alberta has launched a full-court press on U.S. lawmakers — including camps of the two presidential candidates — to sell the importance and sustainability of the oilsands before the province is backed into a corner....

"It’s not about selling oil. It’s about defending oil," [Gary] Mar, Alberta’s point man in Washington, said Monday in an interview. The Stelmach government’s campaign to defend the oilsands — the second largest oil reserves on the planet — is “very broad and very deep,” he noted.

"While Mar is still considering trying to arrange meetings with Obama and McCain to discuss Alberta’s concerns, he said he’ll concentrate for now on selling the province’s message to their top advisers. The government also has planned a series of U.S. delegations, including politicians and policy-makers, to visit the northern Alberta oilsands over the next few months."