Q1.The aim is for you to think about how the development of the Canadian economy can inform us about what policies might be useful for ensuring the con-

tinued rise in the standard of living of Canadians. An area to consider is how to maximize the benefits of the oil reserves in Northern Alberta.

(a) Based on what you have learned in this course, do you think that exports of oil from

Alberta will result in a higher, sustainable standard of living for Canadians? Explain

your answer with reference to Canada's economic history, the Staples Thesis and the

Resource Curse.

(b) In the context of what you have learned in this course would Canada's prospects for

an improved standard of living be better with a pipeline to access foreign markets (for

example Keystone to the US or Gateway to BC tidewater in order to access Asian

markets)?

(c) An alternative proposal is to build a pipeline from Alberta to Eastern Canada and

encourage more upgrading and refining of raw bitumen to capture more of the value

added from the resource. In addition, by selling oil to the East at the below the world

price, manufacturing in central Canada could be stimulated. Based on what you have

learned in the course, discuss the implications of this strategy compared to the one in

b)?

(d) Should Canada have used the recent renegotiation of NAFTA to reconsider free trade

with the United States and instead to use tariffs to protect domestic manufacturing

in Canada? Answer in the context of what you have learned from Canada's economic

history.