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It is also unlikely that Alberta will submit to the wishes of less blessed Canadian provinces and share its energy royalties with them. Alberta's officials, notably Conservative Premier Peter Lougheed, argue convincingly that other regions are already "subsidized," because Ottawa holds down the domestic price of oil to $13.75, half as much as some OPEC nations charge.
But splitting up the energy wealth remains a bitter and divisive issue in a nation already torn by threats of separatism. When Calgary made an offer of $217.5 million and thus became Canada's choice to be host of the 1988 Winter Olympics, one Vancouver official growled: "What are they going to do —landscape the Rockies?" That, for a province as rich and resourceful as Alberta, remains a possibility.