My first (and last?) podcast

Alberta Edge - The 'Canadianization' of the oilsands: A story of ownership, identity, and power

They say that you need to keep trying new things to expand your mind and to keep things fresh. So, when I was contacted a few weeks ago to see whether or not I would be interested in being on an episode of The Hub podcast, my initial reaction was to say no. However, after some thought, I decided to say yes, and the initial topic was the “Canadianization” of the oil sands.

When one says “Canadianization” it can bring up many different ideas, but the main premise is that the assets that were once very scattered in terms of ownership have in fairly short order fallen into the hands of a few Canadian companies, with Canadian Natural Resources being at the forefront of that consolidation through its acquisition of Devon Canada and the consolidation of its interests in the Horizon Oil Sands project. Yes, the shareholders of these companies are mobile, as capital can flow to the places that are deemed to have the best returns (not just within Canada), and as such we can have Canadian companies that have a majority of foreign ownership. However, the taxes, employment, royalties and investment is primarily domiciled within Canada.

Of course, like any good conversation, the topics were varied and covered my t-shirt incident at the Senate 6 years ago, my thoughts on the new government and their ability to get new projects done, and a few other topics. I have attached a link below, and I welcome any feedback you may have.

And yes, it was surprisingly more enjoyable than I first expected it to be.