Peter Lougheed Passing Statement

On behalf of 150,000 Alberta union members,
I extend my deepest condolences to the family of Peter Lougheed

EDMONTON- “On behalf of 150,000 Alberta union members, I extend my deepest condolences to the family of Peter Lougheed. We have lost a visionary and principled leader. Using our tremendous natural resources wealth, Peter Lougheed built the modern Alberta – investing in schools, hospitals, infrastructure, building industries, and protecting the environment, such as establishing Kananaskis Country. He built the Heritage Fund and urged us to think like owners of our resources. Lougheed understood the concept of the public interest, and did not confuse what was good for private industry with what is good for the public as a whole. He was not a cheerleader for narrow business interests, and he did not engage in gimmicks or short-term thinking. He used our wealth to build a better Alberta.

Lougheed was concerned about Alberta’s future right to the end of his life, and used his political stature to raise important questions about the pace of development in the oil sands and the rapidly increasing trend towards shipping bitumen raw instead of upgrading it in the province. He was unafraid of challenging his successors as they moved away from his priorities for the province. Even when he was being actively critical of governments and leaders who came after him, he was always statesmanlike, always with a view to the bigger picture of Albertans’ public interest. He remained engaged and outspoken in the affairs of our province, I think, because he saw Alberta’s potential as more than just the success of a few industries, or short-lived booms and busts – he saw us as a community. “

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MEDIA CONTACT:

Gil McGowan, AFL President, 780-218-9888