Jim Prentice won the leadership race for the Progressive Conservative (PC) Association of Alberta on Sept. 6 and, as such, is the premier-designate. Prentice now faces the challenge of uniting a divided caucus and preparing for a provincial election that will come within a year or so.

Prentice was, from the get-go, the choice of the PC party establishment as the man who can extend the Tories’ winning streak. That task grew considerably more difficult as the summer progressed, however, as the party faced scandals, embarrassments and general conflagrations that managed to rouse Albertans from their enjoyment of a beautiful, warm summer. During the leadership race, Prentice and challengers Ric McIvor and Thomas Lukaszuk spent more time slinging mud than articulating policy. But Prentice emerged as the clear favourite, and now he turns his attention to healing wounds and forming a unified team.

Prentice inherits a PC mantle that both benefits and suffers from its longevity. While the Tories clearly are Alberta’s natural ruling party, having ruled for 43 years, many question whether the rot so evident in the past year – a culture of entitlement, an inability to distinguish between partisan and government activities, lack of direction and coherent policies – gives the Wildrose Party a shot in the next election.

From a business perspective, there’s no doubt that Prentice has a lot on his plate. Yes, Alberta leads the nation in most economic indicators, from a high rate of growth to low unemployment and leading retail indicators – we Albertans love to dine out – but let us not take anything for granted. The headwinds are growing, and they mostly have to do with matters of environmental and First Nations significance. Pipelines east, west and south all face challenges, and those mostly have to do with a poor provincial environmental record and opposition from First Nations groups. (In British Columbia, no fewer than nine constitutional challenges flowing from the Supreme Court of Canada’s landmark Tsilhqot’in decision in late June have been launched by First Nations. They could, individually or collectively, delay or block the federally approved Northern Gateway Pipeline proposal.) Many lawsuits also have been launched by First Nations in Alberta against oil and gas companies.

Prentice is the best chance to quell these storms. He has relatively good relations with many First Nations leaders, a lot of whom are not opposed to economic development or resources extraction; only to development and extraction that does not return a reasonable rate to First Nations people and provide reasonable environmental protection along the way.

And Prentice has some legitimate capital to expend on the environmental file. Nothing would clean up Alberta’s environmental record – and its international image – quicker than a legitimate, broadly based carbon tax. The B.C. tax along these lines has managed to reduce fuel consumption in that province without hurting the economy. And Prentice could sell such a plan with a corresponding reduction in other taxes – perhaps even the elimination of our provincial personal income tax. It’s audacious; but, assuming Prentice and the PCs win the next provincial election, it would be within their power.

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