The oil industry here was still in its infancy when Ralph Klein was growing up. So instead of working on oil rigs, as many young Calgary men do nowadays, he spent time laying concrete sidewalks with his father, Phil, a part-time masonry contractor who also wrestled on the professional circuit under the name "Killer" Klein.
"Sometimes he was the good guy," Klein said of his father's wrestling persona, "but usually he was the heel."
PHOTO: NY TIMES
But now that the younger Klein is the premier of Alberta, Canada's leading energy-producing province -- mountains, prairies and forests larger than France that hold vast amounts of oil and natural gas -- he spends a fair amount of time visiting the oil rigs that have become the symbol of Alberta's economic success. And like his father, he has developed dual identities, at least when it comes to exploitation of Alberta's natural resources.
Usually, he seems to be one of the good guys, the friendly fellow with cowboy boots and a big grin who dropped out of high school but went on to become premier. That was the face he wore when he visited Washington recently to tell Vice President Dick Cheney that Alberta is ready to sell as much energy as the US wants to buy. He then invited Cheney to come fish the Bow River.
Although Cheney has not yet decided whether to cast a line in the Bow, Washington welcomed Klein because his willingness to deal fits well with President Bush's plan for a continental energy policy aimed at reducing dependence on oil from outside North America.
But when he needs to, Klein, 59, also is ready to play the heel. He has made it clear that he will try to block future energy deals with the US if Alberta's interests are not taken sufficiently into account. And he has the power to do so.
Canada's Constitution makes Klein a kingpin of Canadian energy. Provinces, not the federal government in Ottawa, control most natural resources. And Alberta has most of Canada's energy resources.
"We would intervene," Klein said in an interview. For instance, he said, he wants any natural gas pipeline from Alaska that passes through his province to give local refineries the chance to strip away some byproducts used to make petrochemicals. That may be, he acknowledged, "a self-serving interest," but it is one on which he would never give an inch.
In recent years, Canada's energy wealth has been spread around a bit. Atlantic provinces have started producing offshore oil; a natural gas pipeline has been built from Nova Scotia's Sable Island to New England; and demand is rising for electricity from Quebec's dams.
But Alberta remains the motherlode of Canadian power. The province produced 65 percent of Canada's crude oil, 80 percent of its natural gas and 100 percent of its bitumen, oil made from Alberta's inland sea of oil sands -- the largest such deposits in the world.
In some respects Alberta already is the equivalent of a North American energy sheikdom. The province supplies over 900,000 barrels of oil to the US every day, and sends 2.4 trillion <
Klein, as Alberta's leader, has been eager to keep open the valves that allow energy to flow across the border to the US. But if he disagrees with decisions made elsewhere, he could become one of the biggest roadblocks to Canada's participation in a continental energy policy.
He recognizes the right of the federal government to sign international agreements, he says, but he insists that Alberta and the other provinces must be closely involved in negotiations from the beginning.
"Not including the provinces would be like Joe and Peter talking about selling Ralph's house without Ralph's involvement," Klein said.
Canadian officials -- used to wrestling with the provinces over jurisdictional matters -- so far have been careful but firm in responding to Klein's demands for a seat at the energy policy negotiating table.
"When it comes to representing Canada in any international forum, obviously that is the responsibility of the government of Canada, and we will discharge that responsibility on behalf of all Canadians," said Ralph Goodale, Canada's minister of natural resources. Klein's anxiety about being excluded from negotiations is misplaced, he said, because at this time there are none.
"There is no continental energy policy as such," he said. "What we're pursuing is an expansion and the proper functioning of the North American energy markets."
Whatever the effort is called, the US is intent on securing further stable sources of energy to help ease potential shortages like the one that disrupted California earlier this year. A task force led by Cheney concluded that one of the best ways to enhance the US' energy security is to expand the flow of oil, natural gas and electricity from Mexico and Canada, the nation's Nafta partners, which already provide a significant portion of American energy needs.
Canada was the US' largest source of foreign oil last year, providing 15 percent of imports. Mexico, which provided roughly 12 percent, was not far behind the next two leading suppliers, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela.
In natural gas, Canada -- and Alberta -- dominate. The US imports about 15 percent of the natural gas it uses, and most of that comes from Alberta.
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