Premier Peckford, Petroleum Policy, and Popular Politics in Newfoundland and Labrador

• Published in: Journal of Canadian Studies
• Main Author: HOUSE, J.D.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: University of Toronto Press Inc. (UTPress) 1982
• Subjects: History; Cultural Studies; Newfoundland
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.3138/jcs.17.2.12; https://utpjournals.press/doi/pdf/10.3138/jcs.17.2.12

Newfoundland’s case on offshore petroleum jurisdiction is poorly understood nationally. It should be viewed as epitomizing a shift in developmental strategy from industrialization to controlled resource management. The Peckford approach is a reaction against a historical background of dependency and underdevelopment. Offshore petroleum has come to play a key role in that reaction.—The resolve to strive for more autonomous development has entailed many problems and inevitably caused confrontation with the centralist Trudeau government. The outcome of the jurisdictional dispute will determine whether Brian Peckford proves to be the Moses or the Don Quixote of Newfoundland and Labrador.