Liberal government underreacting to Encana move, says professor

The Encana oil and gas company is moving from Alberta to Texas and changing its name to Ovintiv.

Duane Bratt, a political studies professor at Mount Royal University in Calgary, said the Liberal government’s policies played a big part in the move, but they’re by no means the only factor.

He told Gormley guest host Mike Couros that the stock price of american shale oil compared to Canadian natural gas was an influence. He also pointed to corporate tax cuts in the United States.

“There’s a multitude of factors at play whenever a company decides to move its head office,” he said.

However, he’s not giving Justin Trudeau’s Liberals a free pass on the issue.

“The Trudeau government’s policies had, at least, a psychological impact.”

He thinks the Prime Minister’s reaction to the news of Encana’s decision is a problem.

“There seems to be a tone-deafness… I haven’t heard a statement from Trudeau yet.”

Bratt said there was a stark contrast between this and the reaction that caused the SNC-Lavalin scandal.

“The mere threat that SNC was going to move its head office to London, which was an unfounded threat, caused a national crisis and a national emergency,” he told Couros.

“Here we have this large energy company moving to the United States… and not a word.”

Ovintiv CEO Doug Suttles said no Canadian jobs will be affected by the move.