"The US is now our competitor"

Margaret McCuaig-Boyd has one of the toughest jobs in global oil - reviving Alberta's oil sector in the face of wilting prices and persistent opposition. In an exclusive interview, Shaun Polczer meets the province's energy minister

Nobody was more surprised than the left-leaning New Democratic Party (NDP) when it seized power in Alberta's May 2015 elections. Having toppled a 45-year political dynasty built on petrodollars, newly elected legislators with little or no experience in government faced the daunting task of rebuilding a province reeling from the impact of low oil prices. Among them, Margaret McCuaig-Boyd suddenly found herself at the helm of Canada's vital energy sector. McCuaig-Boyd, who was previously a school teacher from the small town of Fairview near Peace River, in northern Alberta, had little experience in the oil industry apart from residing in a rural area dotted with pump jacks and drilling rigs. T