Alberta considers bowing to producers

The Canadian province's new regime sees a way to pivot from a potentially costly repeal threat

Alberta premier Jason Kenney is not a fan of the province's C$3.7bn ($2.8bn) crude-by-rail contracts with transport firms Canadian National (CN) and Canadian Pacific (CP). But he may have to take an approach more pragmatic than his initial populist rhetoric. Even before former incumbent Rachel Notley had the Alberta Petroleum Marketing Commission sign the contracts in February, and two months before he won office, Kenney warned he would cancel them, labelling them reckless "corporate welfare". But the Kenney government quickly realised that the two railroad firms would seek penalties from Alberta if it broke the contracts, and, in mid-June, switched gears by indicating plans to offload the c