Remembering Peter Lougheed

Original Air Date: Friday, September 14, 2012

Alberta Primetime remembers Peter Lougheed, a titan of a politician. The former premier passed away at the age of 84 in the Calgary hospital bearing his name; but his legacy reaches far beyond Alberta’s borders.  

Peter Lougheed's rise to the Premier's Office in 1971 signaled a significant change in Alberta politics: the start of a Progressive Conservative dynasty that continues to govern to this day.  Through his fourteen years in power he worked alongside many MLA's and shared his thoughts with countless journalists.   

But the remarkable life of Peter Lougheed is being mourned nationwide…and he is being hailed as "Canada's premier".  From his help repatriating Canada’s Constitution and the implementation of the so-called “not withstanding clause” to his fight against the National Energy Program and the establishment of the Heritage Savings Trust Fund, Alberta Primetime gathers several guests to remark on his many outstanding contributions.

We invite comments from three Albertans who came to know the former provincial premier well:  Allan Warrack was a member of that first Tory wave serving as both a member of caucus and a cabinet minister between 1971 and '79; David King played a major role in that same caucus through the full length of the Lougheed government and was Legislative Secretary to the Premier in the early years; and the Edmonton Journal's Sheila Pratt is not only a regular member of our Tuesday Politics Panel, but as a reporter, chased after the Premier in the early years of her career.