n. — Politics, historical
a defunct federal program that aimed to promote Canadian ownership of the oil industry and achieve oil self-sufficiency for Canada.
Type: 4. Culturally Significant — The National Energy Program (NEP) was introduced by the Liberals in 1980 as a response to surging oil prices in the late 1970s. The federal government hoped to ensure that Canada would not be dependent on foreign oil. When oil prices began to decrease in 1982, the purpose of the NEP was questioned, and the Progressive Conservatives dismantled the program following their 1984 election victory over the Liberals (see Canadian Encyclopedia reference and the 1985 quotation).
The NEP generated serious protest, especially in Alberta, which has a major oil industry. As natural resource management falls under the jurisdiction of the provinces, many Albertans perceived the NEP as an intrusion on provincial rights and felt that the program was designed to benefit central Canada (see Alberta Energy reference).
Around the same time that the NEP was proposed in Canada, American President Jimmy Carter addressed Congress to suggest a National Energy Program, or National Energy Plan, for the United States. National Energy Program did not originate in Canada, but it seems the impact and duration of the Canadian program eclipse similar proposed American programs and the controversy surrounding the NEP, especially in Western Canada, gave the term salience in Canadian political and economic circles (see, e.g. the 1995 and 2008 quotations).
See also COD-2, s.v. "National Energy Program", which is marked "Cdn".