Petro Canada stocks on the block…

Some 20 years after having attempted to nationalize the energy industry and bankrupt Alberta’s economy, the federal Liberal government has decided to get out of the petroleum transfer and exploration business.

Despite being a quarter century too late to do any good, it does cause one to look back with nostalgia to the days when NEP-afflicted Albertans plastered “Pierre Elliott Trudeau Rips Off Canada” bumper stickers on the tailgates of their pick-up trucks, boycotted Petro Canada service stations and hung Trudeau in effigy.

Ah, the good old days…

Petrocan stake for sale

Ottawa will sell its 19-per-cent stake in Petro-Canada this fiscal year, the government said Tuesday morning, a transaction that could bring it $2.25-billion.

A brief statement on the Department of Finance website announced the sale of the integrated oil and gas producer, confirming a report published in the Globe and Mail. At 4 p.m., Finance Minister Ralph Goodale will present his first budget to Parliament. The money from the sale of Petrocan is expected to go towards environmental technology.

“Today’s announcement does not constitute an offer of any securities for sale,??? the government said in a statement. The sale will take place this fiscal year, which starts April 1, although no “precise??? date has been set, it added.

The federal government owns 18.74 per cent of Calgary-based Petrocan, or 49.4 million shares, a stake worth about $2.81-billion at Monday’s closing stock price of $56.90. However, a sale of all the government’s shares would net about $2.25-billion, because some of the value has already been booked.