Alberta’s North: A History, 1890–1950 by Donald G. Wetherell, Irene R.A. Kmet (review)

592 The Canadian Historical Review this work. The important and dramatically changing role of franchise dealers, especially offarm machinery and automobiles, but also cooperative business ventures, are discussed only briefly. The strength of this work lies in the identification and discussion of the evolution ofvarious kinds ofbusiness firms in Alberta, with examples that illustrate and support the argument. But virtually all the firms discussed in this way were success stories fit for nomination to an Alberta business hall offame. The many failures are hardly mentioned. Discussion ofthe role ofthe chartered banks, for example, is decidedly benign. Foreclosures in difficult times scarcely rate a mention, unless the threat is part of the story of a business that survived. The 'cowboy capitalism' that led to the bankruptcy ofthe Canadian Commerical and Northlands banks in 1985 and the Principal Group of financial companies a little later is ignored. The treatment of Peter Pocklington is illustrative of the general approach. Pocklington is identified as the driving force in the expansion ofthe Gainers meatpacking plants, but the large sums of money provided by the provincial government and Pocklington's abandonment of the heavily indebted business to an embarassed provincial government are not mentioned. The discussion of government relations with the Alberta business community focuses on regulatory schemes imposed by Liberal governments before the Second World War, but not on the strategy of Conservative governments, which opted for nationalization of key businesses. The inept responses ofgovernments to the disasters ofthe Depression of the 1930s are not explained, and there is no mention of the Wartime Prices and Trade Board. Postwar federal 'demand side' policies designed to increase the purchasing power through government social programs, and the more recent switch, particularly in Alberta, to 'supply side' economics focusing on tax cuts for those who might then increase their investments, are also not adequately explained. Publication ofthis book was supported by the Certified Management Accountants ofAlberta. It provides valuable, but benign and incomplete, insights into the evolution of business firms and their practices in Alberta. T.D. REGEHR Calgary Alberta's North: A History, 1890-1950. DONALD G. WETHERELL and IRENE R.A. KMET. Edmonton: University ofAlberta Press/Canadian Circumpolar Institute Press 2000. Pp. 520, illus. $34.95 Alberta's North is part of the Alberta Reflections series. This series of books is designed to commemorate Alberta's centennial in 2005 by Book Reviews 593 making the province's history more broadly available. The authors note that there is a paucity of published material on the province's northern region and are writing this book to fill that void. In doing so, they focus on the themes of Native/non-Native relations, technological development , and federal/provincial relations. They do so in an even-handed fashion. Surprisingly, there is little on the politics of north/south relations , except within the context offederal/provincial relations. Where the south does enter the picture, it is through technological development, as it is the tool, especially transportation networks, that bring the northern economy into the southern one. The book starts offwith a description ofthe geographic boundaries of northern Alberta. For the most part, northern Alberta is the region north of 55 degrees, but that boundary shifts somewhat when taking into consideration cultural groups and economic activities. Eventually, as settlement moved north in the early twentieth century, northern Alberta split into two areas, with the Peace River area developing ties with British Columbia and developing an agriculturally based economy, and the Athabaska country remaining more a fur trade and natural resource econo:rp.y. Other economic resources developed in the north include fisheries and the tar sands. Throughout the book, the authors note the changes and effects of settler activities on the Aboriginal peoples and Metis as the fur trade waxed and waned, as settlers eliminated wildlife habitat through agriculture or industrial development, and as competition for furs and depletion of those animals led to conservation efforts on the part of the provincial government. The authors also note the distrust the Aboriginal inhabitants had of the NWMP and government officials generally, as exemplified by their reluctance to enter into treaty. They also comment on the distinctions and tensions between the Metis and the...