PUBlic Professor Series to take on politics at session next week

By Alexandra Noad - Lethbridge Herald Local Journalism Initiative Reporter on January 23, 2025.

Herald photo by Alexandra Noad Lars Hallstrom, political science professor at the University of Lethbridge, speaks to reporters on Wednesday about the presentation he will be giving next week as part of the PUBlic Professor Series.

Governments are often issuing policy changes, and while sometimes the public resonates with it, other times, such as Alberta’s Coal Industry Modernization Initiative, the public does not resonate with the policy.

On Jan. 30, Lars Hallstrom, a political science professor at the University of Lethbridge and director of the Prentice Institute for Global Population and Economy, will be giving a presentation at the Sandman Hotel at 7 p.m. on political policy and political decisions and why they choose to make them.

In regard to the coal policy and the uproar that followed suit, Hallstrom says it brings up questions of what politicians think is or is not a political risk and which audiences are they speaking to as the industrial audience is different than the public audience.

When it comes to lobbying, Hallstrom says there are clear rules about how it all works out, which he plans on sharing in his presentation.

“There are clear rules about this, but who gets to talk and who gets listened to and what gets included in the policy game is part of what I want to discuss with people,” says Hallstrom. “What’s on the table, what’s off the table and what’s so far off the table it never gets considered to begin with?”

With Donald Trump’s inauguration on Monday, there is talk he could implement 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian imports as soon as Feb. 1.

Hallstrom says if these tariffs do get implemented the costs are usually paid by U.S. taxpayers, but will limit the number of our exports in the U.S.

“It’s essentially a way to start and foster competition and greater capacity within the U.S., which then, of course, spill up into all our exports because it’s intended to limit the number of our exports and in the case of energy security and energy dominance in the U.S.”

He adds that there are different responses around energy between the provincial and federal governments, so how Danielle Smith decides to navigate the tariffs will depend on who is driving her perspective.

“I think in the sense of the premiers is largely we need to play as a country, Alberta has a lot of skin and a slightly different game as to a few of the other provinces, so we’ll want to see how that bounds of diplomacy and the art of the deal.”

Hallstrom also says Donald Trump can be unpredictable with what he says versus what he actually does.

“Donald Trump is a bit unpredictable in terms of what he actually does,” says Hallstrom. “He says a lot, he signed a lot, but we don’t actually know where things will play out, including some of the constitutionality and some of the legality of his own actions.”