Poll indicates most Americans don't know Canada's their biggest oil supplier

WASHINGTON (CP) - It looks like Alberta's facing a huge uphill battle in a push this week to publicize its energy potential to the United States. A new poll released Tuesday suggests only a tiny minority of Americans - four per cent - know Canada is already their largest supplier of crude oil.

But the survey also suggests 88 per cent of Americans have a favourable view of Canada and 41 per cent would be willing to pay even higher gasoline prices to replace oil from unstable regions.

That's good news for Alberta Premier Ralph Klein, who's in Washington for a flurry of energy-related events leading to the province's participation at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival starting Friday.

But he admits the province faces a big learning curve south of the border.

"It's hard to convince people that 12 per cent of American gas comes from Alberta and about 18 per cent of oil," said Klein, who's scheduled to meet Wednesday with U.S. Vice-President Dick Cheney.

"There still is a misconception in the United States about oil supply, gas supply and the message is that we offer a very safe and secure supply of oil that fits into the Americans' national energy policy."

Still, it's clear there's a growing automatic assumption among many U.S. legislators that increased oil production from Alberta's tar sands will be flowing south.

"I don't see any lull in the basic price of crude oil which is what motivates," said New Mexico's Pete Domenici, chairman of the Senate energy committee.

"Why would the production not increase and where would it go? It would obviously go to the United States of America," he said before heading to a reception with Klein.

"We will increase our purchase directly in relationship to how much is produced in Canada. There can be no doubt about it."

The Alberta-U.S. relationship "has nowhere to go but up," said Domenici.

The poll of 1,000 Americans was released by the Canadian American Business Council to coincide with Alberta's promotional events.

Saudi Arabia was named most often, 38 per cent of the time, when people were asked which country is the largest U.S. oil supplier.

Fifty-nine per cent of those surveyed said a reliable and affortable energy supply is "very important"' to national security, while 71 per cent favoured passing federal legislation to ease pipeline construction and increase the amount of available Canadian oil.

Fifty-one per cent opposed replacing oil from unstable countries, while about nine per cent were unsure.

Murray Smith, who's been Alberta's representative in Washington for 16 months, said the province has just scratched the surface of educating Americans about energy.

"We've started at the highest levels. Now we've got to go to the next step - the lecture circuit."

Being featured in the 10-day Smithsonian festival, which draws more than one million visitors each year, is a good start, said Smith.

"We've got lots of work to do in order to further enhance the understanding of what Canada and what Alberta's resources mean to the United States," agreed International Affairs Minister Gary Mar.

"That's part of our ongoing mission of why we're here in Washington, why we have an office (here)."

And Alberta's entreprenurial push in the United States, as it gains political and economic weight in Canada, shouldn't be ruffling any feathers back home, he said.

"A strong Alberta is an advantage and not a threat to the rest of the country," Mar told a forum on cross-border relations.

"We're committed to a stronger Canada."

Klein was quick to point out Alberta's government officials are political cousins of the U.S. administration and that opens doors at the White House.

He met President George W. Bush during the president's 2004 visit to Canada and was introduced by former U.S. ambassador Paul Cellucci as the leader of the only "red" or Republican province in Canada.

"The senator's a Republican too," Klein said as he stood beside Domenici.

"He's from the same conservative movement that I'm from. I think that's got something to do with it."

Mar also noted it doesn't hurt that Prime Minister Stephen Harper, though born in Ontario, has spent the last three decades in Alberta.

One in three Alberta jobs depends on exports to the United States and 85 per cent of those exports are petroleum and natural gas.

The poll was conducted between June 13 and 15. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 per cent.

© The Canadian Press, 2006