For almost 35 years, the Alberta government has taken a proactive approach to developing the oil sands. Through strategic investment and appropriate policies, the province has helped the oil sands generate tremendous economic benefits for the people of Alberta and Canada. Planning began in 1974, when the Alberta government formed the Alberta Oil Sands Technology and Research Authority to proactively develop oil sands technologies that would allow bitumen to be recovered at relatively low costs. Almost $1 billion in seed money was distributed from 1976 to 1999, helping generate $140 billion in oil sands investment. .
