Cursed: How the Resource Curse Manifests in Newfoundland and Labrador

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The purpose of the project is to conduct research on the “resource curse” or the “curse of the plenty,” and how it manifests in the Canadian petro-province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The project will go further than previous research, by bringing focus to how the resource curse materializes in a northern capitalist context, while much of existing research on the topic has focused on the global south. It will also bring increased attention to the subnational resource curse, links to settler colonialism in the jurisdiction, and Indigenous land displacement. Ultimately, the project is designed to help inform federal and provincial decision makers, by drawing attention to public policy research in relation to the development of the provincial economy, within a global context.

Durrell, a fishing and sealing community on Twillingate Island, Newfoundland, in 2009. Photo credit: John Gillett.

Project Lead

Lori Lee Oates is a Teaching Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at Memorial University of Newfoundland. Her Ph.D. is in global and imperial history from the University of Exeter, focusing on the global movement of ideas in the nineteenth century. Lori Lee’s current research interests include the resource curse, and women and climate justice.

At present, Lori is working on her first monograph for SUNY Press and a special section on Gender and Climate Justice for Atlantis: Critical Studies in Gender, Social Justice & Culture. She has been a contributor to the CBC, The Globe and Mail, Canada’s National Observer, and The Hill Times. Lori Lee has advised national environmental groups on the political economy of climate change and a just transition off fossil fuels.

Project Collaborators

Lucian Ashworth, PhD – Professor of Political Science, Memorial University

Angela Carter, PhD – Canada Research Chair in Equitable Energy Governance and Public Policy and Associate Professor of Political Science, Memorial University

Mark Stoddart, PhD – Professor of Sociology, Memorial University

Graduate Research Assistant

Bruce March, Masters of Employment Relations Candidate, Memorial University