S. Robert Blair | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 13 August 1929 |
| Died | 18 April 2009 (aged 79) |
| Education | Queen's University (BSc 1951) |
| Spouse |
Lois Anne Wedderburn
(m. 1953) |
Sidney Robert "Bob" Blair CC (13 August 1929 – 18 April 2009) was a Canadian oilman. During a career that spanned from 1951 to 1991, Blair played a major role in the development of the Alberta petroleum industry. In 1970 he was appointed president of the Alberta Gas Trunk Line Company Limited (later renamed NOVA Corporation), a position he held until 1986. Over the course of his presidency, he transformed AGTL/NOVA from a provincial transmission utility into a diversified energy and chemicals giant. Blair was a vocal economic nationalist who spent much of his career working to develop Canadian-owned industry, often putting himself in conflict with Canada's foreign-owned majors. He is also remembered for leading the unsuccessful attempt to build the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline in the 1970s.