Much of Stelmach's term as Premier was dominated by questions related to the Athabasca Oil Sands.
The rapid development of these reserves was fuelling the Alberta economy's strong growth, but also raised environmental questions.
After winning the Premiership, Stelmach emphasized that he had no intention of taking measures that would slow down oilsands development and suggested that the economy would find its own appropriate growth rate.
He aggressively defended Alberta's oil at home and abroad, and called the idea that it was extracted at an unacceptably high environmental cost "a myth".
When Liberal Party of Canada leader Stéphane Dion proposed a federal carbon tax to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, Stelmach rejected the policy on the basis that it would hurt the economy and would unfairly penalize the western provinces.
Instead, he championed the development of carbon capture technology.
In July 2008, Stelmach announced $2 billion worth of funding for carbon capture initiatives, for which he was applauded by industry groups.
However, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business called it "a huge amount of money to spend on something that isn't proven", and Mike Hudema of Greenpeace suggesting that there were better environmental uses of the money available.

Though Stelmach pledged not to do anything to curb the development of the oilsands, he did promise to review royalty rates—the rates paid by oil companies for the privilege of extracting Alberta's oil.
He also committed to reducing the proportion of bitumen that left Alberta to be upgraded out of province, likening the export of bitumen to "scraping off the top soil" from farmland.
Soon after becoming Premier, he commissioned the Alberta Royalty Review panel to make recommendations on the province's royalty regime; opposition politicians had accused the government of undercharging substantially.
 Stelmach rejected many of the panel's recommendations, and claimed to increase royalty rates by approximately 20% (25% less than recommended by the panel), however instead of an increase in royalties on oil and gas, Alberta collected $13.5 billion less from 2009 to 2014.
Just after the 2008 election, Stelmach's government announced a five-year royalty break worth $237 million per year to encourage development that it feared would have become uneconomical under the new plan.
He was less decisive in increasing in-province bitumen upgrading; in 2008 he conceded that Alberta would continue upgrading between sixty and sixty-five percent of the bitumen it produced for the foreseeable future, rather than the seventy-two percent target he had previously announced for 2016.
This admission came in the wake of his government's approval of three new pipelines designed to export bitumen.

In January 2008, Stelmach unveiled the province's "made in Alberta"—as distinct from imposed by the federal government or by international treaty—plan to cut carbon emissions in order to fight global warming.
 The plan called for reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 14% (from 2007 levels) by 2050.
Environmental groups and opposition parties suggested that this was insufficient in light of British Columbia's plan to cut emissions by 80% (from 2007 levels) during the same period, but Stelmach argued that Alberta's position as a supplier of oil to the rest of the country justified higher emissions.
This was followed in June by the unveiling of the government's campaign to ask Albertans to make "one simple act"—such as composting, using reusable shopping bags, and replacing incandescent light bulbs with the more efficient fluorescent bulbs.
Opponents argued that the emphasis on personal responsibility by individuals did nothing to address the greater environmental damage caused by the development of the Athabasca Oil Sands.

In late April 2008 hundreds of ducks landed in a northern Alberta tailings pond belonging to Syncrude, where most died.
The incident was a blow to Stelmach's efforts to convince the world that Alberta's oil sands were environmentally friendly.
The number of ducks that died was o
Much of Stelmach's term as Premier was dominated by questions related to the Athabasca Oil Sands. The rapid development of these reserves was fuelling the Alberta economy's strong growth, but also raised environmental questions. After winning the Premiership, Stelmach emphasized that he had no intention of taking measures that would slow down oilsands development and suggested that the economy would find its own appropriate growth rate. He aggressively defended Alberta's oil at home and abroad, and called the idea that it was extracted at an unacceptably high environmental cost "a myth". When Liberal Party of Canada leader Stéphane Dion proposed a federal carbon tax to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, Stelmach rejected the policy on the basis that it would hurt the economy and would unfairly penalize the western provinces. Instead, he championed the development of carbon capture technology. In July 2008, Stelmach announced $2 billion worth of funding for carbon capture initiatives, for which he was applauded by industry groups. However, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business called it "a huge amount of money to spend on something that isn't proven", and Mike Hudema of Greenpeace suggesting that there were better environmental uses of the money available.
Though Stelmach pledged not to do anything to curb the development of the oilsands, he did promise to review royalty rates—the rates paid by oil companies for the privilege of extracting Alberta's oil. He also committed to reducing the proportion of bitumen that left Alberta to be upgraded out of province, likening the export of bitumen to "scraping off the top soil" from farmland. Soon after becoming Premier, he commissioned the Alberta Royalty Review panel to make recommendations on the province's royalty regime; opposition politicians had accused the government of undercharging substantially.  Stelmach rejected many of the panel's recommendations, and claimed to increase royalty rates by approximately 20% (25% less than recommended by the panel), however instead of an increase in royalties on oil and gas, Alberta collected $13.5 billion less from 2009 to 2014. Just after the 2008 election, Stelmach's government announced a five-year royalty break worth $237 million per year to encourage development that it feared would have become uneconomical under the new plan. He was less decisive in increasing in-province bitumen upgrading; in 2008 he conceded that Alberta would continue upgrading between sixty and sixty-five percent of the bitumen it produced for the foreseeable future, rather than the seventy-two percent target he had previously announced for 2016. This admission came in the wake of his government's approval of three new pipelines designed to export bitumen.
In January 2008, Stelmach unveiled the province's "made in Alberta"—as distinct from imposed by the federal government or by international treaty—plan to cut carbon emissions in order to fight global warming.  The plan called for reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 14% (from 2007 levels) by 2050. Environmental groups and opposition parties suggested that this was insufficient in light of British Columbia's plan to cut emissions by 80% (from 2007 levels) during the same period, but Stelmach argued that Alberta's position as a supplier of oil to the rest of the country justified higher emissions. This was followed in June by the unveiling of the government's campaign to ask Albertans to make "one simple act"—such as composting, using reusable shopping bags, and replacing incandescent light bulbs with the more efficient fluorescent bulbs. Opponents argued that the emphasis on personal responsibility by individuals did nothing to address the greater environmental damage caused by the development of the Athabasca Oil Sands.
In late April 2008 hundreds of ducks landed in a northern Alberta tailings pond belonging to Syncrude, where most died. The incident was a blow to Stelmach's efforts to convince the world that Alberta's oil sands were environmentally friendly. The number of ducks that died was o
Ed Stelmach