EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Peter Lougheed, who as Alberta’s premier turned the province into an oil-powered modern giant and an equal player in Canada’s confederation, has died at age 84, family members said.

His family said Lougheed, who served as premier from 1971 to 1985, died Thursday of natural causes. In thanking doctors who had cared for him, they confirmed he had been ill for months.