Alberta
25 facts about the Canadian oil and gas industry in 2023: Facts 6 to 10

From the Canadian Energy Centre
One of the things that really makes us Albertans, and Canadians is what we do and how we do it. It’s taking humanity a while to figure it out, but we seem to be grasping just how important access to energy is to our success. This makes it important that we all know at least a little about the industry that drives Canadians and especially Albertans as we make our way in the world.
The Canadian Energy Centre has compiled a list of 25 (very, extremely) interesting facts about the oil and gas industry in Canada. Over the 5 days we will post all 25 amazing facts, 5 at a time. Here are facts 6 to 10.
The Canadian Energy Centre’s 2023 reference guide to the latest research on Canada’s oil and gas industry
The following summary facts and data were drawn from 30 Fact Sheets and Research Briefs and various Research Snapshots that the Canadian Energy Centre released in 2023. For sources and methodology and for additional data and information, the original reports are available at the research portal on the Canadian Energy Centre website: canadianenergycentre.ca.
6. Alberta among top provincial spenders on environmental protection
Industries are not alone in spending money on environmental protection; provincial governments do as well. Total provincial government spending on environmental protection between 2008 and 2021 was nearly $143.5 billion. In 2021, Alberta spent $22.6 billion or 15.7 per cent of all provincial expenditures on the environment, while its proportion of the national population was 11.6 per cent.

Source: Statistics Canada, Tables 10-10-0005-01 and 17-10-0005-01; and authors’ calculations
Economics of the Oil and Gas Sector
7. Revenue contribution from the oil and gas sector: $578.7 billion between 2000 and 2021
The gross revenue contribution to federal, provincial, and municipal governments received exclusively from the oil and gas sector was $578.7 billion between 2000 and 2021, an average of $26.3 billion per year. The $578.7 billion figure includes $461.6 billion in direct provincial revenues, $99.6 billion in direct federal revenues, and $17.3 billion in indirect federal, provincial, and municipal taxes.

Sources: Statistics Canada, 2022 (a, b, c, d), Statistics Canada 2023 (a,b), and CAPP, 2022
8. Projected government revenues from Canada’s oil sands sector: US$231 billion from 2023 to 2032
Government revenues from Canada’s oil sands sector (which includes provincial royalties and federal and provincial corporate taxes) are expected to rise from US$17.1 billion in 2023 to US$28.7 billion in 2032—nearly US$231 billion cumulatively—assuming the price of oil is a flat US$80 per barrel. Both projections would be about 20 per cent more in Canadian dollars at the current exchange rate.

Source: Derived from Rystad Energy
9. Projected capex from Canadian oil sands sector: nearly US$113 billion over the next decade
Capex from the Canadian oil sands sector is projected to reach US$112.7 billion over the next decade. Assuming a flat US$80 per barrel for the price of oil, oil sands sector capex is expected to rise from US$10.1 billion in 2023 to US$14.2 billion in 2032. Those projections would be about 20 per cent more in Canadian dollars at the current exchange rate.

Source: Derived from Rystad Energy
10. Canadian overall upstream oil sector supply costs have declined over 35% since 2015
The cost of supply for the Canadian upstream oil sector is the minimum constant dollar price needed to recover all capital expenditures, operating costs, royalties, taxes, and earn a specified return on investment. Supply costs indicate whether the upstream oil sector is economically viable.
Supply costs within Canada’s upstream oil sector declined significantly between 2015 and 2022. At the end of 2015, the Canadian upstream oil sector’s weighted average breakeven price was nearly US$76.00 per barrel of Brent. By the end of 2022, that weighted average breakeven price was US$49.09 per barrel of Brent, a decline of US$26.91 per barrel, or over 35 per cent since 2015. This number incorporates different phases of oil production including producing, under development, and discovery.

Source: Derived from Rystad Energy
CEC Research Briefs
Canadian Energy Centre (CEC) Research Briefs are contextual explanations of data as they relate to Canadian energy. They are statistical analyses released periodically to provide context on energy issues for investors, policymakers, and the public. The source of profiled data depends on the specific issue. This research brief is a compilation of previous Fact Sheets and Research Briefs released by the centre in 2023. Sources can be accessed in the previously released reports. All percentages in this report are calculated from the original data, which can run to multiple decimal points. They are not calculated using the rounded figures that may appear in charts and in the text, which are more reader friendly. Thus, calculations made from the rounded figures (and not the more precise source data) will differ from the more statistically precise percentages we arrive at using the original data sources.
About the author
This CEC Research Brief was compiled by Ven Venkatachalam, Director of Research at the Canadian Energy Centre.
Acknowledgements
The author and the Canadian Energy Centre would like to thank and acknowledge the assistance of an anonymous reviewer for the review of this paper.
Alberta
Low oil prices could have big consequences for Alberta’s finances

From the Fraser Institute
By Tegan Hill
Amid the tariff war, the price of West Texas Intermediate oil—a common benchmark—recently dropped below US$60 per barrel. Given every $1 drop in oil prices is an estimated $750 million hit to provincial revenues, if oil prices remain low for long, there could be big implications for Alberta’s budget.
The Smith government already projects a $5.2 billion budget deficit in 2025/26 with continued deficits over the following two years. This year’s deficit is based on oil prices averaging US$68.00 per barrel. While the budget does include a $4 billion “contingency” for unforeseen events, given the economic and fiscal impact of Trump’s tariffs, it could quickly be eaten up.
Budget deficits come with costs for Albertans, who will already pay a projected $600 each in provincial government debt interest in 2025/26. That’s money that could have gone towards health care and education, or even tax relief.
Unfortunately, this is all part of the resource revenue rollercoaster that’s are all too familiar to Albertans.
Resource revenue (including oil and gas royalties) is inherently volatile. In the last 10 years alone, it has been as high as $25.2 billion in 2022/23 and as low as $2.8 billion in 2015/16. The provincial government typically enjoys budget surpluses—and increases government spending—when oil prices and resource revenue is relatively high, but is thrown into deficits when resource revenues inevitably fall.
Fortunately, the Smith government can mitigate this volatility.
The key is limiting the level of resource revenue included in the budget to a set stable amount. Any resource revenue above that stable amount is automatically saved in a rainy-day fund to be withdrawn to maintain that stable amount in the budget during years of relatively low resource revenue. The logic is simple: save during the good times so you can weather the storm during bad times.
Indeed, if the Smith government had created a rainy-day account in 2023, for example, it could have already built up a sizeable fund to help stabilize the budget when resource revenue declines. While the Smith government has deposited some money in the Heritage Fund in recent years, it has not created a dedicated rainy-day account or introduced a similar mechanism to help stabilize provincial finances.
Limiting the amount of resource revenue in the budget, particularly during times of relatively high resource revenue, also tempers demand for higher spending, which is only fiscally sustainable with permanently high resource revenues. In other words, if the government creates a rainy-day account, spending would become more closely align with stable ongoing levels of revenue.
And it’s not too late. To end the boom-bust cycle and finally help stabilize provincial finances, the Smith government should create a rainy-day account.
Alberta
Governments in Alberta should spur homebuilding amid population explosion

From the Fraser Institute
By Tegan Hill and Austin Thompson
In 2024, construction started on 47,827 housing units—the most since 48,336 units in 2007 when population growth was less than half of what it was in 2024.
Alberta has long been viewed as an oasis in Canada’s overheated housing market—a refuge for Canadians priced out of high-cost centres such as Vancouver and Toronto. But the oasis is starting to dry up. House prices and rents in the province have spiked by about one-third since the start of the pandemic. According to a recent Maru poll, more than 70 per cent of Calgarians and Edmontonians doubt they will ever be able to afford a home in their city. Which raises the question: how much longer can this go on?
Alberta’s housing affordability problem reflects a simple reality—not enough homes have been built to accommodate the province’s growing population. The result? More Albertans competing for the same homes and rental units, pushing prices higher.
Population growth has always been volatile in Alberta, but the recent surge, fuelled by record levels of immigration, is unprecedented. Alberta has set new population growth records every year since 2022, culminating in the largest-ever increase of 186,704 new residents in 2024—nearly 70 per cent more than the largest pre-pandemic increase in 2013.
Homebuilding has increased, but not enough to keep pace with the rise in population. In 2024, construction started on 47,827 housing units—the most since 48,336 units in 2007 when population growth was less than half of what it was in 2024.
Moreover, from 1972 to 2019, Alberta added 2.1 new residents (on average) for every housing unit started compared to 3.9 new residents for every housing unit started in 2024. Put differently, today nearly twice as many new residents are potentially competing for each new home compared to historical norms.
While Alberta attracts more Canadians from other provinces than any other province, federal immigration and residency policies drive Alberta’s population growth. So while the provincial government has little control over its population growth, provincial and municipal governments can affect the pace of homebuilding.
For example, recent provincial amendments to the city charters in Calgary and Edmonton have helped standardize building codes, which should minimize cost and complexity for builders who operate across different jurisdictions. Municipal zoning reforms in Calgary, Edmonton and Red Deer have made it easier to build higher-density housing, and Lethbridge and Medicine Hat may soon follow suit. These changes should make it easier and faster to build homes, helping Alberta maintain some of the least restrictive building rules and quickest approval timelines in Canada.
There is, however, room for improvement. Policymakers at both the provincial and municipal level should streamline rules for building, reduce regulatory uncertainty and development costs, and shorten timelines for permit approvals. Calgary, for instance, imposes fees on developers to fund a wide array of public infrastructure—including roads, sewers, libraries, even buses—while Edmonton currently only imposes fees to fund the construction of new firehalls.
It’s difficult to say how long Alberta’s housing affordability woes will endure, but the situation is unlikely to improve unless homebuilding increases, spurred by government policies that facilitate more development.
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