Connect with us
[bsa_pro_ad_space id=12]

Energy

Unlocking Canada’s energy potential

Published

5 minute read

Resource Works CEO and founder Stewart Muir has laid out the conditions for Canada to realize its potential

How can Canada fully realize its energy potential?

Stewart Muir – CEO of Resource Works – often speaks about this question. According to Muir, Canada’s abundant natural resources, skilled workforce, and high standards give us a strong foundation to build on. But to translate these strengths into true economic and environmental leadership, a few key conditions must be met.

Below are five key conditions Muir highlights (especially regarding LNG and oil development) that can help Canada seize its energy opportunity:

Streamlined & Efficient Regulation – Unnecessarily lengthy and unpredictable approval processes have stalled projects and scared away investors. Muir advocates cutting red tape and speeding up decisions so that government isn’t working “at cross purposes” with industry . Reforming Canada’s permitting and regulatory processes would make energy projects more viable and globally competitive, allowing development to proceed faster without compromising standards.

Strong Indigenous Partnerships – Canada’s energy future needs to be built in true partnership with Indigenous peoples. Muir points out that First Nations are increasingly co-leading resource projects, with over 500 economic and reconciliation agreements in British Columbia alone. Embracing Indigenous leadership – through equity partnerships, consultations, and benefit-sharing – not only advances reconciliation but also creates certainty and shared prosperity for energy developments. Projects move forward best when Indigenous communities are on board as genuine partners.

Robust Infrastructure & Market Access – To capitalize on our resources, Canada must expand and modernize the infrastructure that gets energy to market. That means building and upgrading pipelines, ports, and LNG terminals. The recent completion of the Trans Mountain Expansion (TMX) pipeline is a proof point – it’s already moving Canadian oil to U.S. and Asian buyers , helping fetch better prices. Muir and others argue we also need to develop new LNG capacity, including on the East Coast, to supply allies in Europe . By investing in strategic infrastructure, Canada can ensure its oil and gas reach global markets efficiently and safely, turning resource potential into real economic growth.

Proactive Global Market Positioning – Canada has to seize its moment in the global energy market. Demand for energy is skyrocketing worldwide, yet Canada hasn’t fully stepped up to meet it. For example, when allied nations like Germany and Japan turned to Canada for LNG in recent years, they left empty-handed for lack of a “strong business case” to export gas. Meanwhile, other suppliers (the U.S., Qatar, etc.) eagerly filled those needs. Muir emphasizes that Canada must proactively position itself as a reliable exporter – or risk being left behind while others grab the opportunity. That means securing long-term contracts and building trade relationships so Canadian LNG and oil can become go-to choices in Asia, Europe, and beyond. In short, we need to act with urgency on the world stage to claim our share of the market.

Public Confidence through Environmental Leadership – Earning public trust is essential for any energy project to succeed. Canadians need to see that resource development can coexist with high environmental standards and climate responsibility. Muir notes that strengthening public confidence in energy and mining projects could help “preserve and unlock” the economic value of Canada’s huge reserves, and even position Canada as a leader in how to do resource development right. This means being transparent, engaging communities early, and upholding world-class environmental protections. Canada’s own track record shows that responsible resource development is not just possible – “it’s our forte”. By leading with strong environmental performance (for instance, using clean technology and cutting emissions per barrel), project developers can build the social license to operate. In turn, this public trust enables more projects to move ahead, aligning economic growth with our climate and environmental commitments.

Bottom Line: Muir’s vision suggests that if Canada delivers on these conditions – from faster approvals and better partnerships to smarter infrastructure and trust-building – we can translate our natural advantages into both prosperity and sustainability. Canada has the resources and know-how; now it’s about having the will to act.

By focusing on these key areas, Canada can become not only an energy powerhouse at home, but also a global example of economic and environmental leadership in responsible energy development.

Todayville is a digital media and technology company. We profile unique stories and events in our community. Register and promote your community event for free.

Follow Author

Daily Caller

‘Drill, Baby, Drill’ Or $50 Oil — Trump Can’t Have Both

Published on

 

From the Daily Caller News Foundation

By David Blackmon

President Donald Trump has often made clear his goal of cutting prices for energy as part of his overall agenda to break the back of chronic inflation left behind by the Biden presidency. When talking about this goal, the president has placed special emphasis on lowering the price of crude oil, given its integral relationship to gas prices at the pump and transportation-related costs which go into the price of food, clothing and other consumer goods. 

“A very big thing that I’m very happy with is oil is down,” Trump said in remarks in the Oval Office on Wednesday. “We’re getting that down. When energy comes down, prices are going to be coming down with it. So, in a very short period of time, we’ve done a very good job.” 

White House advisor Peter Navarro has been quoted by The New York Times and other media outlets as saying that an average oil price of $50 per barrel would help tame inflation and set the stage for a return to a healthier economy. If that is indeed the goal, this week’s confluence of events, featuring a bigger-than-expected increase in oil production quotas from the OPEC+ oil cartel preceded less than 24 hours earlier by the president’s announced reciprocal tariffs on a wide array of countries went a long way to doing the trick. 

Just prior to Trump’s tariff announcement Wednesday afternoon, the price for West Texas Intermediate crude stood at $70/bbl. Less than 48 hours later, the price had fallen below $61, a drop of about 15%. It was the largest 2-day decline in crude prices since 2021. How much of the price decrease is due to the tariffs as opposed to the OPEC+ agreement to pour another 137,000 barrels per day onto the international market is hard to know, but there is no doubt both actions had an impact.  

As I’ve noted previously, this action to force lower prices for oil and natural gas lies directly at odds with the concurrent Trump “drill, baby, drill” objective which he sees as a key part of his American Energy Dominance agenda. The White House gave a nod to the oil refining segment in the Wednesday tariff announcement by exempting energy imports, another action at least in part aimed at lowering prices for gasoline and diesel fuel.  

But that nod to the downstream segment does little for upstream companies who have seen supply chain muck-ups and Biden-era inflation raise break-even prices above Friday’s levels. The Q1 2025 Energy Survey Report published March 26 by the Dallas Federal Reserve estimates that drillers in the Permian Basin require a $61 oil price just to break even on drilling new shale wells. The needed breakeven price rises higher in other, less prolific basins. CNN quoted independent oil analyst Andy Lipow as saying that many upstream companies require prices closer to Monday’s $71/bbl level for new shale wells. It almost goes without saying that operators will have little incentive to “drill, baby, drill” if they stand to lose money doing it. 

In an interview with Fox Business host Stu Varney on Tuesday, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, himself a former oil industry executive, said, “If your state has expensive energy, it’s because of choices made by politicians in those states to virtue signal somehow they’re on some global mission. They’re going to solve climate change by making your utility bills more expensive and your businesses want to relocate out of the states. That’s just nonsense.” He added that Trump was pursuing energy policies based on common sense, saying, “common sense will deliver more investment in our country and lower energy prices.” 

No doubt, few executives in the industry would agree that a pursuit of $50 oil prices has anything to do with common sense for their companies. If prices should drop that far and linger there for any length of time, layoffs and idled drilling rigs will become the prevailing topic of the day in oil and gas.  

So, while the White House might continue touting its “drill, baby, drill” slogan for the time being, we won’t hear it echoing through the barbecue and Tex-Mex joints in Midland, Texas, for the time being. 

David Blackmon is an energy writer and consultant based in Texas. He spent 40 years in the oil and gas business, where he specialized in public policy and communications.

Continue Reading

2025 Federal Election

Poilievre To Create ‘Canada First’ National Energy Corridor

Published on

From Conservative Party Communications

Poilievre will create the ‘Canada First’ National Energy Corridor to rapidly approve & build the infrastructure we need to end our energy dependence on America so we can stand up to Trump from a position of strength.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre announced today he will create a ‘Canada First’ National Energy Corridor to fast-track approvals for transmission lines, railways, pipelines, and other critical infrastructure across Canada in a pre-approved transport corridor entirely within Canada, transporting our resources within Canada and to the world while bypassing the United States. It will bring billions of dollars of new investment into Canada’s economy, create powerful paycheques for Canadian workers, and restore our economic independence.

“After the Lost Liberal decade, Canada is poorer, weaker, and more dependent on the United States than ever before,” said Poilievre. “My ‘Canada First National Energy Corridor’ will enable us to quickly build the infrastructure we need to strengthen our country so we can stand on our own two feet and stand up to the Americans.”

In the corridor, all levels of government will provide legally binding commitments to approve projects. This means investors will no longer face the endless regulatory limbo that has made Canadians poorer.  First Nations will be involved from the outset, ensuring that economic benefits flow directly to them and that their approval is secured before any money is spent.

Between 2015 and 2020, Canada cancelled 16 major energy projects, resulting in a $176 billion hit to our economy. The Liberals killed the Energy East pipeline and passed Bill C-69, the “No-New-Pipelines” law, which makes it all but impossible to build the pipelines and energy infrastructure we need to strengthen the Canadian economy. And now, the PBO projects that the ‘Carney cap’ on Canadian energy will reduce oil and gas production by nearly 5%, slash GDP by $20.5 billion annually, and eliminate 54,400 full-time jobs by 2032. An average mine opening lead time is now nearly 18 years—23% longer than Australia and 38% longer than the US. As a result of the Lost Liberal Decade, Canada now ranks 23rd in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Index for 2024, a seven-place drop since 2015.

“In 2024, Canada exported 98% of its crude oil to the United States. This leaves us too dependent on the Americans,” said Poilievre. “Our Canada First National Energy Corridor will get us out from under America’s thumb and enable us to build the infrastructure we need to sell our natural resources to new markets, bring home jobs and dollars, and make us sovereign and self-reliant to stand up to Trump from a position of strength.”

Mark Carney’s economic advice to Justin Trudeau made Canada weaker while he and his rich friends made out like bandits. While he advised Trudeau to cancel Canadian energy projects, his own company spent billions on pipelines in South America and the Middle East. And unlike our competitors Australia and America, which work with builders to get projects approved, Mark Carney and Steven Guilbeault’s radical “keep-it-in-the-ground” ideology has blocked development, killed jobs, and left Canada dependent on foreign imports.

“The choice is clear: a fourth Liberal term that will keep our resources in the ground and keep us weak and vulnerable to Trump’s threats, or a strong new Conservative government that will approve projects, build an economic fortress, bring jobs and dollars home, and put Canada First—For a Change.”

Continue Reading

Trending

X