Treylynd Jules is thriving as he helps build the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion.  

The 23-year-old member of the Skeetchestn Indian Band works as a coater/sandblaster on the project, which stretches from Edmonton to the Vancouver area. Jules sandblasts and paints welded pipe joints with industrial-grade paint – critical work to protect the pipeline from corrosion over its decades of operation. 

He is one of more than 3,100 Indigenous people who have been hired to work on the $30.9 billion project.  

“There’s lots of money to be made and it can really help a lot of people out,” says Jules. 

The main community of the Skeetchestn band, located about 60 kilometres west of Kamloops, B.C., had about 240 residents as of 2021, according to Statistics Canada. The unemployment rate sat at 17 per cent, more than double the provincial average of 8.4 per cent.  

There are many Indigenous people working on the project, says Jules – adding morale is high on his crew. 

Treylynd Jules, a 23-year-old member of the Skeetchestn Indian Band, works on the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion. Photo provided to Canadian Energy Centre

Jules says his greatest challenge is learning to manage money. He’s also on the sobriety journey and determined to represent his community. He’s thankful for the mental health counsellors that are provided by the company free of charge to workers. He is considering home ownership and one day having a family. 

The Trans Mountain project says it is working closely with Indigenous communities. 

“We have achieved an unprecedented level of Indigenous involvement in the expansion project—through job creation, procurement opportunities, partnerships, and the environmental process,” CEO Dawn Farrell said in the company’s June report on environmental, social and governance performance.  

The company says Indigenous people represent about 11 per cent of the project’s total workforce as of the end of 2022.  

Around 25 per cent of project contracts have been awarded to Indigenous businesses and partnerships – totaling around $4.8 billion. 

“Many Indigenous workers have become involved in the oil and gas, mining, and forestry sectors to benefit from good, high-paying careers – and socioeconomic impact comes from the economic impact,” says John Desjarlais, board chair of the Indigenous Resource Network (IRN). 

Indigenous people make nearly three times more in the energy sector than in other industries – $140,400 versus $51,120, according to recent census data published in a report by the IRN. 

“These numbers show the resource sector is valuing the skills and experience that Indigenous workers bring to the table,” Desjarlais says.  

The original Trans Mountain Pipeline, now being twinned with 980 kilometres of new pipe and 12 new pump stations, started operating in 1953. It is Canada’s only corridor for transporting crude and refined products to international markets via vessels loaded in Burnaby. 

Construction of the expansion is over 80 per cent complete. When it starts operating in 2024, pipeline capacity will climb from 300,000 to around 890,000 barrels per day.   

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Master Corporal Tom Weedmark completed a tour in Afghanistan with the Canadian Armed Forces before starting a small business in Canada’s oil and gas sector in 2012.  

In partnership with Calgary’s Cabra Consulting, the 38-year-old masters level geologist started XRF Solutions, which takes geological evaluation in the wellsite sector to the next level. Using portable X-ray fluorescence (XRF) guns, Weedmark and his business partner Justin Bestplug provide unique chemical analyses that can help oil and gas companies better understand rock formations deep underground. 

“Our whole philosophy was we needed to prove that our technology is valuable and useful,” says Weedmark of the two-person company. “That’s been the story of our small business – proving a technology.”  

According to Canadian Energy Centre research, small businesses make up the vast majority of oil and gas firms in Canada. Approximately 96 per cent of companies have fewer than 100 employees – outpacing the U.S., Norway, and the European Union. 

In Canada, the oil and gas sector has a higher proportion of small businesses than any other major industry, except construction. 

“We’ve always looked at Alberta and western Canada as the Silicon Valley of the energy service space,” says Mark Scholz, CEO of the Canadian Association of Energy Contractors.  

“It’s a very dynamic and very important sector and element of the western Canadian economy.” 

XRF Solutions’ X-ray fluorescence gun in action. Photo by James Snell for the Canadian Energy Centre

At XRF Solutions, not only has Weedmark pushed new technology into a demanding marketplace, but he has also learned how to run a business. Taxes must be filed, books kept, and people paid. He has also learned to manage the cyclical nature of the oil patch. 

“When things are good, it’s really good, and when times are rough, it’s really rough,” he says. “We have to create our own work. I have to do the convincing, although most of our business is word of mouth.” 

A great upside for XRF Solutions is the company has few competitors, says Weedmark – his groundbreaking work with data interpretation and using XRF as a practical tool has carved a path for a few others in Calgary’s XRF industry. 

“Our five-year vision is to keep developing the product,” he says. “I personally love the small business atmosphere.” 

Scholz says he sees a period of sustained growth for the energy services sector, but a lot of issues could impact its potential.  

“I think government policy is one that clearly is going to be something we are looking at very carefully,” he says, “[including] an emissions cap proposed by the federal government and very aggressive emissions targets.” 

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Five northern Alberta First Nation and Metis communities have acquired a 43 per cent interest in the Wolf Midstream Access NGL pipeline system. The transaction was facilitated by the Alberta Indigenous Opportunities Corporation (AIOC), a provincial crown corporation that provided a $103 million loan guarantee. 

Participating communities are the Buffalo Lake Métis Settlement, Kikino Métis Settlement, Heart Lake First Nation #469, Saddle Lake Cree Nation #125, and Whitefish Lake First Nation #128. 

“We’ve become very focused and sophisticated in our economic development portfolios,” says Tony Bagga, a Heart Lake First Nation executive and president of the Northern Lakeland Indigenous Alliance – a recently created entity that will manage the ownership on behalf of the bands.  

“We are looking to advance our vision of self-sustainability and prosperity. Transactions such as this will bring multigenerational revenue to the communities involved which we can put to use in underfunded community initiatives such as infrastructure, healthy living, cultural events, etcetera.” 

The Access NGL pipeline system connects Wolf Midstream’s recently constructed natural gas liquids (NGL) recovery facility near Mariana Lake southwest of Fort McMurray to its NGL separation facility north of Edmonton.  

Location map of Wolf Midstream Access NGL pipeline system. Image courtesy Wolf Midstream

NGLs like ethane, propane and butane are recovered during oil and gas processing. They have a variety of uses including as a petrochemical feedstock for generating everyday products, as well as heating, cooking and blending for vehicle fuel. 

Acquiring an ownership stake in the Wolf Midstream NGL system “will help support the foundation of our Nations,” Bagga says. 

“The proceeds from this transaction will support our pillars such as promotion and retention of Indigenous culture, education, recreation, health, and promoting programming for our youth and Elders,” he says.   

“We a see this as a step in the right direction to economic reconciliation. Our communities will see direct benefits from the proceeds of this project, which will uplift our communities and support future generations. We are in hopes that this will inspire future participation for us and others.” 

The Indigenous Resource Network (IRN) is calling for a national loan guarantee program like want is offered by the AIOC to help more communities take ownership of resource projects. This would help address what the IRN calls a “crisis-level lack of opportunity” for Indigenous communities across Canada. 

“We’re incredibly excited and pleased that there’s another investment, another opportunity, and more communities brought in,” says IRN executive director John Desjarlais.  

“The loan guarantee program works; it helps to de-risk. It’s governments engaging and facilitating good, affordable access to capital that helps to drive economic reconciliation. It’s very much a success in terms of what we hope to see on a national level.” 

The AIOC was created in 2019 to cultivate Indigenous prosperity through investment in Alberta’s natural resource, agriculture, telecommunication, and transportation sectors. The organization mandate is to deliver up to $1 billion in investment support for qualified Indigenous communities that make a minimum $20 million investment. 

So far, the AIOC has delivered $513 million in loan guarantees through five transactions – with the Cascade Power Project, Northern Courier Pipeline, Lindbergh Cogeneration Facility, Enbridge oil sands pipeline system, and the Wolf Midstream Access NGL pipeline system. 

Twenty-seven Indigenous communities have developed project ownership through the AIOC, including 17 Alberta First Nations and 10 Métis communities. 

“Stronger Indigenous communities make for a stronger Alberta and a stronger Canada,” says Chana Martineau, CEO of the AIOC.  

“If you think about the ripple effect in a pond, as those communities strengthen, they then grow and invest and impact all the communities around them.”    

AIOC projects are creating consistent, multigenerational revenue streams, she says. In addition to local projects and infrastructure, Indigenous communities can invest funds to pursue additional profit-generating ventures, says Martineau, who is from the Frog Lake First Nation. 

“To build whatever the community most needs enables them to achieve their own goals,” she says. “All of our projects are designed to provide immediate return to Indigenous communities and Canadian corporations are increasingly valuing these partnerships.” 

Indigenous ownership of major energy projects is also ramping up in British Columbia. 

The proposed $3 billion Cedar LNG facility in Kitimat, 50 per cent owned by the Haisla Nation, would be the first Indigenous-owned LNG terminal in the world and could be in operation by 2027. The project holds significant potential for economic and social transformation in the region, say stakeholders.   

Also on the west coast, the Nisga’a Nation near Prince Rupert and its partners have proposed the $10 billion Ksi Lisims LNG terminal on Pearse Island – the project has entered B.C.’s environmental review process.  

Sixteen Indigenous communities along the $14.5 billion Coastal GasLink pipeline, which will feed natural gas from northeast B.C. to LNG Canada and Cedar LNG, have signed a 10 per cent ownership stake once the project is completed in 2023. 

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The Nisga’a Nation and its partners in northwest B.C. have taken another step towards developing the proposed $10 billion Ksi Lisims LNG facility near Prince Rupert, adding to an emerging global trend of floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) export facilities that can come online faster than land-based projects.   

Like Cedar LNG, another proposed FLNG project in B.C., the facility would be one the most significant Indigenous-led infrastructure projects in Canadian history.  

“The project will be the heartbeat of our Nation’s economy,” Eva Clayton, president of the Nisga’a Lisims government, said in a statement. “It’s our best chance to build prosperity and a positive future for our people.”  

Ksi Lisims took a step forward in July with the award of a front-end engineering and design contract to a collaboration of Kansas-based Black & Veatch and Samsung Heavy Industries of South Korea.   

Black & Veatch and Samsung are also conducting front end engineering and design for Cedar LNG, owned 50 per cent by the Haisla Nation.   

FLNG terminals are liquefaction, storage, and offloading facilities built on barges or ships stationed near shore. The projects are “in vogue” amid booming investment in LNG to help address the world’s energy crisis, analysts with Wood Mackenzie said during a recent presentation in Vancouver.   

FLNG facilities can be more cost effective to build than land-based terminals because they can be constructed in global shipyards then towed to project sites, says Dulles Wang, an LNG researcher with Wood Mackenzie.  

“The technology is becoming more mature as we see more floating LNG projects,” he says, noting there are five FLNG export facilities in service worldwide – two of which are in Mozambique and Cameroon.   

Less onshore development and fewer worker camps can also mean less environmental impact – only pipeline connections and associated infrastructure are needed, further lowering costs, says Wang.   

Ksi Lisims is planning a modular design that’s capable of being expanded. The project is expected to produce 12 million tonnes of LNG per year, processing 1.7 to 2.0 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day.  

To proceed, the project must clear numerous regulatory and technical hurdles, which are complicated by B.C.’s 2030 net zero plans, says Wang. Ksi Lisims LNG will require significant amounts of hydroelectric power to approach net zero, he says. A new natural gas pipeline from northeast B.C. is also needed.  

“The B.C. government has an emissions reduction target by 2030. How to implement the new Energy Action Framework for new LNG projects to reach net zero by 2030 could create regulatory uncertainty for the project,” says Wang.   

Canada’s emerging LNG industry, which includes the $18 billion, 14 million tonne per year LNG Canada project under construction in Kitimat, has significant capacity to reduce global emissions by offsetting coal-fired power generation in Asia, says Wang.  

As a result, Canada should work with its allies and potential customers to receive credit for the global emissions reduction benefits of exporting LNG, says Shannon Joseph, chair of Energy for a Secure Future.  

The equivalent of all Canadian GHG emissions could be eliminated by helping Asia switch 20 per cent of its coal-fired power stations to natural gas, according to a recent report published by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce  

“Canada could help deliver 680 megatonnes of emissions reductions, and that’s more than our whole country,” Joseph says.  

Through connections to hydropower on B.C.’s electrical grid, emissions from Ksi Lisims LNG could reach net zero by 2030, say developers, aided by strong monitoring and measurement, energy efficiency, purchase of carbon offsets and potential carbon capture and storage.   

“We have worked very hard to ensure our project was capable of achieving net zero performance,” says Clayton.  

Ksi Lisims LNG is undergoing environmental assessment and could start operating in late 2027 or 2028.  

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It’s mid-2020 and there’s a woman with blue and purple hair operating an excavator on a steep slope near Kitimat, British Columbia. Wind carries whisps of cloud and rain through the trees. There’s a smell of cedar and mud. With care she moves tonnes of rock and dirt – clearing a path for a section of the Coastal GasLink pipeline, which begins in northeast B.C. near Dawson Creek and ends in Kitimat.  

Around noon, she turns off the machine, eats lunch and thinks about family in Newfoundland. 

“I absolutely love my job,” says veteran heavy equipment operator Kristy Robinson, reflecting on the excitement and challenges of working on Cable Crane Hill on Section 8 of Coastal GasLink.  

“It’s fun seeing the reaction on people’s faces when they see me in the machine and I’m not a big burley dude.” 

Kristy Robinson pauses for a photo while working on the Coastal GasLink pipeline in northwest B.C. Photo provided to the Canadian Energy Centre

With an elevation change of 700 metres, Cable Crane Hill is more of a mountain – one of many challenging sections along the 670-kilometre pipeline corridor that will deliver natural gas from B.C. for global exports.  

Heavy equipment and heavy lift helicopters battling difficult terrain were deployed to build a temporary gondola-like structure that is used to transport equipment, people, and materials up the slope.  

“I’ve got pictures of my machine above the clouds. It certainly showed me that I’m capable of doing more than I realized,” says Robinson, whose Mi’kmaq heritage strengthens her resolve to overcome challenges.  

“Sitting on the top of that hill and looking down, it’s a long way to the bottom.” 

Robinson is also a long way from her start as a heavy equipment operator student at the College of the North Atlantic in Newfoundland in 2005.  

“My family want me home,” she says. “But it’s hard to get a job as a female equipment operator back home and there is limited work.” 

The Cable Crane Hill crew became tight knit over the months, says Robinson, noting there were few visitors to the remote site. She began working for Coastal GasLink prime contractor Macro Spiecapag Joint Venture in 2019. She started at Cable Crane Hill in the summer of 2020 and left with the onset of winter for other work on the pipeline. 

“With the help of the people I worked with, we all built each other up and helped each other – it was a team effort,” she says. 

As the $14.5 billion Coastal GasLink nears completion, Robinson has pivoted to reclamation work on another section of the project near Burns Lake, B.C. She’s currently working for Michels Canada and is spending less time in heavy equipment after moving up the ranks. 

Meanwhile, pipe installation and mechanical work continues at Cable Crane Hill, part of a section that is now 95 per cent complete. The entire pipeline is 90 per cent constructed and expected to be complete by the end of this year. 

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Canada should work with its allies and potential customers to receive credit for the global emissions reduction benefits of exporting liquefied natural gas (LNG), says a prominent Canadian energy advocate.  

The equivalent of all Canadian GHG emissions could be eliminated by helping Asia switch 20 per cent of its coal fired power stations to natural gas, says Shannon Joseph, chair of Energy for a Secure Future, citing a recent report published by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.  

“Canada could help deliver 680 megatonnes of emissions reductions, and that’s more than our whole country,” she says.  

“We should do it and shout it from the rooftops. We should move forward with LNG as an energy and emission solution.” 

Receiving credit for lowering emissions with LNG could come through what’s known as Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, but Joseph says Canada need not wait for these carbon accounting rules to be settled before pressing forward.  

“We need to assert, confidently, the environmental value we would be delivering to the world,” she says.  

Shannon Joseph, chair of Energy for a Secure Future. Photo by Dave Chidley for the Canadian Energy Centre

Article 6 conceptually allows countries to collaborate with each other on emissions reduction goals by trading carbon credits. In theory, for example that could allow Canada receive credit for emissions reductions achieved in China by using Canadian LNG to displace coal.   

The Paris Agreement signatories have not yet agreed on the rules to make Article 6 a reality. Meanwhile, driven by Asia, last year the world consumed more coal – and produced more emissions from that coal – than ever before, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).   

The IEA says switching from coal to natural gas for electricity generation reduces emissions by half on average. LNG from Canada can deliver an even bigger decrease, reducing emissions by up to 62 per cent, according to a June 2020 study published in the Journal for Cleaner Production.   

Even before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, world LNG demand was expected to nearly double by 2040. The market has become even tighter as countries work to exclude Russian energy, says a report by Energy for a Secure Future.   

Japan and South Korea, as well as Germany have asked Canada to step up LNG development to help mitigate the energy crisis.   

With or without Article 6, Energy for a Secure Future is calling on Canada to work with its potential customers in Europe and Asia to recognize and credit the environmental benefits of Canadian LNG displacing higher emitting energy.   

“Canada’s allies have come here asking for energy, and we should work directly with them to find a way to have our environmental contributions recognized,” says Joseph, adding the U.S. has moved ahead without credits, more than doubling LNG exports since 2019.  

Canada has yet to export significant volumes of LNG after years of regulatory delay and cancelled projects – but things are changing.  

LNG Canada in Kitimat B.C. will be the first major export facility to operate, starting in 2025. Woodfibre LNG near Squamish begins construction this fall with the aim to start operating in 2027. Other proposed projects include the Indigenous-led Cedar LNG facility in Kitimat and Ksi Lisims LNG near Prince Rupert.  

LNG Canada CEO Jason Klein stands atop a receiving platform overlooking LNG processing units called trains that are used to convert natural gas into liquefied natural gas at the LNG Canada export terminal under construction, in Kitimat, B.C., on Wednesday, September 28, 2022. CP Images photo

Meanwhile, India, China and Japan remain consumers of Russian oil and gas, according to the 2023 Statistical Review of World Energy.  

“We are trying to help our allies meet the challenges they are facing. One of these is ensuring that their populations – sometimes of over a billion people – can even access modern forms of energy,” Joseph says.  

“If Canada wants to be relevant and to lead, we have to come to the table with solutions to this question, alongside the environmental one. LNG is our biggest card.”  

India will have the world’s largest population by 2028 – climbing to 1.45 billion and rising to 1.67 billion people by 2040, according to the United Nations Population Fund.  

“Currently India is the fourth largest importer of LNG [in the world] and demand is expected to grow massively as 270 million people move up the socioeconomic ladder,” says Victor Thomas, CEO of the Canada-India Business Council. 

Canada’s potential to deliver LNG to India “just makes good sense when you look at the geopolitical fractures that have occurred since 2022,” he says, noting the U.S. has recognized the opportunity and is taking action to form new business relationships in India.  

Burning wood and other biomass for heat and cooking is still common in the South Asian country, while coal produces around three quarters of India’s electricity. According to the IEA, by 2040 India’s total energy demand will be 70 per cent higher than it was in 2019.    

“Transitioning from wood burning to LNG is a massive emissions reduction,” says Thomas. “It’s a safe and reliable opportunity. People are looking for a country like Canada to be able to provide that.”  

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Canada’s carbon capture and storage (CCS) industry is an important tool in the global quest to reduce emissions, says an industry expert who was among 40 researchers who recently participated in a CCS summer school in Regina. 

In July, Eadbhard Pernot, and colleagues from 29 countries participated in the International Energy Agency Greenhouse Gas R&D Programme CCS Summer School in Regina. The draw to Saskatchewan’s capital – the fourth such event – was the International CCS Knowledge Centre and an opportunity to obtain hands-on CCS experience with experts at SaskPower’s Boundary Dam Carbon Capture Project near Estevan, Saskatchewan. 

Canada has five of the world’s 30 commercial CCS operations, including at the coal-fired Boundary Dam Power Station. It’s the world’s first and only CCS facility operating in tandem with a commercial power plant – which has captured and stored over 5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) since 2014. 

“The lessons learned from the Boundary Dam facility are going to be really important for countries that have recently built coal power plants,” says Pernot, a policy manager with Boston-based Clean Air Task Force, which promotes zero-emissions technology and policies.  

“The project has consistently performed at its capacity. And I think that’s really something Canada should be proud of.” 

Eadbhard Pernot at SaskPower’s Boundary Dam Carbon Capture Project near Estevan, Sask. Photo courtesy the International CCS Knowledge Centre

Summer school participants studied all aspect of CCS, including the capture, transportation and storage of CO2, industrial uses of CO2, costs and economic potential of CCS, regulations, policy and GHG accounting, public communication and health and safety. 

“As far as storage, we’ve been injecting fluids and gases into the subsurface for decades,” says Eadbhard. 

“So, the science is pretty clear in the sense that we can put all of these things together. We can capture emissions and transport and store them permanently in the subsurface.” 

More CCS projects are being developed in Canada, including through Pathways Alliance, a group comprised of the six largest oil sands producers representing 95 per cent of production that plans to spend around $24 billion on a CCS network and other technologies to achieve net zero emissions in the oil sands by 2050.  

The industry coalition has already begun design work on what will be the backbone of one the world’s largest CCS projects, a 400-kilometre pipeline connecting an initial 14 oil sands facilities to a storage hub in northern Alberta. The project is expected to remove up to 12 million tonnes of emissions annually by 2030.   

Does CO2 stay underground once injected deep into geologic formations?  

Yes, says Pernot, noting the gas originates in many subsurface structures – approximately 1.845 billion-billion tonnes of carbon are contained in Earth’s mantle and crust, while 43,500 billion tonnes are found at the surface.  

“I think it’s also important to recognize that when we are talking about putting CO2 back in the ground, it’s not under someone’s house,” says Pernot.  

“We are talking about depths between one and three kilometres. We’ve been injecting fluids and other gases for decades without any incident of leakage in terms of storage.” 

Since 2000, Alberta and Saskatchewan have safely stored 47 million tonnes of emissions – the equivalent of removing 10 million cars from the road – says James Millar, CEO of the International CCS Knowledge Centre, noting Canada’s sector is an example to the world. 

Canada accounts for approximately 15 per cent of current global CCS capacity even though it generates less than two per cent of global CO2 emissions, he says.  

“We demand, and we rely on, these [oil and gas] products every day,” says Millar. “We don’t want to be without them. I’ve never heard anyone who is against CCS, say ‘I will go back to living in a cave and reading by lamplight and driving horses and buggies.’ Isn’t it better for industries that manufacture these products to do something about the issue?” 

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Canadian oil and gas exports rose significantly in 2022 and show little sign of abating despite a call by Canada’s minister of environment and climate change to ‘phase-out unabated fossil fuels.’ 

Total exports in Canada rose 22.5 per cent in 2022, representing an increase of more than $142 billion, says a recent Statistics Canada report. Over half the increase – $76.9 billion – was driven by a major uptick in oil and gas exports. The share of energy products as a proportion of total exports rose from 21.2 per cent in 2021 to 27.2 per cent in 2022. 

“Oil and gas had their best year ever,” says Philip Cross, a senior Fraser Institute analyst. “Every Canadian should be aware that our largest industry continues to thrive.” 

The value of Canadian oil and gas exports climbed 57.1 per cent in 2022 due to strong prices, which increased by 75 per cent in 2021 and 54 per cent in 2022, according to the report. Market conditions created by the Ukraine conflict helped drive the price increases, says Cross. 

That financial boost from increased exports is then available to fund key Canadian priorities like hospitals, schools and social programs.

Canada’s energy sector is positioned for another large expansion once the $18 billion LNG Canada export facility in Kitimat begins operating in 2025, he says, noting oil has driven the majority of industry growth over the last decade.  

“With this big project coming online in B.C. in the future we’ll be able to take advantage of the inevitable booms that occur in natural gas pricing,” says Cross, who spent 36 years with Statistics Canada, the last several as chief economic analyst. 

Despite Canada’s energy sector potential, uncertainty remains. 

While speaking at the Ministerial on Climate Action conference in Brussels in July, Canada’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change Steven Guilbeault called for a “phase-out of unabated fossil fuels” pertaining to energy projects that don’t use technology to capture C02 emissions “no later than 2050.” 

“We will likely go from [consuming] around 100 million barrels of oil per day to something like 25-30 million barrels per day – a 75 per cent reduction,” Guilbeault said of global oil demand during the event.  

The minister cited a recent report by the Canada Energy Regulator outlining three future scenarios, including a net zero scenario in which Canadian crude oil production falls to 1.2 million barrels per day by 2050 – 76 per cent lower than 2022. Natural gas production drops by 68 per cent over the same period. 

That, Guilbeault said, would see Canada’s oil and gas industry curtail production by as much as 50 to 75 per cent, despite every credible forecast indicating oil and gas will remain dominant fixtures of the global energy mix in 2050. 

A significant curtailment of Canada’s oil and gas sector would, “obviously take away our leading source of growth,” says Cross, noting Canada’s oil production has doubled since 2010 – mostly due to oil sands investment.  

As for Canada’s surplus oil and gas, most of it goes to the U.S., says the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers. 

“And that’s one thing we are trying to resolve with the building of the Coastal GasLink pipeline and the Trans Mountain Expansion project in B.C.,” says Cross. “The problem is, the Americans know we can’t export anywhere other than to them – so they demand a low price.” When European natural gas prices hit record levels in 2022, Canada was unable to capitalize on the opportunity, says Cross. 

“It was the Americans that stepped in and filled that gap,” he says. “What they ended up doing was importing our relatively low-priced natural gas from Canada and then they turned around and sold their gas for record high prices in Europe.” 

Oil and gas production will persist into the foreseeable future, says Cross – noting Canada will continue building export volumes. LNG projects should be constructed on the east coast to help meet European demand, he says. 

“There’s been talk of doing that now for decades,” says Cross. “Obviously we missed a very big opportunity. When the chancellor of Germany comes to your country and asks for natural gas, it seems to me the smart thing to do as a friend and fellow G7 partner is to do everything possible to meet that demand.” 

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Stereotypes can be found in strange places. For Indigenous leader Joe Bevan, the most recent was in a Vancouver taxi. While speaking of his support for the energy sector, the driver said, “Oh, you’re First Nations. I thought you guys don’t like oil and gas.”  

“I thought, oh goodness, really?” says Bevan, CEO of Gitga’at Development Corporation in Prince Rupert, B.C. “That narrative is still spinning in peoples’ heads. Well, I’ll tell you, that’s not us.”  

Even though many Indigenous people in northwest B.C. support LNG development, there’s a need for more education about the industry in Indigenous communities more used to 100-year-old forestry and fishing economies, Bevan says.  

“We know little about gas and oil even though it’s happening right in our own backyard,” says the former chief councillor of the Kitselas First Nation. “We’ll still have forestry and fishing, just to a lesser extent. We now have a new economy right in front of us and that’s LNG, logistics and mining.”  

The opportunity for LNG development on the west coast is ramping up thanks in part to Indigenous leadership. The $18 billion LNG Canada export terminal in Kitimat – supported by the Haisla Nation – will start operating in 2025.   

The proposed $3 billion Cedar LNG facility, also in Kitimat, is 50 per cent owned by the Haisla Nation and would be the first Indigenous-owned LNG terminal in the world. It could be in operation by 2027. The project holds significant potential for economic and social transformation in the region, the community says.    

Also on the west coast, the Nisga’a Nation near Prince Rupert and its partners have proposed the $10 billion Ksi Lisims LNG terminal on Pearse Island – the project has entered B.C.’s environmental review process.   

Woodfibre LNG near Vancouver, which could start operating in 2027, is the only major project in Canada with an Indigenous issued environmental assessment certificate.   

Sixteen Indigenous communities along the $14.5 billion Coastal GasLink pipeline, which will feed natural gas from northeast B.C. to LNG Canada and Cedar LNG, have signed a 10 per cent ownership stake once the project is completed in 2023.   

“Some people don’t understand the economy has changed and we need to change with it,” says Bevan. “There needs to be that change – to start biting into the oil and gas industry, saying, ‘What is my role now and how do I fit into this?’”  

Energy companies must understand that young Indigenous people in B.C. need support building their industry knowledge in order to participate in development, he says.   

“They have to start helping us and educating us.”  

In the end, many Indigenous people have bypassed dreams of working in the energy sector, says Bevan. The slow pace of development has forced them to move on.  

“Some people say, ‘I died on the vine waiting for it to happen.’”   

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From LNG export facilities on the west coast to pipelines across western Canada, Indigenous communities are building on momentum and ramping up efforts for oil and gas infrastructure ownership.  

The Indigenous Resource Network has launched its Ownership is Reconciliation campaign, which calls for a national guaranteed loan program that would enable Indigenous communities to grow their participation in major energy projects. 

“Economic development is one of the greatest catalysts for self-determination,” says John Desjarlais, executive director of the Indigenous Resource Network, noting access to affordable capital is often a barrier to economic growth for Indigenous communities.  

“I’m quite pleased with the sweeping economic impact of Indigenous participation in oil and gas. The biggest thing is not waiting on anyone – becoming entities that can fund our own infrastructure, programming, and culture.” 

If the loan program comes to fruition, a variety of natural resource projects could be developed depending on the location of Indigenous communities – from mining critical minerals on the Canadian Shield to oil and gas in western and Atlantic Canada. Hydrogen production and carbon capture and storage are also of interest to Desjarlais. 

“They sky is the limit,” he says, adding Indigenous communities are already making significant progress in developing and owning energy infrastructure.  

The proposed $3 billion Cedar LNG facility in Kitimat, 50 per cent owned by the Haisla Nation, would be the first Indigenous-owned LNG terminal in the world and could be in operation by 2027. The project holds significant potential for economic and social transformation in the region, say stakeholders.  

Also on the west coast, the Nisga’a Nation near Prince Rupert and its partners have proposed the $10 billion Ksi Lisims LNG terminal on Pearse Island – the project has entered B.C.’s environmental review process. 

Sixteen Indigenous communities along the $14.5 billion Coastal GasLink pipeline, which will feed natural gas from northeast B.C. to LNG Canada and Cedar LNG, have signed a 10 per cent ownership stake once the project is completed in 2023. 

In Alberta, 23 First Nation and Metis communities are now 12 per cent owners of seven operating Enbridge oil sands pipelines, a $1.1 billion investment announced in September 2022 that is the largest Indigenous energy transaction ever in North America.  

The deal was made with the support of a $250 million loan guarantee from the Alberta Indigenous Opportunities Corporation, which has up to $1 billion available in loan guarantees to support Indigenous investment opportunities.   

A national Indigenous loan guarantee program would be a similar concept on a Canada-wide scale.  

As the relationship between Indigenous communities and the resource sector improves, more companies are seeking Indigenous partnerships prior to applying for project permits, says Desjarlais. 

“It’s a win, win, win,” he says. “Industry loves it because I think they realize there are considerable challenges in treating Indigenous people as just stakeholders or part of a process, and considerable benefits when treating communities like partners.”

Through Energy for a Secure Future, Desjarlais and several of his peers, including Haisla Nation Chief Councillor Crystal Smith, travelled to Ottawa in April to meet with diplomatic representatives from Canada’s G7 partners – Germany, France, Japan, and the United States – as well as delegations from Poland and India. Their message was clear, Indigenous people want to drive energy sector development. 

“Every official had a real desire to really understand Indigenous sentiment around resource development,” he says. “There was a sincere desire to learn from our perspective.” 

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