For Canada, the path to a stronger economy — and stronger global influence — runs through energy. 

That’s the view of David Detomasi, a professor at the Smith School of Business at Queen’s University. 

Detomasi, author of Profits and Power: Navigating the Politics and Geopolitics of Oil, argues that there is a moral case for developing Canada’s energy, both for Canadians and the world. 

David Detomasi. Photo courtesy Smith School of Business, Queen’s University

CEC: What does being an energy superpower mean to you?

DD: It means Canada is strong enough to affect the system as a whole by its choices. 

There is something really valuable about Canada’s — and Alberta’s — way of producing carbon energy that goes beyond just the monetary rewards.

CEC: You talk about the moral case for developing Canada’s energy. What do you mean? 

DD: I think the default assumption in public rhetoric is that the environmental movement is the only voice speaking for the moral betterment of the world. That needs to be challenged.

That public rhetoric is that the act of cultivating a powerful, effective economic engine is somehow wrong or bad, and that efforts to create wealth are somehow morally tainted.

I think that’s dead wrong. Economic growth is morally good, and we should foster it. 

Economic growth generates money, and you can’t do anything you want to do in social expenditures without that engine. 

Economic growth is critical to doing all the other things we want to do as Canadians, like having a publicly funded health care system or providing transfer payments to less well-off provinces.

Over the last 10 years, many people in Canada came to equate moral leadership with getting off of oil and gas as quickly as possible. I think that is a mistake, and far too narrow. 

Instead, I think moral leadership means you play that game, you play it well, and you do it in our interest, in the Canadian way. 

We need a solid base of economic prosperity in this country first, and then we can help others.

CEC: Why is it important to expand Canada’s energy trade?

DD: Canada is, and has always been, a trading nation, because we’ve got a lot of geography and not that many people. 

If we don’t trade what we have with the outside world, we aren’t going to be able to develop economically, because we don’t have the internal size and capacity.

Historically, most of that trade has been with the United States. Geography and history mean it will always be our primary trade partner.

But the United States clearly can be an unreliable partner. Free and open trade matters more to Canada than it does to the U.S. Indeed, a big chunk of the American people is skeptical of participating in a global trading system. 

As the United States perhaps withdraws from the international trading and investment system, there’s room for Canada to reinforce it in places where we can use our resource advantages to build new, stronger relationships. 

One of these is Europe, which still imports a lot of gas. We can also build positive relationships with the enormous emerging markets of China and India, both of whom want and will need enormous supplies of energy for many decades.

I would like to be able to offer partners the alternative option of buying Canadian energy so that they are less reliant on, say, Iranian or Russian energy.

Canada can also maybe eventually help the two billion people in the world currently without energy access.

CEC: What benefits could Canadians gain by becoming an energy superpower? 

DD: The first and primary responsibility of our federal government is to look after Canada. At the end of the day, the goal is to improve Canada’s welfare and enhance its sovereignty. 

More carbon energy development helps Canada. We have massive debt, an investment crisis and productivity problems that we’ve been talking about forever. Economic and job growth are weak.

Solving these will require profitable and productive industries. We don’t have so many economic strengths in this country that we can voluntarily ignore or constrain one of our biggest industries. 

The economic benefits pay for things that make you stronger as a country. 

They make you more resilient on the social welfare front and make increasing defence expenditures, which we sorely need, more affordable. It allows us to manage the debt that we’re running up, and supports deals for Canada’s Indigenous peoples. 

CEC: Are there specific projects that you advocate for to make Canada an energy superpower?

DD: Canada’s energy needs egress, and getting it out to places other than the United States. That means more transport and port facilities to Canada’s coasts.

We also need domestic energy transport networks. People don’t know this, but a big chunk of Ontario’s oil supply runs through Michigan, posing a latent security risk to Ontario’s energy security. 

We need to change the perception that pipelines are evil. There’s a spiderweb of them across the globe, and more are being built.

Building pipelines here, with Canadian technology and know-how, builds our competitiveness and enhances our sovereignty. 

Economic growth enhances sovereignty and provides the resources to do other things. We should applaud and encourage it, and the carbon energy sector can lead the way. 

The unaltered reproduction of this content is free of charge with attribution to the Canadian Energy Centre.

A deal to supply Asian customers with butane shipped from the coast of B.C. promises to expand Canada’s global energy footprint, underscoring untapped potential and the benefits of diversifying beyond the U.S. market.

Butane and propane are what’s known as liquid petroleum gases (LPGs).

Produced during natural gas processing and oil refining, these versatile energy products are in high demand for a wide range of uses including feedstock for plastics and synthetic rubber production, fuels for heating and cooking, and solvents in industrial applications.

“Demand remains strong going forward for the Asian markets as consumers continue to increase living standards and income levels and use more of the everyday items that we take for granted,” said Martin King, managing director of North America energy market analysis for Houston-based RBN Energy.

The new deal commits Calgary-based AltaGas to supply German chemical giant BASF with butane for chemical manufacturing and industrial use in Asian markets. 

Butane and propane from Alberta can be shipped by rail to reach terminals on the West Coast, including the AltaGas Ridley Island Energy Export Facility that is under construction near Prince Rupert. 

Known as REEF, it is an expansion of the company’s LPG export operations that is scheduled to start operating in 2027. AltaGas opened Canada’s first marine propane export terminal on Ridley Island in 2019.

BASF president of global procurement Matthias Dohrn said partnering with AltaGas secures “reliable and competitive access” to butane from Western Canada. 

While details on the scope of the agreement were not released, King said AltaGas is already talking about expanding REEF capacity by 2030. 

“I suspect that the expansion has a good chance of going ahead given that the demand for LPGs out of Asia has remained very robust,” he said.

Canada’s success in growing propane exports offers a model for butane’s potential. 

According to the Canada Energy Regulator (CER), propane exports – most of which come from Alberta – have more than doubled over the past decade as the new B.C. terminal infrastructure came online. 

As of June 2025, shipments to non-U.S. locations were nearly even with exports south of the border, CER reports. 

According to the Canadian Propane Association (CPA), the largest customers after the U.S. are Japan, South Korea and Mexico. 

Earlier this year, the CPA joined Alberta government officials, industry representatives and Indigenous leaders on a trade mission to Japan aimed at diversifying Canada’s energy exports.

“Canadian propane, with its lower carbon footprint, is uniquely positioned to support Japan’s decarbonization efforts,” said the CPA’s President and CEO Shannon Watt. 

“By collaborating with Japan, we can demonstrate how Canadian propane meets the demand for sustainable energy solutions while enhancing energy security in a complex geopolitical landscape.”

The unaltered reproduction of this content is free of charge with attribution to the Canadian Energy Centre.

The recent expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline helped drive a surge in the value of Alberta’s energy production, which rose to $139 billion in 2024, according to the latest Alberta Energy Outlook. 

The Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) reported that last year was the second-highest value of the province’s energy production on record, after 2022’s banner year of $167 billion.

For comparison, the annual average between 2015 and 2019 was just $74 billion.

Industry experts say the strong numbers highlight the continued importance of oil and gas to Canada’s economic prosperity.

“Every Albertan will benefit from this windfall, but it trickles through the Canadian economy as well, notably in higher GDP, productivity, exports and trade diversification: all things we badly need,” said Heather Exner-Pirot, director of energy, natural resources and environment at the Ottawa-based Macdonald-Laurier Institute. 

“If the case for another bitumen pipeline wasn’t already clear, this seals the deal.” 

The additional export capacity provided by the Trans Mountain expansion has enabled producers to move more oil to international markets at stronger prices — fueling both production growth and higher revenues for companies and governments. 

An economic powerhouse

Bitumen from the oil sands remains the largest contributor to Alberta’s energy economy, according to the AER’s analysis, and improved market access has narrowed the discount faced by Western Canadian Select crude.

“Alberta continues to lead Canada’s energy story — not only through robust oil and gas production but also by accelerating momentum in emerging resources like hydrogen, lithium, and geothermal,” said AER principal economist Afshin Honarvar. 

The regulator’s annual outlook found that the value of bitumen production in 2024 totaled $95.8 billion. 

Natural gas liquids including propane, butane and ethane generated $19.7 billion, followed by conventional crude oil at $18.2 billion and natural gas at $5 billion. 

A drilling rig operates near Cremona, Alta., July 2021. CP Images photo

Western Canada also stands to benefit from continued growth in natural gas production to meet global demand, particularly with the LNG Canada export terminal now operating. 

The AER undertook a reassessment of natural gas reserves, which saw Alberta’s volume increase by 440 per cent, taking Canada from 15th place to ninth place globally.

Alberta’s oil reserves – already fourth in the world – also increased by seven billion barrels.

“This is telling us that Alberta is a crucial part of the energy supply in North America,” Honavar said.

“We are a reliable source and an affordable source, without any worries that we will run out of reserves or resources.”

LNG Canada announced its first official cargo of liquefied natural gas destined for global markets on July 1, 2025. Photo courtesy LNG Canada

Benefits across the country

According to Canada Energy Regulator data, Alberta is responsible for about 84 per cent of Canada’s total oil and equivalent production and about 60 per cent of the country’s natural gas output.

Across the country, Natural Resources Canada estimates the sector employs about 450,000 people directly or indirectly. 

Energy products were by far Canada’s top export in 2024, valued at $196 billion — more than double the next largest category, metal and mineral products, at $94.8 billion, according to Statistics Canada.

In 2023, the most recent year of data available, oil and gas contributed 7.7 per cent of Canada’s GDP, or $209 billion, the federal department says. 

“It’s a huge industry, dominated by the oil sands, that Canada really benefits from and will continue to benefit from for decades,” said Richard Masson, executive fellow with the School of Public Policy at the University of Calgary. 

He said the rise in Alberta’s production value translates directly into fiscal gains for the provincial and federal governments. 

Well pad at Cenovus Energy’s Christina Lake oil sands facility southeast of Fort McMurray, Alta. CP Images photo

Alberta collected $19.2 billion in resource royalties during the 2023–24 fiscal year, with corporate taxes and income tax revenues also boosted by high industry activity. 

The province also reported an unexpected $8 billion budget surplus for 2024-25 due to higher energy revenues.

“Energy royalties provide almost as much as personal income tax does for Alberta. If we didn’t have it, we would have to have a sales tax and other government revenues,” Masson said.

Rising production

According to the AER, bitumen production climbed by 4.3 per cent last year to an average of 3.56 million barrels per day. Driven by continued investment, the regulator forecasts output will rise to about four million barrels per day by 2034.

The key to realizing this potential is further expansion of export pipeline capacity to ensure additional oil production can reach international markets.

Investment in emerging energy technology

Wells at the Clive carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) project near Red Deer, Alta. Photo courtesy Enhance Energy

The AER report says capital investment in Alberta’s energy sector hit $30.9 billion in 2024, the highest level in nearly a decade. 

That spending included not just oil and gas, but growing investments in hydrogen, helium, lithium, and carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects.

The regulator forecasts continued momentum in both traditional and emerging sectors. 

Hydrogen production in Alberta is expected to grow from 2.6 million tonnes per year to 4.4 million tonnes by 2034. 

Since 2015, CCS projects have captured and stored 16 million tonnes of CO₂ deep underground — equivalent to taking over 3.7 million cars off the road for a year.

The unaltered reproduction of this content is free of charge with attribution to the Canadian Energy Centre.