Growing up in Calgary, 22-year-old Max McGivern was naturally drawn to Canada’s energy industry.

Now a political science student at the University of Calgary, he’s motivated to contribute to the sector by helping build knowledge and pride among young Canadians.

“It’s the beating heart of Canada. We’re really lucky to have such a massive surplus of natural resources, and to have a mindset that we develop them responsibly,” McGivern said. 

“It is being handled by the previous generation right now, but there will come a time when it’s our turn. It will become ours, so we need to know how to manage it effectively.”

For the past two years, McGivern has worked as a summer student with Young Canadians for Resources, a national youth-led advocacy organization focused on Canada’s natural resource sectors and their role in the economy.

“You get exposed to the discussion of natural resources and you get to discuss with other like-minded people, or even with people who don’t fully agree with natural resources,” McGivern said.

“It’s been immensely positive, and it’s been pretty transformative.”

McGivern has learned that energy is about more than just what comes through an electrical outlet.

“I understand that different elements go into energy, rather than just, like, cool, my phone is charged,” he said.

“It’s more than just, drill a hole, get some oil.”

Recent polling shows that young Canadians are interested in growing the country’s energy sector.

A December Ipsos survey found that 82 per cent of those aged 18 to 34 believe Canada should prioritize expanding oil and gas exports to other countries.

“It’s our responsibility to develop it, to get it to our neighbors. And you know that we will see prosperity. It’s not a question of if, it’s a question of when,” McGivern said.

He believes the future will bring greater cooperation and a deeper recognition of the role energy from all sources plays for Canadians.

“The more people understand the importance of energy and the role of energy in our lives, the better,” McGivern said.

“I think there’ll be more energy projects. Not just things like LNG, but that might be more wind farms, more geothermal. Even just with time, there are more technological innovations, so we’ll figure out more ways to harness different energies.”

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There is a winter spiritual tradition among the members of the Gitxaala Nation of taking a plunge into dark, swirling waters of the Pacific Ocean off Dolphin Island in northern British Columbia, their ancestral home for tens of thousands of years.

“Cold water baths is one of our ways. It feels like millions of needles hitting you at once when you jump into the ocean,” says Chief Clifford White, a hereditary leader and former elected chief councillor of the Gitxaala Nation. “If you don’t work with the elders to prepare for that, going into the water could induce a heart attack, shock, and even kill you.”

White, a board director with the First Nations LNG Alliance, sees parallels with the industry’s development in the region requiring the same kind of rigorous preparation, both in First Nations communities as well as head offices of resource companies and government regulators.

“Our settlement of Gitxaala is the oldest Nation on the coast and is surrounded by the pristine sea, so what happens in the ocean is very concerning for our members. We, as Gitxaala, still consider the ocean as our fridge. During the worst of the Great Depression, our community didn’t experience hunger,” says White of the settlement about 60 kilometres south of Prince Rupert and home to about 500 of the nation’s 2,000 members.

White sees the need to educate communities in the region about LNG development.

“Natural gas isn’t crude oil and it’s important people understand the difference in risks. We also need to think about protecting the environment globally as well as locally. Developing natural gas to displace coal, oil, wood, and other forms of energy with much bigger environmental impacts is a risk worth taking to help the world,” says White.

“And even within our communities, we need to look at the impact of burning wood or oil, which is far more harmful than using natural gas. That’s an education piece for our people, who have been used to using these types of fuels.”

White also has highlighted opportunities for members of the Gitxaala Nation and other Indigenous communities throughout the province.

“I see a real opportunity for our young people to get trained and work in monitoring, research and continuing our ancestral responsibility to ensuring the environment is protected. There are many opportunities to work, such as tugboat operators, environmental management, and as power engineers as projects begin operations,” White says.

“We have seen a lot of people come into the region from outside of B.C. to build this infrastructure and it’s important our people have the opportunity to participate in that activity as well as operations.”

White has spent a long time working to include First Nations in shaping policy decisions in British Columbia. He served as chair of the First Nations Advisory Committee for British Columbia, working with the provincial government to ensure First Nations are included in the key decisions that affect their territories.

“A good example of the work we did was with B.C. Infrastructure Benefits. When the provincial government built highways, schools, hospitals and other infrastructure in specific territories, it’s important to connect, collaborate and work with the First Nations in their respective areas for co-development and co-management,” White says.

“That wasn’t always a given. It was important to make sure First Nations have opportunities at procurement and employment for all major projects within their traditional territories. And it was also important to make sure the First Nations have the training to take advantage of those opportunities.”

His work has extended to a board role on the B.C. Industry Training Authority to work with companies and trade unions on Indigenous workforce development in the province.

White has also worked with the 26 Indigenous Skills, Employment and Training (ISETS), sponsored by the Indigenous Services Canada and supported by the provincial government. They have brought together unions, corporations and government to understand the roles and responsibilities of the ISETS and how they could partner with each other.

“Partnerships are critical for trades training and other academic opportunities. ISETS work directly with unions, colleges, universities, and [the British Columbia Institute of Technology] to ensure qualified and credible training is afforded to Indigenous peoples,” he says.

“We will need skilled trades, whether it’s to help build the LNG industry or critical infrastructure for our communities.”

Most importantly, White wants the legacy to include the environment that his ancestors have fished and hunted on for generations.

“Indigenous people, are the caretakers of this planet and we can be a part of making effective change,” he says. “For our children and our children yet to be born, it’s important to have these opportunities and to maintain the same pristine environment for them to at least the seven generations to come.”

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Canadian energy services association Enserva has launched its solution to solve a worker shortage of more than 3,000 jobs, including labourers, drivers and tradespeople.  

Having spent the better part of two decades working in the world of non-profit groups and think tanks, Enserva CEO Gurpreet Lail was taken aback after hearing about the sector’s labour struggles when she joined in 2021. 

“The perception outside the industry was much different,” says Lail. “This has been an ongoing challenge for a long time and our members decided to do something about it.” 

The result is a national campaign featuring the new Working Energy Portal, a sector-specific website with comprehensive job listings by the group’s 200-plus member companies and organizations. 

“This is an industry-wide challenge and we’ve found an industry solution,” Lail says.  

“We lost a lot of people during COVID and the downturn in energy prices and we’re now seeing employers fighting for labour regardless of the sector, be it energy or hospitality or technology,” she says.  

“In addition to these factors, our sector also has to address this ridiculous idea that Canadian energy is a dying industry. That’s simply not the case. The world is going to need our energy for a very long time, and we need talented people to help us innovate and produce it responsibly.” 

Enserva is hoping to connect those looking for jobs with companies that need positions filled and create a long-term solution to the shortage. 

But the portal is more than a job board. It will also serve as a training hub to provide Canadians with the right certifications, courses and a pathway to rewarding careers.    

“A lot of this is about educating people about what they might need so they can be successful in the industry, such as getting the right training and certificates,” says Lail.  

“Many prospective employers are willing to help prospective employees in order to address their needs for skilled workers. For example, if you have a clean Class 5 driver’s license, some employers who need Class 1 drivers will pay for that training.”

She says that as the energy industry continues to transform to include a mix of oil and gas and renewable sources, it needs to fill current and emerging positions in practices like artificial intelligence, robotics, geothermal energy and environmental sustainability.  

Enserva members helped create the portal in part because traditional job-search platforms didn’t always attract the right candidates or missed job seekers with real potential.  

“Companies were using websites such as Indeed or LinkedIn but were finding it difficult to get the right candidates. They’d often get more than 1,000 resumes and maybe five to 10 were suitable for interview. It takes a lot of time to sift through those,” Lail says.  

“We are supporting our members to create or increase awareness of their companies, and the jobs available. This way promising candidates will not miss a great opportunity and will have opportunities to learn more about energy companies.” 

Enserva aims to push into new areas and communities to engage with prospective job seekers.  

“We are reaching out to non-traditional areas to showcase the reality that you can have a long-term and rewarding career in this sector if you are a woman, Indigenous or come from a newer community in Canada,” Lail says.  

“In addition to this outreach, we are continuing to recruit in traditional areas, such as young people entering the workforce and attracting former energy workers back into the sector.” 

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Harshivam Bawa learned about the importance of reliable, affordable energy at an early age while growing up in Punjab, a province in northern India where the temperatures in the summer months average in the mid-30s Celsius and can reach as high as 48C. 

“We lived in an urban area that would regularly have unscheduled power cuts for 12 hours, 24 hours and sometimes even longer, due to the lack of reliability in the electric grid,” says Bawa, who moved to Canada in 2018.  

“If your house didn’t have a diesel generator to keep the air conditioner running, you struggled to keep yourself cool during these brownouts and blackouts because it was very hot and extremely humid. You suffered.” 

That sweltering experience shaped Bawa, who was recently appointed chair of the Ottawa-based Young Energy Professionals Network, a group of under-35s across the country who want to secure Canada’s future as a responsible energy developer. 

“Many people in Canada don’t know what it feels like to not have energy. Having lived through that, it’s very important for me to talk about how the energy Canada produces can make people’s lives better here and in the rest of the world,” Bawa says. 

The 28-year-old also works as the public affairs manager for Energy for a Secure Future, an Ottawa-based coalition of Canadian business and community leaders coming together for a new conversation about energy.  

“It’s important for young professionals working in this sector to have a voice at the table because we understand how the energy we use on a daily basis is produced, where it comes from and the infrastructure behind it,” he says.  

“It’s particularly important to be heard in Ottawa, where many major policy decisions are made.” 

Bawa’s own energy journey started when the former journalist joined the Canadian Gas Association as a communication analyst. 

“It was a fantastic opportunity to learn about how natural gas plays a big role in our daily lives, from heating our homes and workplaces to helping produce electricity,” Bawa says.  

“You also saw the potential for Canadian natural gas to reduce emissions and provide energy security both here and in the rest of the world.” 

Bawa has broadened his knowledge of other forms of energy, and he’s convinced Canada will need all types — from Alberta’s crude oil and natural gas to Quebec’s hydroelectricity to Ontario’s nuclear to renewables like wind and solar — to ensure people have the energy they need to live healthy, safe and productive lives. 

The Young Energy Professionals Network has more than 200 members and “it’s a platform to exchange ideas and learn from each other, which our members really value,” says Bawa.  

“We recognize value in all energy sources in Canada. All of them are important and necessary to achieve our goals, whether it’s creating the environment for investment and job creation in Canada or achieving our climate targets.” 

And climate change is a huge part of the discussion, particularly for young people.  

“Climate change is a big part of the conversation with friends and family, especially those who aren’t working in the energy sector,” Bawa says.  

“In most cases, I find when people talk about the opinions of young people on energy, the voice of young professionals in our sector doesn’t seem well represented. It’s important for us to speak and have conversations about the ways the industries we represent are working to reduce emissions, develop technologies and other solutions.” 

Key to Bawa’s conversations is the social good generated by energy development, from jobs, royalties and taxes to benefits for disadvantaged communities and regions in the country. 

“Canadian energy is produced responsibly and benefits society, including historically disadvantaged groups,” he says.  

“We’ve seen increased involvement of different First Nations and Indigenous communities in energy projects. These provide jobs and revenues that wouldn’t be otherwise available and can be used by communities as they see fit for education, housing, drinking water, health care and more. It’s important that’s recognized, both in conversations about energy as well as policy decisions.” 

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A lawyer by education, with terms in high profile roles as executive director of STARS Air Ambulance and CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters Calgary, Gurpreet Lail is no stranger to working in organizations dedicated to helping everyday Canadians.  

Now two years into her term as the president and CEO of Enserva , formerly known as the Petroleum Services Association of Canada, Lail’s work continues to focus on improving quality of life. 

She has no qualms about stating her support for the work the energy industry is doing. 

“I will be the first one to say stop apologizing for the work we do, because the work that we do actually, no pun intended, fuels Canadians. We are in the quality of life business, and that’s exactly what our business provides.” 

Enserva represents the service, supply and manufacturing sectors of the Canadian energy industry. This includes companies that supply hydraulic fracturing services to equipment suppliers and oilfield construction. 

As the energy industry innovates towards more sustainable, low emissions products, she is confident that Enserva’s membership is more than up for the challenge. 

“We are all moving to a new energy mix, and we all realize that as an industry we’re going to need new forms of energy to help us meet the demands of the future, especially when we look at global demand,” Lail says. 

“Every company we represent has been diversifying their business to make sure we have a cleaner future. A lot of our companies are bringing in technology and artificial intelligence processes that are going to help streamline energy well into the future. 

Photo for the Canadian Energy Centre by Dave Chidley

Enserva members are unlocking Canadian energy to make the world a better place, she says.  

“They bring their services, they bring their supplies, they bring their manufacturing, globally.” 

This includes technology used by drilling companies to replace their diesel fleets with natural gas power and other alternative energy sources, which reduces emissions while drilling wells. 

“They just want to do good work, they want to make sure we can provide for Canadians, and they want to provide back into the community with community investments,” Lail says. 

 “You cannot go into rural Alberta or rural Canada and not see energy companies putting up community rinks or helping local hospitals or making sure your local Tim Hortons is still in business.” 

Indigenous reconciliation is an ongoing process, and in Canada, where the oil and gas industry employs thousands of Indigenous workers across the country, she says working with those communities is crucial. 

“It’s a good thing to do and it’s the right thing to do, and a lot of other industries aren’t quite thinking that way.” 

In her eight years at STARS, Lail helped grow the organization to span three provinces and was a leading driver working with Enserva on the annual STARS & Spurs Gala. The event has raised over $20 million, 29 years and counting. 

“STARS has become a fabric of our businesses; it helps save lives including those of our members, and we’re proud of that.” 

In the ever-changing dynamic of Canada’s oil and gas industry, more women are finding themselves, like Lail, driving the conversation about Canadian energy. 

“If there’s young women out there, or women in general I would always tell them to get involved and don’t shy away from coming into the sector,” she says. 

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Suddenly diagnosed with breast cancer at 48, Melanie Antoine approached her treatment options with the same unruffled determination that helped her turn Antoine’s Pump and Equipment (A.P.E.) Maintenance into a thriving oil sands maintenance company. 

“It was a little hiccup on the journey. It’s no different than dealing with any other setback in business or life. You deal with it and move on,” says Antoine, A.P.E.’s co-founder and CEO.  

After receiving a positive final checkup at the end of August, Antoine returned to the helm of the company she and husband Lloyd started in 2008 after spending 12 years operating massive pieces of oil sands equipment and machinery, including bucketwheel reclaimers, haul trucks and the crushers on the mine trains. 

“Both Lloyd and I had saved our money working at Syncrude. We used these savings to invest in ourselves,” says Antoine, a member of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation.   

“Since the company started up, we’ve experienced a lot of trials in this region and the oil sands industry in recent years, from the wildfire [in 2016] to floods to downturns to the pandemic, but we’ve stayed positive and focused on what’s ahead,” she says.  

“It also helps to have a husband like Lloyd, who stepped in to run the company when I was undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatments. We are a partnership in the truest sense of that word. We complement each other at home and work.” 

Melanie and Lloyd Antoine founded A.P.E. Maintenance in Fort McMurray in 2008. Photo by Greg Halinda for the Canadian Energy Centre

Growing up in the small northern community of Fort Chipewyan, Antoine says she never expected to operate a heavy haul truck, but after receiving the right training it became part of what she did for a job.  

“And being Indigenous in the oil sands industry was never an obstacle. If you work hard, you can accomplish anything. The sky is the limit, whether you are working as an employee or as a business.” 

During her second pregnancy, Antoine completed the Aboriginal Entrepreneurship program offered at Keyano College. After giving birth to daughter Sadie, she started applying lessons learned on the course in starting A.P.E. And she had role models who also shaped her. 

“While I was growing up in Fort Chip, I was really inspired by Dave Tuccaro. He was from the same small community and built a very successful business empire working in the oil sands industry,” she says of the CEO of Canada’s largest private group of Indigenous companies 

Her prior experience in the industry also helped.  

“Those sites can be very intimidating places if you have never been on them. We were steeped in the safety culture and what the mine operators needed from contractors to be successful. And industry is very encouraging in helping develop local Indigenous businesses. They want to work with local communities. They did help by providing a lot of mentoring and giving us an opportunity.” 

And A.P.E. has grasped that opportunity with both hands. Fifteen years after starting operations, the company employs more than 100 millwrights, welders, heavy equipment technicians, apprentices, electricians and labourers who maintain and repair heavy equipment and machinery for clients in the oil sands.  

In 2020, the company opened a 20,000-square-foot maintenance shop, one of the largest of its kind in the region, near the Fort McMurray International Airport. 

Inside A.P.E.’s maintenance shop in Fort McMurray. Photo by Greg Halinda for the Canadian Energy Centre

“We have been able to prove ourselves in a very competitive industry,” says Antoine, who received the 2019 Resource Leadership Award from the Alberta Chamber of Resources.  

Antoine and her husband Lloyd, a member of the Mikisew Cree First Nation, have made a point of giving back to their adopted community of Fort McMurray.  

“Fort McMurray is our home and we want to build a better community as well as a company. We want our children to be proud of where they come from, just as we were,” says Antoine, who was named Citizen of the Year by the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo in 2020 for her contributions to the region.  

“My parents were always involved in community events in Fort Chipewyan and that was instilled in me as a value. This region has been very good to us. We want to share our good fortune by giving back.” 

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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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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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