Natural resources, energy and environment
Canada is one of the world's leading
producers of oil and natural gas. The extraction of the
large assets of oil sands in Alberta leads to major
environmental damage and makes it difficult for Canada
to meet the climate targets that the country promised to
meet. The country is also rich in minerals and is a
leading producer of uranium, pot ash, nickel, zinc and
asbestos. There are also large deposits of copper,
cadmium, aluminum, salt, gold, diamonds and cobalt. The
mining sector is especially important in Alberta, but
also in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Ontario and
Quebec, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.
Canada has the world's largest oil reserves, after
Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. In 2018, the country was the
world's fourth largest crude oil producer and the fourth
largest oil exporter (as much as 96 percent is exported
to the United States). Large oil fields are found in
western Canada, mainly in Alberta and in the seas off
the Atlantic coast. Most of all the oil produced comes
from the large deposits of oil sands in northern
Alberta. But the extraction process is dirty and so
expensive that it is only profitable when the oil prices
are really high. In addition, large amounts of water and
energy are required to utilize the oil sands. A number
of serious environmental problems surrounding the
recovery have been reported, including arsenic and
mercury leaking into the rivers. In order to reduce the
environmental impact, the regulations have been
tightened in recent years, but monitoring of compliance
with the rules is considered to have major shortcomings.
According to the government's figures, greenhouse gas
emissions associated with the extraction of oil sands
have decreased by 28 percent per barrel of oil.
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COUNTRYAAH:
Major exports by Canada with a full list of the top products exported by the country. Includes trade value in U.S. dollars and the percentage for each product category.
Natural gas is also available in Alberta, British
Columbia, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia and the Northwest
Territories. Canada was the world's fourth largest gas
producer in 2018 and the world's sixth largest exporter.
From Alberta, the world's longest natural gas pipeline,
just over a thousand miles long, goes to Toronto and
Montreal consumers. Almost half of the natural gas
extracted is exported to the United States, but plans
are also underway to start exporting gas to Asian
countries. Shale gas deposits are also found in Alberta,
British Columbia and Quebec.
The low world market prices of oil and natural gas in
recent years have led to lower revenues despite higher
volumes being exported.
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Abbreviationfinder: A popular acronym site in the world covering abbreviation for each country. For example, CA stands for Canada.
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Coal is mined in British Columbia, Alberta and
Saskatchewan.
Contested oil and gas pipelines
Chinese companies, such as PetroChina, as well as
several other large international companies, not least
American ones, have made extensive investments in the
oil industry in Alberta. Protests from environmental
groups, but also delays in the construction of new
pipelines, have led to fewer people wanting to invest in
oil sands projects in Alberta.
Also in the US, there is resistance to continued
import of oil extracted from oil sands due to the damage
it causes to the environment. Former US President Barack
Obama urged the United States to do more to combat
climate change in order for the United States to approve
a 190-mile, Keystone XL pipeline for transporting oil
from Alberta to the United States. The US Senate gave
the go-ahead for the building in 2015, but Obama vetoed
it. This was asserted in early 2017 by his successor
Donald Trump, a decision openly supported by Canadian
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. But continued opposition
to Keystone XL on the US side of the border has delayed
the start of construction. At the same time, the United
States no longer has the same need for cheap crude oil
from Canada as before.
The lack of capacity in the oil pipelines led to an
increasing proportion of oil being transported by rail,
both in Canada and on the US side of the border. That
this posed major risks was shown in 2013 when a freight
train loaded with oil derailed in Québec, an accident
that claimed 47 lives. In recent years, reduced exports
have led to less and less oil being transported by
train.
There are also plans to build a pipeline from Alberta
to the Pacific coast to reach the Asian market from
there. The Conservative government gave the go-ahead in
2014 for the project, which goes by the name Northern
Gateway, to start, but the project was halted after the
change of power in 2015. However, in the fall of 2016,
the Liberal government approved two other oil pipelines:
Trans Mountain Expansion, from Edmonton in Alberta to a
port near Vancouver in British Columbia (see also
Calendar), and Line 3, from Alberta to Wisconsin in the
United States. Another controversial project is called
Energy East and is a pipeline that would transport oil
from Alberta to the Atlantic coast. However, it was
canceled in the fall of 2017, partly for financial
reasons.
In the spring of 2017, it was also uncertain whether
the Trans Mountain Expansion project could continue due
to opposition from the provincial government of British
Columbia, parts of the indigenous peoples in the area
and environmental groups (see Calendar). In the spring
of 2018, the Ottawa government decided it would buy the
oil pipeline from the US oil company Kinder Morgan.
Following a ruling in the Federal Court of Appeals,
construction was halted indefinitely, pending government
to do more to consult the indigenous peoples affected,
and the National Energy Agency (NEB) to investigate how
increased tanker traffic would affect wildlife and the
marine environment around Vancouver. NEB gave the
go-ahead for the project in early 2019, but also
provided a long list of requirements that the government
must fulfill, as well as several recommendations.
In 2016, the government also gave the green light for
a new natural gas pipeline, Pacific North West, to be
built in northern British Columbia. It was to be drawn
from Fort Saint John in Alberta through rainforest areas
to the port of Port Edward in British Columbia. Several
environmental organizations and representatives of
indigenous peoples in the area criticized the decision,
which they said made it difficult for the government to
fulfill its climate promises (see below). There was also
concern about how the project would affect fishing and
other local industries. But there were also people from
the indigenous peoples who welcomed the decision which
they hoped would lead to economic development and new
jobs in the region. According to the Canadian
Environmental Assessment Agency (CEAA), the project
would increase Canada's greenhouse gas emissions by 0.75
percent.
Large forest assets
Canada has large forest resources and is also the
world's largest exporter of timber. Most of the timber
is sold to China, Japan and the United States.
Energy
Energy consumption in Canada is high. Hydropower
accounts for nearly 66 percent of electricity
generation. Hydropower electricity is also exported to
the United States. Five nuclear power plants accounted
for almost 14 percent of electricity in 2019. Of a total
of 19 reactors, 18 are located in Ontario and one in New
Brunswick. There are also power plants that are powered
by gas and coal as well as wind and other renewable
energy sources.
Climate change
In 2002, Canada joined the Kyoto Agreement, which
aimed at reducing industrialized greenhouse gas
emissions by industrialized countries. According to
this, the country undertook to reduce emissions by 6
percent by 2012 compared to the 1990 level. In 2007,
emissions instead increased by over 26 percent, largely
due to the oil boom in Alberta. In 2011, the then
Conservative government decided that Canada should leave
the agreement on the grounds that the costs were too
high.
However, at the end of 2015, the Liberal government
signed the climate agreement that 193 countries agreed
in Paris. The Canadian government promised to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent by 2030 compared
to the 2005 level. The level had been set by the former
Conservative government. Trudeau then emphasized that
the promises should be seen as a "floor" and not a
"ceiling" for Canada's ambitions. The greatest
responsibility for achieving the climate target was laid
on the provinces, which were obliged to impose a special
tax on greenhouse gas emissions. Such taxes have been
introduced at the provincial level in, among others,
British Columbia, Quebec and Alberta. In April 2019,
however, the federal tax began to be levied in four
conservatively governed provinces (see Calendar). After
the parliamentary election, Trudeau promised that Canada
will be climate neutral by 2050, that is, not to emit
any greenhouse gases at all.
Researchers have warned that climate change means
that major forest fires will become more common in the
future. In connection with a major fire in Alberta in
the spring of 2016, authorities were forced to evacuate
80,000 people from the oil city of Fort McMurray. In
August 2018, the British Columbia government announced a
state of Christianity as 560 forest fires raged in the
province. At least 3,000 people had then been evacuated
from their homes.
Twice as fast as in the rest of the world
In a new government report, Canada's Changing Climate
Report (CCCR), in April 2019, it was stated that climate
change in Canada happens twice as fast as the world
average. Since 1948, the average temperature had risen
by 1.7 degrees throughout the country, but even more so
in the northern parts of the country, in the prairie
provinces and northern British Columbia. In northern
Canada, the temperature had risen by an average of 2.3
percent. For the world at large, the corresponding
figure was 0.8 percent, according to US NOAA. According
to the report, the temperature rises are due to several
things, but greenhouse gas emissions are one of the main
factors.
FURTHER READING: learn more about
Canada in the UI's publication Foreign Affairs
magazine:
Corona gives Canada's Trudeau respite from tricky
dilemma (May 5, 2020)
FACTS - ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT
Energy use per person
7,600 kilos of oil equivalents (2015)
Electricity consumption per person
15542 kilowatt hours, kWh (2014)
Carbon dioxide emissions in total
537 193 thousand tons (2014)
Carbon dioxide emissions per inhabitant
15.1 tonnes (2014)
The share of energy from renewable sources
22.0 percent (2015)
2011
December
Canada leaves Kyoto agreement
Canada will be the first country to formally withdraw from the Kyoto
Agreement, which aims to limit greenhouse gas emissions.
November
The Conservative Party is fined
November 10
The Conservative Party is fined for putting larger sums than allowed on its
election campaigns. The party is required to pay 52,000 Canadian dollars. At the
same time, the charges are laid against four high-ranking party members.
Canada tightens sanctions on Iran
November 21st
Canada, along with the United States and Britain, tightens its sanctions on
Iran.
August
NDP leader Layton dies in cancer
22 August
NDP leader Jack Layton, the official opposition leader since May, dies in
cancer after a period of illness.
May
The Conservative Party wins its own majority
May 2
The re-election results in the Conservative party gaining its own majority in
the lower house, with almost 40 percent of the vote and 166 of the 308 seats.
For the first time, the NDP will be the second largest party with 103 seats,
ahead of the Liberals who will only receive 34 seats. BQ may retain only 4 of
its 47 seats. Behind the NDP's success lies largely the popular party leader
Jack Layton who has led the party towards the political center. BQ leader Gilles
Duceppe and Liberals leader Michael Ignatieff resign after the election, as they
lose their seats in parliament. The turnout is just over 61 percent. At the end
of the month, Bob Rae, former Ontario head of government, is appointed new
temporary leader of the Liberal Party.
March
The government falls after a vote of no confidence
March 25th
After a budget dispute, the Harper government loses a vote of no confidence
in the House of Commons and announces new elections until May.
February
The government is shaken by corruption scandals
Four Conservative MPs are charged with deliberately violating the rules on
how much money one can receive for their election campaign in 2006. An
investigation is being launched against a former close associate of Prime
Minister Harper, who is suspected of having used his position to advance his
significantly younger partner's business project.
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