JAY GOLDBERG: Oil and gas isn’t the enemy – emissions data proves it

Article content

For nearly a decade, former prime minister Justin Trudeau’s government made every effort to stymie Canada’s oil and gas sector, insisting sacrificing growth in the sector was necessary for the sake of the environment.

Article content

Under the Trudeau regime, scores of laws were introduced that blockaded new pipelines and shut down coastal tanker activity, all of which made Canada more subservient to the U.S., because of the nation’s limited pipeline capacity.

Article content

Recommended Videos

Article content

Thankfully, there seems to be a new consensus in Ottawa that Canada’s energy sector is not the enemy. Prime Minister Mark Carney and Energy Minister Tim Hodgson seem to recognize Alberta’s oilsands will be a key driver of future Canadian prosperity, energy security, and even trade diversification.

Critics within Liberal ranks

Still, Carney’s new approach to Canada’s energy sector — a clear break from his predecessor’s — is not without its critics.

Former environment minister Steven Guilbeault resigned from cabinet and later Parliament to protest Carney’s departure from Trudeau-era climate policy. There remain many in the Liberal caucus who clapped like trained seals every time Trudeau denigrated Alberta’s energy sector in the House of Commons, so it remains to be seen whether this new approach is being imposed top-down by Carney himself, or if Liberals truly have had a change of heart. Regardless, a new study from the Canadian Climate Institute shows what energy sector proponents have been saying all along — Canada’s oil and gas sector is not the enemy, nor should it be the main target of environmentalists.

Article content

Article content

In 2025, emissions from the oil and gas sector dropped by 0.2% from 2024 levels, despite the fact a record amount of crude oil was produced in 2025, roughly 4% more than the year prior. In other words, production in the oilsands went up, but emissions went down.

That’s not the narrative most Canadians are used to hearing. For years, we’ve been told by environmental activists that increased production would mean increased emissions, which in turn would damage our environment beyond repair.

What this data shows, instead, is that the oil and gas sector has found ways to become more efficient and that increased production does not necessarily come at the cost of Canada’s natural environment.

Canada’s energy security, national security, and economic security demands that oil and gas production here at home be ramped up. There is no good reason why most of eastern Canada continues to rely on imported oil and natural gas from abroad instead of supporting industry here at home. And Canada should be supplying oil and gas to our allies — like Germany and Japan — that have asked for it, as well as countries like India and China, which are putting up coal plants at a record pace.

Article content

To truly get global emissions down, we must think globally. Does it make sense to stand in the way of the growth of Canada’s energy sector, supposedly for the sake of the environment, if India and China are building coal plants instead? Of course not. And the latest data shows that increased oil and gas production in Canada does not need to mean more emissions. That’s a reality that ought to finally quiet the sector’s critics.

More to be done

The Carney government has come a long way in supporting Canada’s oil and gas sector, but more needs to be done. The federal tanker ban on Canada’s West Coast, for example, must be lifted. The U.S. continues to allow tankers on the West Coast, and Canada’s unilateral insistence on stopping Canadian tanker activity is nonsensical. Of course, B.C. has a provincial tanker ban in place too, but that could all change pending the outcome of this month’s provincial election.

It’s time for common sense to prevail in public policy. Finally, there seems to be action in that direction federally when it comes to Canada’s oil and gas sector. But there’s more work to be done. And the latest emissions data shows Carney can justify continuing to support the sector by pointing to the fact that emissions are down while activity is up.

Supporting Canada’s oil and gas sector isn’t just the smart thing to do — it’s also the right thing to do.

Jay Goldberg is the North American Affairs Manager at the Consumer Choice Center

Article content