Canada Has the Energy. It Doesn't Have the Sovereignty.

ICBA Chief Economist Jock Finlayson has a new paper out, in his role with the Fraser Institute. Jock wrote Strategies to Secure Canadian Energy Sovereignty with Karen Graham, published September 11. We're flagging it here because ICBA members build this stuff, and the argument matters to you.

Start with what Canada has. As of 2023, we ranked 4th in the world in crude oil production and 3rd in exports. Fifth in natural gas production. Second in uranium production and exports. Third in hydroelectricity. On paper, that's an energy superpower.

Graham and Finlayson draw the line that matters: energy security and energy sovereignty are not the same thing. Canada has security — we have the resources. Sovereignty means being able to get them to market and capitalize on them. That's where we fall down.

Their three prescriptions are ones ICBA members will recognize from every project file they've opened in the last decade. Get serious about building the capacity to diversify export markets. Realign climate, tax and regulatory policy with how the world actually uses energy, and speed up approval timelines. Create conditions that attract domestic and foreign capital instead of chasing it away.

None of that happens without contractors, equipment and crews. Pipelines, terminals, transmission and mines are construction projects before they are energy projects.

Read the full paper here.