Thank you, Mr. Chair and members of the committee, for the opportunity to appear before you today and contribute to this critically important study. I say “critically important”, because expanding Canadian exports, particularly oil and gas, is one of the most effective ways in which we can strengthen our economy, improve our productivity and safeguard our national sovereignty.
It is very encouraging to CAPP and my membership to have a federal government and members across parties looking to grow Canada's role as a global supplier of responsibly produced oil and gas.
Let me begin with the global context. World events have substantially altered Canada's economic and geopolitical circumstances. The ongoing uncertainty with the Canada-U.S. relationship in the context of global trade is putting Canada at risk. Other nations, from China to Russia, have shown that they will use whatever strengths they have to dominate or control valuable resources—in particular oil and natural gas resources, because of the dominant role they play today in the global energy mix and will play in the future.
Around the world, such traditional drivers as population growth and the rapid modernization of economies, especially in the global south, continue to push energy needs higher. In the global north, electrification, data centres and artificial intelligence are escalating energy consumption at a pace few anticipated. Even with the continuing growth of renewables, the world will continue to rely on conventional energy for decades. Over the last 35 years, the share of hydrocarbons in the global primary energy mix has barely shifted—from 85% in 1990 to roughly 80% today.
We need to approach energy with an “addition” mindset. The growth of renewables will simply be layered on top of the growth of conventional energy in order to meet a voracious, growing global appetite for all forms of energy. The core question before us is not whether energy demand will continue to grow; it's whether Canada will choose to help meet that demand. It is an urgent question for a resource-rich and trade-dependent nation like ours, where economic force and not market fairness is now shaping the rules.
Today, most Canadian oil and natural gas exports are sold at a discount to a single customer—the U.S.A.—costing our economy nearly $50 billion U.S. over the past 15 years. This is despite Canada having one of the largest untapped resource endowments on the planet.
Canada can and should be a global energy superpower. We're seeing the benefits when export infrastructure gets built. CAPP estimates that the Trans Mountain expansion will contribute $4 billion in additional revenues every year, increasing Canada's GDP, improving productivity and delivering higher revenues for governments. On the natural gas side, every full LNG cargo leaving Canada's west coast is worth approximately $59 million.
The benefits to Canadians are profound.
First, diversified markets strengthen our trade leverage, ensure that we secure full value for our resources and enhance the strength of our nation's sovereignty. Oil and natural gas represent more than 20% of Canada's total balance of trade.
Second, over just three years, the sector contributed approximately $116 billion in taxes and royalties. Those revenues are essential to funding our defence spending and public services.
Third, since 2017, more than $5 billion in indigenous equity has been invested in energy projects. This is a true partnership. Canada's conventional energy sector is emerging as a global model.
Fourth, our sector is foundational to Canada's economy, providing about 450,000 direct and indirect jobs in every single province across the country and contributing more than $85 billion to GDP just last year.
To continue to realize these benefits at this consequential moment in our history, we must avoid policy changes and choices that increase costs, compliance burdens and uncertainty, such as the newly amended methane regulations and the proposed changes to industrial carbon pricing, which will impose billions in new costs when no competitor producer nation is doing the same.
If Canada truly wants to become an energy superpower, we need a new policy approach. In this new era of economic nationalism, major change is required to attract investment, rebuild our economy, create high-quality jobs, enhance our energy security and strengthen our sovereignty.
The window for Canada to act is open, but it won't be open indefinitely. Canada can and must move with urgency. The future will require more energy, and if we set the policy conditions right, it will be more Canadian energy.
Thank you for your time.