Madam Speaker, before I go into my script, maybe the member should know what is going on in the world.
In the United States, 107,000 workers have been laid off in the oil and gas sector. BP has laid off 10,000 workers around the world. Shell has laid off 9,000 workers around the world. The member wants to tell us that because of Canadian policies, this is going on around the world. He could not be further from the truth, obviously.
Our government is working hard to help the oil and gas sector, and his question is a very important one. We know that in Canada's resource sector, workers and suppliers have been hard hit by the fallout of COVID-19. Nowhere has this been more pronounced than in the petroleum sector, where producers have faced the added challenge of record-low prices caused by the dual impact of a price war and a collapse in demand, something obviously ignored by the member, either willfully or because he is not sure what is going on in his backyard.
The success of Canada's petroleum sector is critical to the successful restart and recovery of the economy. That is why our government is working hard to support the petroleum sector through these difficult times.
As a government, we believe in the future of this sector. I will say it again: We believe in the future of this sector. This includes its role in driving investments in clean technology and new opportunities in areas such as hydrogen and carbon capture, use and storage. That is why we have put in place measures over the past several months that are key to ensuring that Canada emerges with a stronger, more innovative economy in a cleaner energy future.
We started with the Canada emergency wage subsidy, which supported maintaining jobs in all sectors across Canada. For the oil and gas sector, the wage subsidy meant sustaining 80,000 jobs at the height of the crisis across Canada, with 60,000 jobs in Alberta alone.
We went further, with almost $2.5 billion for the energy sector, providing $1.7 million to clean up orphan and inactive oil and gas wells. This is expected to create thousands of jobs, including an estimated 5,200 in Alberta alone, and provide lasting environmental benefits. I must say that the Alberta government and Alberta's Minister of Energy were ecstatic when we partnered to do this with the Province of Alberta.
There is up to $750 million in repayable contributions, through our new emissions reduction fund, to lower greenhouse gas emissions in Canada's oil and gas sector, with a focus on methane. The fund includes $75 million, some of which will be non-repayable, to help the offshore industry in Newfoundland and Labrador create and maintain jobs through emission reduction efforts, and expanded eligibility to help Canadian businesses get the financing they need during this period of uncertainty. This support is available to medium-sized businesses with larger financing needs, beginning with companies in Canada's energy sector, to help them maintain operations and keep their employees on the job.
More recently, our government announced $320 million in funding to support workers in Newfoundland and Labrador offshore. This will stimulate and maintain employment and economic activity in the province and will ensure that it can support middle-class families and communities.
Our government will continue to pursue all avenues to ensure that Canada's energy sector continues to be a key source of the jobs that support a strong economy. We are supporting workers. We are supporting families. We are supporting our oil and gas sector. We are supporting Albertans.
