New Canadian pipeline to tidewater could help bring stability to energy markets, MEI says
- North America’s integrated energy markets could help bolster supply for European and Asian allies.
- Canada should welcome energy investment from its Asian allies, should the opportunity arise.
Calgary, AB, March 24, 2026 – Both Canada and its allies would benefit from new pipeline projects as they could help bring stability to global energy markets, highlights MEI Founding President Michel Kelly-Gagnon.
“Canada has the resources and the know-how to bring more energy to markets amidst global turmoil,” says Mr. Kelly-Gagnon. “The only thing we’re missing is the infrastructure to get it to market, and that’s only due to the effect of new policies hostile to the development of our resources.”
Canada has 163 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, ranking it fourth in the world for the size of its reserves, according to data from Natural Resources Canada.
Similarly, the country boasts amble proven and marketable natural gas reserves, at an estimated 44 trillion cubic metres, or enough for about 300 years at current levels of extraction.
Since the start of the war in Iran, daily oil exports from Gulf states have dropped significantly—by 15.4 million barrels per day in the week to March 15th compared to its February average, according to data from analytics firm Kpler. This drop is equivalent to 14.7 per cent of estimated daily consumption in 2026, according to the U.S. Energy Information Agency.
Similarly, the International Energy Agency estimated in early February that blocking the straight of Hormuz would jeopardize over 300 million cubic metres per day in liquefied natural gas shipments, or roughly 20 per cent of global supply.
Despite Canada’s ample resources and global demand for it, the country’s lack of export pipeline capacity prevents it from reaching world markets.
Trans Mountain’s pipeline system, with its expansion being the most recent major Canadian oil export pipelines to be completed, reached a utilization rate of 90 per cent or higher in the later months of 2025, according to its CEO.
“While a new pipeline won’t be built in time to reduce current energy supply tensions, numerous serious observers of the geopolitics of energy believe the situation in the Middle East will have lasting effects on the supply flow,” says Mr. Kelly-Gagnon. “Canada should seize the opportunities arising from this realignment.”
In a news release on the occasion of last June’s G7 meeting, the MEI highlighted the role North America’s integrated energy market could play in responding to its allies’ energy needs, with light crude oil from the Eastern U.S. having easier access to European markets, and heavy oil from Western Canada being in an advantageous spot to provide energy to Asian markets.
Similarly, liquefaction plant projects in Eastern Canada, such as the one proposed by Marinvest Energy, would benefit from shorter travel times to Europe’s main LNG terminals than liquefaction facilities in Qatar or the Gulf of Mexico do, according to an Economic Note published by the MEI in February.
“North America’s integrated energy industry has thrived thanks to complementary resources and stability, which could entice some of our allies to invest here to enhance energy security,” explains Mr. Kelly-Gagnon. “If firms from friendly countries such as Japan or South Korea come knocking at our door to invest in energy export facilities here, Ottawa should welcome them with open arms.”
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The MEI is an independent public policy think tank with offices in Montreal, Ottawa, and Calgary. Through its publications, media appearances, and advisory services to policymakers, the MEI stimulates public policy debate and reforms based on sound economics and entrepreneurship.
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