Canada Avoids Energy Escalation in Trade Talks

A trade dispute between Canada and the US has sparked calls to use energy as a bargaining chip. However, Alberta MLA Nate Glubish argues that this approach would backfire.

Glubish points out that most of the oil that fuels Ontario and Quebec flows through pipelines that cross Michigan before re-entering Canada. Similarly, much of Eastern Canada's natural gas arrives from the US. If Canada were to cut off or tax its energy exports, the US could respond by choking off these vital supplies.

This would have devastating consequences for Alberta, which relies heavily on oil exports, as well as for Ontario and Quebec, where fuel shortages could occur within weeks. Hundreds of thousands of jobs across all three provinces would be at risk. Glubish concludes that using energy as a weapon would ultimately harm Canada's own interests.

Instead, the Alberta government is choosing diplomacy to resolve the dispute. They are working directly with affected businesses on relief and supports, tearing down interprovincial trade barriers, and accelerating nation-building pipelines east and west. These efforts aim to reduce Canada's reliance on any single country or customer and make it stronger in the long run.