Connect with us

Energy

It’s time to get excited about the great Canadian LNG opportunity

Published

1 month ago

11 minute read

  By Stewart Muir

Canada has a rare window to join the big leagues of LNG exporters—Qatar, Australia, and the United States are not waiting around, and neither should we.

I sometimes catch myself staring out over the waters of British Columbia’s coastline — so calm, so vast, so brimming with unspoken opportunity — and I can’t help but wonder how anyone could fail to notice the promise that Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) represents for our nation’s future. This country sits atop some of the largest gas reserves on Earth, and we have two coasts eager to connect our product to global markets.

I’m a quietly enthusiastic type by nature, and I don’t often indulge in the “I-told-you-so” routine, but whenever I encounter someone who just hasn’t cottoned on to the excitement around LNG, I feel compelled to stage a gentle intervention.

In my day-to-day role as CEO of Resource Works, I work with communities from Fort St. John to Kitimat, and beyond. Let me assure you, if you want to see Canadians at work, proud of their craft, and eyeing a brighter future, you’ll find them along the pipeline routes and port terminals that are part of our budding LNG industry. And they’re just as commonly found in Vancouver, Victoria and the other cities, just harder to spot with no blue coveralls.

I’ve been following the natural gas story in British Columbia for more than a quarter of a century, going back to my days in the media field. As an editor at The Vancouver Sun, I created the paper’s first-ever energy beat after we noticed something big was stirring in the North East gas fields. It turned out to be an industry animated by regulatory innovation, rich geology, ambitious investors, and some of the most capable people you’ll ever meet.

When talk of LNG exports began to stir in 2011, I dove in with both feet. Over the past 15 years, I’ve followed the LNG file across Canada, around the world, and deep into the heart of British Columbia.

Along the way, I’ve met First Nations chiefs who proudly showed me the schools and businesses they built through new partnerships. I’ve also sat down with those who remain skeptical and had honest, sometimes searching conversations. I’ve learned something from all of them. This is an industry that, at its best, brings people together to solve problems, create opportunity, and build a future worth caring about.

Why am I still so enthused after all these years? LNG is not a flash in the pan, for starters. Through cyclical ups and downs—natural phenomena in any commodity game—international forecasts consistently show that LNG demand won’t be evaporating tomorrow or, quite likely, for several tomorrows yet. The International Energy Agency, the Canada Energy Regulator, and even the U.S. Energy Information Administration all point to steady growth in global LNG trade.

On top of that, if you follow the money, you’ll see billions of dollars flowing into new regasification terminals and record orders for LNG carriers. I may be old-fashioned, but I’ve always found that when so many investors plunk down their capital in one place, it’s seldom a fluke. The world has more than 700 LNG ships plying the seas these days, and hundreds more under construction. That’s not a small bit of confidence.

And let’s talk local: from where I sit, Canada’s jobs outlook tied to LNG looks like a real tonic for communities seeking new opportunities. Construction alone can employ entire regions. Then come the careers that last decades—plant operators, engineers, port and shipping managers, the works. It’s the sort of diversified prosperity that a resource economy yearns for.

We’ve even seen First Nations communities take equity stakes in major LNG projects, forging new partnerships that benefit everyone involved. That’s the model of inclusive economic development that Canadians like to talk about. It’s called walking the walk.

Those voices of skepticism — bless their hearts — sometimes say, “But what about price volatility? The commodity cycles? Are we sure this is sustainable?” Truthfully, no commodity is immune to upswings and downswings. But open a newspaper — digitally or in paper form, your choice— and you’ll find that countries all over the world are expanding their LNG-import infrastructure. Many of them, especially in Asia and Europe, see Canada as a steady, well-regulated, and (importantly) speedy supplier.

Yes, “speedy” might be an odd descriptor for us easygoing Canadians, but let’s not overlook that a West Coast port is only about eight or nine sailing days from major Asian markets, versus more than 20 from the U.S. Gulf Coast. You’d think we’d have lines of ships lined up right now, just for that advantage.

There’s another subtlety that some folks overlook. Right now, much of our gas still flows to the United States, often at discounted prices, only to be converted into LNG down there and sold globally at a premium. If that doesn’t make you shake your head in wonder, I’m not sure what will. Canadians have every reason to want to keep some of that up-chain value right here at home, funneling more of that revenue into local jobs and public coffers. That’s exactly the sort of well-to-customer supply chain we’re poised to build.

And if you’re still not impressed, consider the big jolt to GDP whenever a massive energy project crosses the finish line. Look no further than the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion: once it was substantially complete last year, the national GDP got a measurable jolt. It’s extremely rare that a single anything shows up that way. Now, with the first shipment of Canadian LNG preparing to leave Kitimat in the coming weeks, we can expect a repeat performance. It’s the real economic equivalent of an encore, if you will. And who doesn’t love an encore that boosts paycheques and government revenues?

Canadians may be known worldwide for politeness and hockey, but let’s not forget that boldness is also in our national DNA. Building a robust LNG sector that ties Western and Eastern Canada to major global markets is about as bold an economic strategy as we could pursue right now. Some might call it visionary, others might say it’s just common sense in a world that still demands substantial amounts of energy. Either way, Canada has a rare window to join the big leagues of LNG exporters—Qatar, Australia, and the United States are not waiting around, and neither should we.

At the end of the day, seeing Canadians capture more of the value from our natural resources rather than shipping it across the border at a discount is, for me, both pragmatic and patriotic. It’s the kind of deal that makes you wonder why anyone would hesitate. Perhaps that hesitation is just a bump in the road of public discourse—something we can gently, politely, and persistently overcome.

I, for one, am excited for the first shipment of LNG out of Canada’s West Coast, due any week now. A top executive with the project once whispered to me that the maiden cargo would be worth $100 million, but lately I’m hearing a single shipload is now probably worth double that.

So yes, I’m looking forward to the day when it’s not just a handful of tankers leaving our ports, but a regular fleet serving global customers. It will lift up the whole country, just as it has contributed to America’s tearaway economy in recent years and elevated Qatar from desert outpost to World Cup host nation.

Soon, maybe all the doubters will have recognized the obvious — and joined the rest of us on the bandwagon with front-row seats to Canada’s LNG future. Sure, I’m biased, but only because the facts keep reinforcing that this sector is poised to do a world of good for Canadians from coast to coast.

Related Topics:

Todayville is a digital media and technology company. We profile unique stories and events in our community. Register and promote your community event for free.

Follow Author

More from this author
International / 3 hours ago

Seattle Police Department investigating attack on journalist during Antifa protests

Banks / 5 hours ago

Top Canadian bank studies possible use of digital dollar for ‘basic’ online payments

Alberta / 13 hours ago

This is what wasting taxpayer dollars sounds like

Business

Senator wants to torpedo Canada’s oil and gas industry

Published on June 19, 2025

By

From the Fraser Institute

By Kenneth P. Green

Recently, without much fanfare, Senator Rosa Galvez re-pitched a piece of legislation that died on the vine when former prime minister Justin Trudeau prorogued Parliament in January. Her “Climate-Aligned Finance Act” (CAFA), which would basically bring a form of BDS (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions) to Canada’s oil and gas sector, would much better be left in its current legislative oblivion.

CAFA would essentially treat Canada’s oil and gas sector like an enemy of the state—a state, in Senator Galvez’ view, where all values are subordinate to greenhouse gas emission control. Think I’m kidding? Per CAFA, alignment with national climate commitments means that everyone engaged in federal investment in “emission intensive activities [read, the entire oil and gas sector] must give precedence to that duty over all other duties and obligations of office, and, for that purpose, ensuring the entity is in alignment with climate commitments is deemed to be a superseding matter of public interest.”

In plain English, CAFA would require anyone involved in federal financing (or federally-regulated financing) of the oil and gas sector to divest their Canadian federal investments in the oil and gas sector. And the government would sanction those who argue against it.

There’s another disturbing component to CAFA—in short, it stacks investment decision-making boards. CAFA requires at least one board member of every federally-regulated financial institution to have “climate expertise.” How is “climate expertise” defined? CAFA says it includes people with experience in climate science, social science, Indgineuous “ways of knowing,” and people who have “acute lived experience related to the physical or economic damages of climate change.” (Stacking advisory boards like this, by the way, is a great way to build public distrust in governmental advisory boards, which, in our post-COVID world, is probably not all that high. Might want to rethink this, senator.)

Clearly, Senator Galvez’ CAFA is draconian public policy dressed up in drab finance-speak camouflage. But here’s what it would do. By making federal investment off-limits to oil and gas companies, it would quickly put negative pressure on investment from both national and international investors, effectively starving the sector for capital. After all, if a company’s activities are anathema to its own federal regulators or investment organs, and are statutorily prohibited from even verbally defending such investments, who in their right minds would want to invest?

And that is the BDS of CAFA. In so many words, it calls on the Canadian federal government to boycott, divest from, and sanction Canada’s oil and gas sector—which powers our country, produces a huge share of our exports, and employs people from coast to coast. Senator Galvez would like to see her Climate-Aligned Finance Act (CAFA) resurrected by the Carney government, whose energy policy to-date has been less than crystal clear. But for the sake of Canadians, it should stay dead.

Kenneth P. Green

Senior Fellow, Fraser Institute
Continue Reading

Energy

Who put the energy illiterate in charge?

Published on June 19, 2025

By

This article supplied by Troy Media.

Troy Media By Bill Whitelaw

Canada’s energy policy is being shaped by politicians who don’t actually understand how energy works. That’s not just embarrassing. It’s dangerous

Canada’s energy future is being held back by a critical obstacle: our elected officials don’t understand energy.

At all three levels of government, most politicians lack even a basic grasp of how our energy systems function. That ignorance isn’t just a knowledge gap—it’s a leadership crisis. Energy systems are evolving rapidly, and our leaders are ill-equipped to manage the complexity, tradeoffs and consequences involved. With few exceptions, their understanding is superficial, shaped more by talking points than substance.

By “energy systems,” I mean the complex web of technologies, infrastructure, markets and regulations that generate, distribute and manage power—from oil and gas to hydro, nuclear, wind and solar. These systems are deeply interconnected, constantly changing and central to every aspect of modern life. Yet the people making decisions about them often have little idea how they actually work.

This shows up frequently in public life: dodged questions, scripted answers, vague platitudes. Many politicians skate across the surface of issues with the thinnest understanding. The old adage “a little knowledge is a dangerous thing” perfectly describes Canadian energy politics today.

Decisions about energy directly affect household utility bills, climate goals, industrial competitiveness and grid reliability. Yet politicians tend to be tethered to the dominant energy source in their own region—oil and gas in Alberta, hydro in Quebec, nuclear in Ontario—without grasping how those systems connect or conflict. Canada’s energy landscape is fragmented, with each province operating under its own regulatory framework, infrastructure constraints and political pressures. That makes coordination difficult and systems-level thinking essential.

This isn’t a left-versus-right issue. It’s not oil and gas versus renewables. It’s a national failure to understand the integrated systems that power our lives and economy. Canada is, functionally, energy illiterate, and our elected officials reflect that reality. We flip a switch, pump gas, turn up the thermostat and rarely ask how or why it works, or what it costs in environmental or economic terms.

Take the Clean Electricity Regulations as one example. Introduced by the federal government to drive Canada’s electricity grid to net-zero emissions by 2035, the CERs require provinces to sharply reduce or eliminate fossil fuel-based power. But in Alberta and Saskatchewan, where coal and natural gas still dominate, those regulations landed with a thud. The federal government failed to account for regional infrastructure limitations, market structure
differences and technology readiness. The result? Immediate backlash, legal threats and political gridlock—not because climate action is unwelcome, but because the policy was crafted in a vacuum of systems-level understanding.

Adding to the problem is the dominance of bureaucrats and political handlers in shaping what passes for energy messaging. Speeches are often a patchwork of statistics and sanitized clichés, stripped of nuance or depth. Many politicians simply deliver what they’re handed, guided more by risk management than insight. The result is policy that’s disconnected from the realities it aims to change.

A handful of elected officials do have real-world energy experience, but even that is often narrow, based on one role or one sector. It rarely translates into the kind of broad, integrated knowledge needed to lead across multiple interdependent systems. The risks of this fragmented thinking are immense.

What’s needed is mandatory education—an energy information and insights toolkit for anyone seeking public office. This shared curriculum would cover how electricity and fuel systems work, the economics of energy markets, climate dynamics, environmental trade-offs and public policy principles. It should be grounded in both natural and social sciences and structured to develop systems thinking, so that decisions are informed by how energy technologies, markets and governance truly interact.

Imagine if thousands of politicians—urban and rural, left and right, federal and local—learned from the same textbook. Politics wouldn’t vanish. Disagreements wouldn’t disappear. But the debate would shift from tribal talking points to informed discussion.

And for once, Canada might start moving forward on energy, not with noise or paralysis, but with purpose.

Bill Whitelaw is a director and advisor to many industry boards, including the Canadian Society for Evolving Energy, which he chairs. He speaks and comments frequently on the subjects of social licence, innovation and technology, and energy supply networks.

Troy Media empowers Canadian community news outlets by providing independent, insightful analysis and commentary. Our mission is to support local media in helping Canadians stay informed and engaged by delivering reliable content that strengthens community connections and deepens understanding across the country.

Continue Reading

Trending

X