The New Map: Energy, Climate, and the Clash of Nations

by Daniel Yergin

Canada and the United States are highly integrated on the North American energy map. In Canada, technological advances had led to rapid growth in production from the oil sands, primarily centered in the province of Alberta. Between 2000 and 2019, Canada’s crude oil output more than doubled, reaching 4.5 million barrels a day—more than Iraq or Iran, pre-sanctions. While some is consumed in Canada, most is exported to the United States. Canada supplied, in 2019, about 50 percent of total U.S. oil imports, a volume three times greater than all the oil the United States imported from OPEC countries. The growth of Canadian imports was seen as a major contribution to U.S. energy security. This trade is also a key element in the $600 billion-plus trading relationship between the two countries.