Blog

When you think of Alberta’s forestry sector, the high treed slopes of the Rocky Mountains and the low-lying prairies likely come to mind. Wait, why the prairies though? Surely not many Canadians think about forestry in Alberta as a prominent provincial industry?

That makes sense. Large plots of farmer’s lands or oil sands are a more likely and appropriate connecting visual image to the thought of Alberta industry than the expansive forests across much of the west and northern parts of the province are.

But whether you’re surprised or not, Alberta’s forestry sector is alive and well, and year-over-year has seen employment grow by more than a thousand jobs. Also see:

• Forestry Sector in Canada: By the Numbers

In early November of 2019, the Boundary Dam 3 Power Station’s Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) facility in Saskatchewan captured its 3 millionth tonne of carbon dioxide (CO2) since it began operation in 2014.

This is an incredible milestone considering that the amount of carbon it has captured is equivalent to removing around 650,000 cars off the road for a year's time, assuming the typical passenger vehicle emits approximately 4.6 tonnes of CO2 per year.

Each year since 2014, SaskPower’s CCS facility has captured an amount of CO2 equivalent to taking more than 100,000 cars from the road annually.

Did you know that Canada, one of the world’s top 10 energy producers, ranked 6th out of 167 countries on the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Democracy Index 2018?

First published in 2006, this index has set out each year since to measure the “state of democracy” in these countries using 60 different indicators across five categories, including:

• Electoral process and pluralism
• Functioning of government
• Political participation
• Democratic political culture
• Civil liberties

The EIU found Canada to be one of 20 nations evaluated as a “full democracy” with a score of 9.15 out of 10.00, and that just 4.5% of the world’s population live in a country categorized as such.

Who ranked above Canada? Here’s the top 10 most democratic nations on the EIU’s Democracy Index 2018:

It’s no secret that Canada’s energy sector has been struggling in 2019. It’s unfortunate that this year so far has been but a continuation of many before it where the oil and gas industry has seen capital investment and investor confidence drop significantly.

Meanwhile, countless layoffs have forced talented individuals to move to other more competitive jurisdictions for jobs and better employment opportunities, many of whom are relocating south to the United States.

One of the best ways to keep up with Oil Sands Action's message is by following us on Twitter! We post the most frequently on this social media platform, and would love to have you join our community!

But another online account isn't for everyone. We totally get it! That's why we're taking the best of the best we've made over the past month to our blog for you to check out.

Here's Oil Sands Action's best tweets and retweets for the month of September 2019. Also see some of the best from previous months here:

• Best Tweets & Retweets: August 2019
• Best Tweets & Retweets: July 2019

One way we encourage you to keep up with Canada Action's message is by following us on Twitter! We post the most frequently on this particular social media platform and would love for you to join our growing Twitter community!

But another online account to manage might not be your thing. That's perfectly fine, and is why we're taking the best of the best from the past month and putting it on our blog for you to check out - account free!

Here's Canada Action's best tweets and retweets for the month of September 2019. Also see some of the best from previous months here:

• Best Tweets & Retweets: August 2019
• Best Tweets & Retweets: July 2019

Did you know that Canada is a world leader on climate action, and has been for many years? It comes from the top down in our country, with all levels of governments putting major emphases on reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through initiatives like building Canadian renewable energy infrastructure, investing in clean technologies and spending billions on environmental protection.

Meanwhile, Canada’s stringent and ever-evolving environmental regulatory framework has pushed industry across the country to invest its own time and resources to reduce emissions. Today, switching to renewable power generation is one of the most common ways individual companies are reducing GHGs on their own initiative.

The manufacturing industry is a cornerstone of Canada’s economy with a massive contribution to the national economy, or gross domestic product (GDP), while accounting for nearly two-thirds of all exports made out of the country.

In short, Canadians across the country rely on a prosperous and thriving manufacturing sector to put food on the table and provide for their families. If there's any way to show just how important an industry is, it's without a doubt by the numbers.

With that in mind, here’s 10 facts you should know about the manufacturing industry in Canada.

Just how much oil does Canada import every year? The answer is shocking actually, considering that Canada has the third largest proven oil reserves in the world.

Looking at the Canadian International Merchandise Trade Database, it shows Canada imported approximately $19.4 billion of crude oil in 2018, with that number dropping slightly to $16.6 billion in 2017. A more detailed look in this chart below:

Did you know that when it comes to environmental, social and governance (ESG) "investor" criteria, that Canada places 1st among the world’s top 10 oil exporters not just once, or twice, but every time?

It doesn’t matter what index or ranking you look at, Canada is number one on the list. And these aren’t just any rankings from your local newspaper either, but from well-reputed institutions and organizations across the globe who are among the best at what they do.

A few of these ESG rankings and their respective creators: