Did you know that Canada is the world’s third-largest oil exporter, fourth-largest oil producer, and fourth-largest proven reserve holder of oil? For natural gas, our country is also a behemoth, as the fifth-largest gas producer, sixth-largest gas exporter, and ninth-largest gas reserve holder.
Generating billions of dollars in government revenues, supporting jobs for hundreds of thousands of workers, and accounting for a significant share of our exports, the oil and natural gas sector plays an oversized role in the Canadian economy. Its importance to Canada’s economic prosperity cannot be understated.
Below we go over several fun and interesting facts about oil and gas in Canada that should bring you up to date on just how critical this industry is to Canadian families, governments, and our trade partners around the world.
Oil & Gas: General Facts
Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin - Packers Plus
#1 – Canada’s largest source of oil and gas is the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin (WCSB), spanning across Northeastern British Columbia, Most of Alberta, Southern Saskatchewan and Southwestern Manitoba [1]
#2 – The WCSB covers more than 1.4 million square kilometres (km2), with an estimated 171 billion recoverable barrels of oil and 632 trillion cubic feet of natural gas [2]
#3 – Altogether, the oil sands holds an estimated 1.8 trillion barrels of oil, but less than 10% of that is economically recoverable using current technology [6]
#4 – Canada is the world’s third-largest oil exporter, fourth-largest producer, and fourth-largest reserve holder [3]
#5 – Canada is the world’s fifth-largest natural gas producer, sixth-largest exporter, and ninth-largest reserve holder [3][4]
#6 – Canada’s oil sands cover about 142,000 km2, only 3% of which is mineable; the remaining 97% is too deep and can only be extracted in place with minimal land disturbance [5]
#7 – Today, about 760 km2 of oil sands area is undergoing active mining, equivalent to the size of the City of Edmonton [5]
#8 – Canada’s oil sands account for roughly two-thirds of Canadian oil production every year, producing more than one billion barrels annually [6]
Canadian Oil Sands - Natural Resources Canada
#9 – About 4% of Canadian oil production comes from four projects offshore Newfoundland and Labrador: Hibernia, White Rose, Terra Nova, and Hebron, with another two projects in development including West White Rose and Bay du Nord. [7]
#10 – Over 63 billion barrels of oil and 224 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves are estimated to be found offshore Newfoundland and Labrador [23]
#11 – Canada’s west coast is also home to vast conventional energy reserves; the Geological Survey of Canada estimates that as much as 41.8 trillion cubic feet and 9.8 billion barrels of oil could exist in the four basins off British Columbia’s coast [9]
#12 – Canada produced 5.1 million barrels per day (MMb/d) of crude oil in 2023, an increase of 1.9% versus 2022 [12]
#13 – Almost all, 96% of Canadian oil production comes from the Western provinces, with the remaining 4% being produced offshore in the Atlantic [12]
#14 – Alberta accounted for 84% of Canadian oil production in 2023, followed by Saskatchewan and Newfoundland [12]
#15 – Canada holds some of the world’s largest oil reserves, accounting for 11% of global reserves – behind only Venezuela and Saudi Arabia [12]
#16 – Alberta and British Columbia accounted for 98% of Canada’s natural gas and natural gas liquids production in 2023, with smaller amounts being produced in Saskatchewan, Ontario, New Brunswick, and the Northwest Territories [12]
Oil & Gas: The Economy
#17 – Canada’s oil and gas sector accounts for 900,000 direct, indirect, and induced jobs nationwide [13]
#18 - Canada’s oil and gas sector contributed $578.7 billion in revenues to federal, provincial, and municipal governments between 2000 and 2021, an average of $26.3 billion per year [10]
#19 - Canada’s oil and gas sector is projected to generate approximately $594 billion in government revenues between 2023 and 2032 [11]
#20 - In total, Canada’s oil and gas sector is expected to create more than $1.1 trillion for the public purse between 2000 and 2032 [10][11]
#21 – The average oil and gas worker’s total compensation is about two times higher than the Canadian average for goods-producing industries [13]
#22 – In the fourth quarter of 2024, the oil sands hit $1 trillion in cumulative spending injected into the Canadian economy [14]
#23 – In 2022, Canada’s oil and natural gas sector contributed $45 billion in payments to Canadian governments, funds used to pay for our social programs and public infrastructure [17]
#24 - Canada’s offshore oil and gas sector directly employed more than 4,000 people in 2022, and accounted for tens of thousands of more indirect and induced jobs [8]
#25 – Offshore oil and gas royalties account for 15% of the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador’s annual budget, or $1 in every $7 the government spends [15]
#26 - Over the past 20 years, oil and gas accounted for 25% of Newfoundland and Labrador’s economy and 41% of the province’s exports [16]
Liquefied Natural Gas in Canada
#27 – At $40 billion, LNG Canada, the first major LNG export facility in the country, represents the largest private sector investment in Canadian history [19]
#28 - From 2020 to 2064, more than $94 billion of revenues could be generated by a healthy LNG industry for governments in British Columbia [18]
#29 - From 2020 to 2064, about $158 billion of revenues could be generated by the B.C. LNG industry for Canadian governments [18]
#30 - From 2020 to 2064, more than $500 billion of new investment in Canada could be created by a healthy LNG industry in British Columbia [18]
#31 - From 2020 to 2064, more than 71,000 jobs could be created within British Columbia by a healthy LNG industry [18]
#32 - From 2020 to 2064, close to 100,000 jobs could be created across Canada by a healthy LNG industry in British Columbia [18]
Oil & Gas: Indigenous & Communities
#33 - In 2021, approximately 13,000 Indigenous workers were involved in Canada’s energy sector, representing 7.3% of the labour force vs. 4.2% of the overall Canadian labour force [21]
#34 - The oil sands sector procures various goods and services from Indigenous businesses in and around operations; between 2017 and 2019, the industry spent nearly $6 billion with Indigenous businesses [20]
#35 - The oil sands sector procured goods and services from 275 different Indigenous suppliers across Canada in 2019 [20]
#36 - Indigenous ownership in projects like Coastal GasLink, Ksi Lisims LNG, Cedar LNG, and other infrastructure projects are providing First Nations with generational opportunities to create own-source revenues and uplift their communities out of abject poverty [23]
#37 - Oil and gas is helping advance economic reconciliation with Indigenous communities; the Cedar LNG project, for example, is the largest Indigenous-owned infrastructure project in Canada [22]
Oil & Gas: Pipelines
#38 – Canada is home to six major crude oil export pipelines, all originating from Edmonton or Hardisty, Alberta, including [24]:
- Trans Mountain, which connects to the West Coast
- Rangeland, Milk River and Express, which run south to the Rocky Mountains Region, connecting to the U.S. Midwest
- Keystone, which connects to the U.S. Gulf Coast, via the U.S. Midwest
- Mainline, which runs to the Midwest, and connects to the U.S. Gulf Coast
#39 - Canada is home to four main natural gas export pipelines including [25]:
- Coastal GasLink, from northeastern B.C. to Kitimat on the West Coast
- The NOVA Gas Transmission system, which exports to the U.S.
- The Alliance pipeline, which exports to the U.S.
- The Westcoast Pipeline, which also exports directly to the U.S.
#40 – Rail is another main method of exporting oil, with approximately 150,000 barrels per day between 2021 and 2022 [24]
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It’s time to make Canada stronger!
— Canada Action (@CanadaAction) May 20, 2025
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SOURCES:
1 – https://www.capp.ca/en/oil-natural-gas-you/oil-natural-gas-canada/
2 - https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/aapg/aapgbull/article-abstract/106/3/655/611702/The-Western-Canada-Sedimentary-Basin-A-confluence?redirectedFrom=fulltext
3 - https://energy-information.canada.ca/sites/default/files/2024-10/energy-factbook-2024-2025.pdf
4 - https://financialpost.com/commodities/energy/oil-gas/alberta-major-revision-oil-gas-reserve-estimates
5 - https://www.oilsandsmagazine.com/technical/environment/land-usage
6 - https://www.oilsandsmagazine.com/news/2022/5/18/the-oil-sands-explained-in-10-minutes
7 - https://www.capp.ca/en/oil-natural-gas-you/oil-natural-gas-canada/offshore/
8 - https://www.capp.ca/en/our-priorities/energy-and-the-canadian-economy/economic-benefits-from-offshore/
9 - https://www.offshore-mag.com/home/article/16756918/canada-from-potential-to-production
10 - https://www.offshore-mag.com/home/article/16756918/canada-from-potential-to-production
11 - https://www.canadianenergycentre.ca/495-billion-in-government-revenues-from-the-canadian-oil-and-gas-industry-projected-over-next-decade/
12 - https://www.cer-rec.gc.ca/en/data-analysis/energy-markets/provincial-territorial-energy-profiles/provincial-territorial-energy-profiles-canada.html
13 - https://www.capp.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/The-Economic-Impact-of-Canadian-Oil-and-Gas.pdf
14 - https://www.canadaaction.ca/oilsands-one-trillion-spending-canadian-economy-milestone
15 - https://www.capp.ca/en/our-priorities/energy-and-the-canadian-economy/economic-benefits-from-offshore/
16 - https://www.gov.nl.ca/thewayforward/action/double-oil-and-gas-production-in-newfoundland-and-labrador/
17 - https://www.canadaaction.ca/canadian-oil-gas-revenues-public-infrastructure-equivalents
18 - https://www.conferenceboard.ca/product/a-rising-tide-the-economic-impact-of-b-c-s-liquified-natural-gas-industry/
19 - https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/lng-canada-first-ship-1.7501046
20 – https://www.capp.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Indigenous-Engagement-and-ESG-Report-397763.pdf
21 - https://careersinenergy.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Indigenous-Census-Report_Final_June-24.pdf
22 - https://www.cedarlng.com/
23 - https://www.gov.nl.ca/releases/2020/iet/0929n02/
24 - https://www.oilsandsmagazine.com/market-insights/2022/5/30/canadas-export-pipelines-capacity-constraints-and-future-egress-outlook
25 - https://www.cer-rec.gc.ca/en/data-analysis/energy-markets/market-snapshots/2024/market-snapshot-western-canadas-natural-gas-export-pipelines-continued-to-see-high-utilization-in-2023.html#:~:text=Natural%20gas%20supply%20from%20western%20Canada%20is,NGTL%20system%2C%20Alliance%20Pipeline%2C%20and%20Westcoast%20Pipeline.