The sheer scale of investment in the natural gas industry in Australia has yielded substantial economic benefits
By Mark Milke and Lennie Kaplan Canadian Energy Centre When U.S. President Joe Biden recently revoked the presidential permit for the Keystone XL pipeline, it was a reminder of how anti-oil-and-gas activism and politics over the years can kill Canadian (and American) jobs. It was also a reminder of how dependent Canada is on one…
But opposition to resource development means Canada is being left out in the cold
Extreme cold weather and mismatched supply and demand have pushed spot prices for liquefied natural gas (LNG) in Asia through the roof. Bloomberg reports that LNG spot prices went from “almost to zero” in April 2020 to above US$30 per one million British thermal unit (MMBtu), rising “18-fold in less than nine months.” Prices in…
Young people who graduate into a recession often take decades to recover
As we bid farewell to 2020, an annus horribilis if there ever was one, spare a thought or two for Canada’s youth. Hard as 2020 was on Canada a whole, young Canadians are paying big time for the unavoidable consequences of COVID-19. Many Canadian young people were supposed to be having the proverbial ‘time of…
Ill-considered responses by governments left highly damaging long-term legacies
History will record that multiple vaccine breakthroughs ended the COVID-19 pandemic. But it will also show that ill-considered responses by our federal and provincial governments left highly damaging long-term legacies. Here’s a list of what I call the COVID follies: Destruction of the Canadian aviation industry Canada’s airlines have been burning through their dwindling cash…
With the COVID-19 recession and the expansion of Chinese influence, it’s urgent that Canada take the initiative and position itself in new markets
In November, China and 14 Asia-Pacific countries including Japan and South Korea signed a free-trade deal covering 2.2 billion people and nearly 30 per cent of international trade. This Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership shows that the Pacific region continues to reinforce its place as the world’s leading trade hub. Canada and, more precisely, the Prairie…
Our debt is rising and our population growth is slowing. The result will be a massive fiscal burden on taxpayers in decades to come
Caught between a rock and a hard place. This best sums up the position that Alberta’s United Conservative Party government found itself in as it announced new, stricter lockdown measures for Christmas. The government is attempting to bend the rising curve of COVID-19 infections. Premier Jason Kenney and his most trusted ministers lined up to…
It is a mistake to think Canada can thrive without the export wealth generated by the energy sector
By Mark Milke and Lennie Kaplan Canadian Energy Centre You may have heard the persistent worldwide narrative that oil and natural gas are dead, or soon will be, and can easily be replaced with other forms of energy. The latter claim is simply false. Read the work of energy transition expert Vaclav Smil, professor of…
The good news? Pandemic under control. The bad news? Very slow growth, high debt, higher taxes, high unemployment
The future is imaginary, said philosopher Baruch Spinoza. We don’t and can’t know what will happen in the future and last year certainly demonstrated that. Nevertheless, the desire to see what the new year will bring always overcomes the future’s inherent mystery. We peer into our crystal balls and bravely prognosticate, knowing full well that…
Even if the vaccines remain effective against the new COVID-19 mutants, a true crude oil market rebound is still a long shot
Strong headwinds continue to disrupt crude oil markets in the new year. In 2020, COVID-19 triggered demand destruction, with some insisting that global oil demand may have already peaked. Lifestyles changed – apparently forever. Working from home became the new norm, commuting to the workplace became extinct and flying became less prevalent. All these factors…
The pet economy represents tremendous growth potential for the food service industry. Pets are already influencing the market
According to a recent report by Narrative Research, 18 per cent of Canadians say they got a new pet since the start of the pandemic. That means more than 6.8 million pets were adopted since March. That can be added to the more than 16 million cats and dogs Canadians had in 2019, prior to…
Opposing interest groups are endeavouring to sway crude oil market sentiments. The global oil industry needs some $12.6 trillion in investments through 2045 to meet the demand, Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) secretary general Mohammed Barkindo said at a videoconference. This declaration came despite the fact that earlier the month in its Monthly Oil…
Instead of focusing on a problem concentrated in our long-term care facilities, politicians have closed vast swaths of our economy
Despite the relentless media drum-banging around the alarmist COVID-19 narrative, this virus is not the Black Death. Official numbers have the Canadian death count so far just over 14,000, bad for sure, but not hugely off the yearly flu toll in Canada that kills 6,500 to 8,000 people. The average age of those people who…
A number of restrictions inhibit labour mobility, as well as the free trade of goods and services. And trade barriers add regulatory burdens on businesses
By Ben Eisen and Alex Whalen The Fraser Institute When many people think about threats to free and open trade to Canada, they immediately consider the protectionist outlook of departing U.S. President Donald Trump. In 2020, another obstacle to the free movement of products and people across boundaries has been the COVID-19 pandemic. However, even…
It’s not the headlines that kill, it’s the many burdens caused by lockdowns that render small businesses unprofitable
Across Canada, as COVID-19 cases surge, there’s talk of locking down again or of tightening second lockdowns. Of course, we haven’t even settled whether lockdowns were the proper solution in the first place, given the enormous collateral damage in unemployment, bankruptcies, and the physical and mental health of millions, amid a virus that overwhelmingly targets…
And the rush to monetize crude oil assets is on
The halcyon days of crude oil are over. The reality of the transition is dawning on stakeholders. From the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and Russia, to the major oil companies, all are beginning to recognize, appreciate and react to this changing global energy kaleidoscope. Russia was denying the reality. No more. “The peak…