Canada has been sold a false promise of being an ‘energy superpower’

[WiltonRanch]

Alberta and Saskatchewan oil wealth has carried eastern Canada for decades.
huge strides are being made to clean up older oil sites and newer steam plants are far more efficient and environmentally friendly than anything before them .

You could tell honeydew the sky is blue and he’d argue it’s green. I just don’t understand how someone can be this willfully unaware and plain ignorant to the contribution the energy industry makes to our economy. The idea that Canada can never be an energy superpower is patently false. We already are. It’s just that our export market is captive. Sometimes I wonder if the detractors to our energy industry both renewable and unrenewable aren’t Americans screwing with us to keep us under their thumb. That said, multi lateral wells and polymer injection is also a game changer.

[chuckChuck]

The total estimated cost to clean up oil and gas well and infrastructure liabilities in Alberta ranges officially from $33 billion to $38 billion, though independent and internal estimates suggest the real cost is much higher, between $100 billion and $300 billion.

Official vs. Actual Cost Estimates

• Regulator Estimate: The Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) formally calculates the conventional asset liability at roughly $33.1 billion to $37.9 billion.

• True Cost Projections: Internal documents and independent studies indicate official formulas undercount actual dirt, land, and groundwater remediation expenses by 4 to 5 times.

• Orphaned Inventory: Thousands of specific sites lacking solvent owners carry individual multi-million-dollar footprints, managed via the industry-funded Orphan Well Association.

Industry Spending and Accountability

• Annual Spending: Operators spent roughly $769 million on mandatory closure and cleanup work under regulatory targets.

• Funding Gaps: Critics and policy groups argue that financial securities collected upfront by the province cover only a tiny fraction (often less than 1–3%) of total estimated environmental liabilities.

[chuckChuck]

We are not unaware but oil and gas is only 10% of the economy if you count indirect impacts.

What about the other 90% that many of you guys discredit with frequent negative comments?

Did you foreget about manufacturing?

Manufacturing accounts for approximately 10% of Canada's total gross domestic product (GDP), generating roughly $174 billion to $215 billion depending on the calculation year and valuation method. It stands as one of the country's largest economic pillars, second overall behind real estate within goods-and-services breakdowns.

Economic Contributions

• GDP Share: hovers around 9.5% to 10% of real GDP.

• Employment: provides roughly 1.7 million full-time jobs across Canada.

• Exports: represents over 60% to 68% of all Canadian merchandise outbound shipments.

[furrowtickler]

Yep Ag exports are a huge factor as well

[chuckChuck]

Flying high

Canada's aerospace industry is soaring in an unsettled economy, but a labour squeeze and supply-chain issues could cause turbulence

[url]https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-in-a-struggling-economy-canadas-aerospace-industry-is-flying-high/[/url]
Everywhere, there is evidence of growth.

Airbus has doubled its workforce in Canada since 2016 and now employs more than 5,300 people in the country, its largest presence outside of Europe. Bombardier andde Havilland Inc. just broke ground on new manufacturing facilities in Montreal and Calgary respectively to bolster output. And parts suppliers such as Héroux-Devtek Inc. N/A

and Groupe Meloche inc. are in full-on acquisition mode as they try to bulk up their capabilities.

“I believe we’re in a very positive dynamic, one capable of propelling Canada and its aerospace sector toward major momentum for an entire generation,” said Catherine Guillemart, vice-president of public affairs for Airbus Canada.

The data underpins the confidence. Over the last five years to the end of 2025, Canada’s aerospace manufacturers and providers of maintenance, repair and overhaul, or MRO, boosted their collective revenues by 76 per cent to $45.7-billion, according to newly published figures from the federal government and the Aerospace Industries Association of Canada. Revenues rose about 7 per cent last year over the year before, the numbers show.

The exports picture is equally positive. Manufacturers building in Canada shipped $28.2-billion worth of aerospace equipment in 2025, according to the data, up 54 per cent since 2021 and up about 10 per cent from 2024 to 2025. An increased share of exports to Europe and Asia was the main driver of the growth, according to the published figures.

Canada now ranks in the global top five formanufacturing non-military flight simulators, engines, and aircraft. About 94,200 people work directly in the domestic aerospace industry, with the main hub for manufacturing in Quebec and MRO activities dominated by Ontario and Western and Northern Canada.

[sumdumguy]

Good, so then Eastern Canada doesn’t need to suck off the West.

[WiltonRanch]

Okay Chunk so aerspace, manufacturing, services etc is a major part of Canadas economy er central Canada’s economy. Ag and energy are a major part of western Canada’s economy. It’s called having a dynamic and diversified economy. Every region does what they are best suited to. An airplane factory in north battleford makes as much sense as a canola crusher in Sudbury.

[redleaf]

“We are not unaware but oil and gas is only 10% of the economy if you count indirect impacts.”

Not going to enter the fray here Chuck Chuck but a legitimate question …….
Does the use of “we” in this sentence imply a group, multiple personalities or are you referring to yourself as royalty?

[chuckChuck]

We as in citizens who look up the stats on the economy.

Got a problem with that red?
Or you want to waste more of your time nitpicking about nothing?

[chuckChuck]

Okay Chunk so aerspace, manufacturing, services etc is a major part of Canadas economy er central Canada’s economy. Ag and energy are a major part of western Canada’s economy. It’s called having a dynamic and diversified economy. Every region does what they are best suited to. An airplane factory in north battleford makes as much sense as a canola crusher in Sudbury.

Did you forget about all the agricultural manufacturing and food processing that goes on in western Canada? Along with all the building of equipment and facilities for mines?

And Winnipeg and I believe Calgary both have some aerospace manufacturing.