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Most of Alberta's Oil Industry Isn't Even Canadian
Extraction
Alberta oil sands production
Pipeline
Transport through BC
Port & Tankers
Loading in BC ports and transport through BC waters
Foreign Refineries
Processing in Asia
Offshore Profit
Returns go to foreign investors
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Source documents referenced in this gallery. Click to expand.

The Toronto Star

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith meets with Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago

Alberta’s Premier said she had a “friendly and constructive conversation” with the U.S. president-elect and emphasized the importance of energy ties.

calgaryherald

Lured out of retirement by a $36.8M package, Suncor's Rich Kruger was Alberta's top-paid executive in 2023

At $37 million, Suncor CEO Rich Kruger was the highest-paid executive in Calgary and Alberta in 2023 after being lured out of retirement.

Prince Albert Daily Herald - Prince Albert's only locally-owned daily newspaper

Alberta energy minister’s chief of staff runs political third party with oil and gas lobbyist - Prince Albert Daily Herald

Brett McKayLocal Journalism Initiative ReporterInvestigative Journalism Foundation The chief of staff to Alberta’s minister of energy and minerals is also the head of the political third-party advertiser Alberta Resource Advocacy Foundation (ARAF). The group’s chief financial officer and former director is named in provincial lobbying records actively lobbying the energy ministry on more than two

The Narwhal

Pierre Poilievre’s office met with oil and gas lobbyists dozens of times | The Narwhal

Conservative Party leader said lobbyists were ‘utterly useless’ despite meetings with Canadian Fuels Association, Enbridge, TC Energy and others

CBC

Cenovus CEO says inflation 'manageable' as company posts massive upswing in Q2 profit | CBC News

Cenovus Energy Inc. chief executive Alex Pourbaix said Thursday that inflation has been "manageable" for the energy company so far, but is something he is certainly keeping an eye on.

calgaryherald

Enbridge CEO Greg Ebel's $23.7M payout makes him Alberta's highest-paid executive in 2024

Enbridge president and CEO Greg Ebel climbed to number one on the list of Alberta's highest-paid executives for 2024.


Alberta Premier Danielle Smith calls removing the tanker ban the "Team Canada" thing to do.

But here's the thing: most of Alberta's oil industry isn't controlled by Canadians at all. The companies that would profit most from tanker access are largely owned by foreign corporations and investors.

The money flows out of the country. The risk of a spill stays on our coast.
Who Actually Owns Alberta's Oil?
Over 70% of the major shareholders in Canada's largest oil companies are foreign. Here's what that looks like in practice:

ExxonMobil: Holds 70% ownership in Imperial Oil (Canada).

CNOOC Limited (China): Acquired Nexen Inc (Canada) for C$15.1B.

TC Energy (Canada): Major US and European investors.

Enbridge (Canada): Approximately 50% non-Canadian institutional investors.

Husky Energy (Canada): Hutchison Whampoa (Hong Kong) is a major shareholder.

Significant US institutional holdings in the Alberta oil economy e.g. BlackRock, Vanguard, State Street.
BC Won't Benefit From Alberta's Oil Moves
Alberta Is Already Investing in Foreign Refineries
In August 2025, Alberta announced it was investing in Japanese refinery infrastructure — specifically to process Canadian crude oil overseas. The value-added work, and the jobs that come with it, go to Japan. Not BC. Not Canada.
What About Jobs?
Those against the tanker ban often say it will create jobs. The numbers tell a different story.
Canada's own Parliamentary Budget Officer found that Trans Mountain — one of the biggest pipeline projects in Canadian history — would create only about ~90 permanent jobs nationwide once it was up and running. That's not a jobs program. That's a profit program for investors.
Almost all crude carriers are owned by foreign shipping companies registered in Norway, Singapore, and China.
Even the Port of Vancouver does not list crude tanker activity as a local job driver. Their published job impact figures focus on:
  • container shipping
  • grain
  • coal
  • cruise tourism
With automation on the rise, experts project that port employment will continue to go down, but capital investment requirements will go up.
The oil and gas industry does not even benefit Albertans as much as it claims. The industry is optimized to maximize profits for foreign investors at a cost to working people.
From 2021–2023, shareholders (many of them foreign) received ~75% of Alberta’s oil and gas profits while workers received much less (Taken from AFL, Exporting Profits, 2025, Figure 1).
If oil profits aren't even going to everyday Albertans, why would they go to BC fishing families?


Sources for this page

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Policy Options

Foreign-owned oil companies in Canada hold key to climate change

Canada’s oil and gas industry is at a crossroads. With global targets to rapidly reduce carbon emissions, Canada’s continued expansion of fossil fuel production appears misaligned and threatens climate stability worldwide. Yet supply-side policies that directly limit oil and gas production, like the promised oil sands emissions cap, remain politically elusive in Canada.  But a […]

ExxonMobil

Our history

Canada, as a country, was only 13 years old when The Imperial Oil Company was formed by 16 oil refiners in Ontario. As Canada has grown, Imperial has grown with it, sharing its prosperity and weathering the tough times.

fintel.io

BlackRock, Inc. ownership in TRP / TC Energy Corporation

www.gurufocus.com

ENB (Enbridge) Institutional Ownership

File upload

A Review of Asian Investment in Canada’s E&P Sector: Economic Drivers and Current Challenges

www.reuters.com

Exclusive: Canada's Alberta eyes investment in Japan's refining to boost oil exports, sources say

Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer

Trans Mountain Pipeline - Update

In December 2020, PBO released a report assessing the Government of Canada’s 2018 decision to acquire, expand, operate, and eventually divest of the Trans Mountain Pipeline system.

NationTalk

Port of Vancouver continues to be important economic driver for Canada

August 20, 2024 New data underlines the Port of Vancouver’s role supporting economic prosperity—supporting more than 132,000 jobs across the country and adding $16.3 billion to national GDP Vancouver, B.C.: The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority today released its latest Economic Impact Study, confirming the important role Canada’s largest and most diversified port continues to play […]

File upload

Economic Impact Study of Digitization and Automation of Marine Port Terminal Operations in British Columbia

Parkland Institute

Misplaced Generosity: Extraordinary Profits in Alberta's Oil and Gas Industry

A close look at the profits generated in the oil and gas industry, and at the effectiveness of Alberta’s royalty and land lease regimes in meeting Alberta Energy's own revenue capture targets.