According to Natural Resources Canada, at the end of 2018 Canada had 73 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of proven natural gas reserves
As University of Manitoba professor emeritus and leading expert in energy transitions Vaclav Smil has long argued, the physical capacities of oil, natural gas and coal can’t be replaced by the low-punch energy density of renewables.
Responsible analysts, politicians, insurers and investors need to recognize that fossil fuels will continue to be crucial to our energy needs, and now also to our national security interests and those of our allies, be they in Europe, the United States or Asia.
There’s little reason why Germany or Japan, for example, should continue to rely so heavily on natural gas from not-free countries when liquefied natural gas could be extracted from Alberta, northern British Columbia, Atlantic Canada and Quebec. All have the potential for significant extraction and exports.
This would require a sea change in attitude among Canadian politicians, but it would be a mature recognition of the actual world we live in, strategic interests included.
In the last century, Canadian families sent their sons to fight and die in multiple wars to defend Europe and Asia from tyrannies. The least responsible modern-day Canadians can do is tighten our links with allies. That includes looking at energy as part of a worldwide security pact with other democracies and making it as easy as possible for Canadian energy to get to them.
by Mark Milke and Lennie Kaplan
Troy Media
Mark Milke is president of The Aristotle Foundation for Public Policy, a new think-tank set for launch later this year. His most recent book is The Victim Cult: How the culture of blame hurts everyone and wrecks civilizations.
