Alberta’s competitive advantage in North America’s oil and gas sector continues to lag, although it is moderately better than last year according to the Fraser Institute’s annual analysis of Canada-US energy sector competitiveness.Alberta climbed into ninth spot out of 17 jurisdictions, up from 12th in last year’s survey. It was superseded by Saskatchewan, which rose to third spot from ranking 6th in 2022 and was the only Canadian jurisdiction to place in the top five.BC fell to 15 out of 17 spots, down from 14th last year but remains the worst in Canada, while Newfoundland climbed to 14 from 15th in the same time span..For the second year in a row, Wyoming is considered the most attractive jurisdiction for oil and gas investment in North America, followed by North Dakota. Trailing Saskatchewan, Oklahoma placed fourth and Kansas was fifth.A total of 165 respondents participated in the survey this year, providing sufficient data to evaluate four Canadian provinces and 13 American states, Fraser said in a release and executive summary.Overall, the US performed better than Canada in 13 of 16 policy factors including environmental policies, regulatory approvals and taxes.“Investors indicated that uncertainty concerning environmental regulations, regulatory duplication and inconsistencies and disputed land claims were more concerning in Canadian provinces than in US states,” said authors Julio Mejia and Elmira Aliakbari.On average, 68% of respondents were deterred by the uncertainty concerning environmental regulations in Canada compared to 41% south of the border. .“Policies matter, and when investors are indicating they would rather invest in American states instead of several Canadian provinces, policymakers should take note,”Julio Mejia, Fraser Institute Researcher.Of particular note, 100% of respondents for Newfoundland & Labrador, 93% for BC, 50% for Alberta and 29% for Saskatchewan indicated that uncertainty concerning environmental regulations was a deterrent for investment. By contrast, only 6% of respondents had similar concerns for Oklahoma, 8% for Kansas and 9% for North Dakota were deterred by this factor.Similarly, 54% of respondents in Canada, on average, are deterred by regulatory duplication and inconsistencies compared to 34% for the US. A further 45% of respondents indicated that uncertainty concerning disputed native land claims is a deterrent to investment in Canada compared to 25% for the United States.“The message from investors is clear — Canada’s onerous and uncertain regulatory environment continues to hurt the investment attractiveness of the country’s oil and gas industry,” Aliakbari said.“Policies matter and when investors are indicating they would rather invest in American states instead of several Canadian provinces, policymakers should take note,” added Mejia.
Alberta’s competitive advantage in North America’s oil and gas sector continues to lag, although it is moderately better than last year according to the Fraser Institute’s annual analysis of Canada-US energy sector competitiveness.Alberta climbed into ninth spot out of 17 jurisdictions, up from 12th in last year’s survey. It was superseded by Saskatchewan, which rose to third spot from ranking 6th in 2022 and was the only Canadian jurisdiction to place in the top five.BC fell to 15 out of 17 spots, down from 14th last year but remains the worst in Canada, while Newfoundland climbed to 14 from 15th in the same time span..For the second year in a row, Wyoming is considered the most attractive jurisdiction for oil and gas investment in North America, followed by North Dakota. Trailing Saskatchewan, Oklahoma placed fourth and Kansas was fifth.A total of 165 respondents participated in the survey this year, providing sufficient data to evaluate four Canadian provinces and 13 American states, Fraser said in a release and executive summary.Overall, the US performed better than Canada in 13 of 16 policy factors including environmental policies, regulatory approvals and taxes.“Investors indicated that uncertainty concerning environmental regulations, regulatory duplication and inconsistencies and disputed land claims were more concerning in Canadian provinces than in US states,” said authors Julio Mejia and Elmira Aliakbari.On average, 68% of respondents were deterred by the uncertainty concerning environmental regulations in Canada compared to 41% south of the border. .“Policies matter, and when investors are indicating they would rather invest in American states instead of several Canadian provinces, policymakers should take note,”Julio Mejia, Fraser Institute Researcher.Of particular note, 100% of respondents for Newfoundland & Labrador, 93% for BC, 50% for Alberta and 29% for Saskatchewan indicated that uncertainty concerning environmental regulations was a deterrent for investment. By contrast, only 6% of respondents had similar concerns for Oklahoma, 8% for Kansas and 9% for North Dakota were deterred by this factor.Similarly, 54% of respondents in Canada, on average, are deterred by regulatory duplication and inconsistencies compared to 34% for the US. A further 45% of respondents indicated that uncertainty concerning disputed native land claims is a deterrent to investment in Canada compared to 25% for the United States.“The message from investors is clear — Canada’s onerous and uncertain regulatory environment continues to hurt the investment attractiveness of the country’s oil and gas industry,” Aliakbari said.“Policies matter and when investors are indicating they would rather invest in American states instead of several Canadian provinces, policymakers should take note,” added Mejia.
