Despite its assertions to the contrary, Quebec plays a surprisingly outsized role in Canada’s energy ecosystem, relying on Alberta for energy inputs and exports of products and services to the tune of $1.9 billion in GDP in 2018, the Canadian Energy Centre (CEC) says in its latest fact sheet. .Despite its abundant hydro resources, Quebec relies on refined petroleum products (RPP) and natural gas for about 53% of its primary energy needs to fuel a range of industrial sectors including transportation, mining and manufacturing. Despite having no upstream production of its own, CEC noted Quebec accounts for 20% of Canada’s RRP demand and is the second-largest refined products market in Canada after Ontario..The province is also strategically positioned as a transit hub for the Maritimes and US east coast, receiving crude oil by pipeline, rail, and tanker. Enbridge Inc.’s Line 9 delivers Alberta crude from Ontario to Montreal as well as Portland, ME, connecting the US to the refinery in Quebec. Quebec also has three rail facilities capable of receiving 123,000 barrels per day (bpd) — mostly from the US — and most of the gasoline consumed in Quebec comes from two large refineries that produce a combined 372,000 bpd..According to data from Statistics Canada, CEC noted in 2018 the oil and gas sector:.• Supported 20,145 jobs directly and indirectly in Quebec,.• Added more than $1.9 billion to Quebec’s nominal GDP; and.• Generated more than $3.7 billion in outputs, consisting primarily of the value of goods and services produced by sectors in the Quebec economy including agriculture, among others. .But it’s not all one-way trade. To suggest Alberta doesn't embrace La Belle province simply isn’t the case, according to the data. Albertans returned the love by buying up more than $10 billion of products and services from Quebec representing about 12% of interprovincial trade including finance and insurance ($1.3 billion), food and non-alcoholic beverages ($1.2 billion), and professional services ($900 million). .The latter is noteworthy; about 45% of Quebec’s exports to Alberta consisted of professional services other than software development, and financial services. Another 25% was alcoholic beverages and tobacco products. .In 2019, Alberta was the third-largest export market for Quebec (at $10.1 billion), behind only the United States ($65.4 billion) and Ontario ($48.5 billion). Quebec exported more to Alberta than it did to international markets such as China ($3.3 billion), Germany ($2.1 billion) Mexico ($1.8 billion), and Japan ($1.7 billion). All told, the value of Quebec’s exports to Alberta from 2007 to 2019 was almost $114 billion, CEC said..With those kinds of numbers, Albertans are left scratching their collective heads over Quebec’s refusal to allow the Energy East pipeline to Saint John, but that resistance may be softening. With the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Montreal Economic Institute (MEI) in June 2022 commissioned Leger to poll the opinions of Quebecers on various issues related to energy infrastructure. The survey showed a substantial level of support for increasing Canada’s oil production and exports in the context of displacing Russian oil in the EU. The poll also showed 44% support for LNG exports to Europe through the St. Lawrence, up from 34% prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. .In February of last year, prior to the invasion, Steven Guilbeault, Canada's minister of Environment and Climate Change, rejected a $14-billion plan to ship liquefied natural gas (LNG) from a marine terminal near the Grande-Anse port to overseas markets. A separate element of the project is a 780-km pipeline that would have shuttled natural gas from Western Canada across Ontario to the Saguenay port..The pipeline is the subject of a separate ongoing federal assessment, due to be completed in 2023, although Quebec officials have said without a production facility and export terminal it's unlikely to move ahead.
Despite its assertions to the contrary, Quebec plays a surprisingly outsized role in Canada’s energy ecosystem, relying on Alberta for energy inputs and exports of products and services to the tune of $1.9 billion in GDP in 2018, the Canadian Energy Centre (CEC) says in its latest fact sheet. .Despite its abundant hydro resources, Quebec relies on refined petroleum products (RPP) and natural gas for about 53% of its primary energy needs to fuel a range of industrial sectors including transportation, mining and manufacturing. Despite having no upstream production of its own, CEC noted Quebec accounts for 20% of Canada’s RRP demand and is the second-largest refined products market in Canada after Ontario..The province is also strategically positioned as a transit hub for the Maritimes and US east coast, receiving crude oil by pipeline, rail, and tanker. Enbridge Inc.’s Line 9 delivers Alberta crude from Ontario to Montreal as well as Portland, ME, connecting the US to the refinery in Quebec. Quebec also has three rail facilities capable of receiving 123,000 barrels per day (bpd) — mostly from the US — and most of the gasoline consumed in Quebec comes from two large refineries that produce a combined 372,000 bpd..According to data from Statistics Canada, CEC noted in 2018 the oil and gas sector:.• Supported 20,145 jobs directly and indirectly in Quebec,.• Added more than $1.9 billion to Quebec’s nominal GDP; and.• Generated more than $3.7 billion in outputs, consisting primarily of the value of goods and services produced by sectors in the Quebec economy including agriculture, among others. .But it’s not all one-way trade. To suggest Alberta doesn't embrace La Belle province simply isn’t the case, according to the data. Albertans returned the love by buying up more than $10 billion of products and services from Quebec representing about 12% of interprovincial trade including finance and insurance ($1.3 billion), food and non-alcoholic beverages ($1.2 billion), and professional services ($900 million). .The latter is noteworthy; about 45% of Quebec’s exports to Alberta consisted of professional services other than software development, and financial services. Another 25% was alcoholic beverages and tobacco products. .In 2019, Alberta was the third-largest export market for Quebec (at $10.1 billion), behind only the United States ($65.4 billion) and Ontario ($48.5 billion). Quebec exported more to Alberta than it did to international markets such as China ($3.3 billion), Germany ($2.1 billion) Mexico ($1.8 billion), and Japan ($1.7 billion). All told, the value of Quebec’s exports to Alberta from 2007 to 2019 was almost $114 billion, CEC said..With those kinds of numbers, Albertans are left scratching their collective heads over Quebec’s refusal to allow the Energy East pipeline to Saint John, but that resistance may be softening. With the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Montreal Economic Institute (MEI) in June 2022 commissioned Leger to poll the opinions of Quebecers on various issues related to energy infrastructure. The survey showed a substantial level of support for increasing Canada’s oil production and exports in the context of displacing Russian oil in the EU. The poll also showed 44% support for LNG exports to Europe through the St. Lawrence, up from 34% prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. .In February of last year, prior to the invasion, Steven Guilbeault, Canada's minister of Environment and Climate Change, rejected a $14-billion plan to ship liquefied natural gas (LNG) from a marine terminal near the Grande-Anse port to overseas markets. A separate element of the project is a 780-km pipeline that would have shuttled natural gas from Western Canada across Ontario to the Saguenay port..The pipeline is the subject of a separate ongoing federal assessment, due to be completed in 2023, although Quebec officials have said without a production facility and export terminal it's unlikely to move ahead.
