CALGARY — Canada has the opportunity to become one of the world’s largest exporters of liquefied natural gas (LNG), but oil and gas industry insiders warn the country must move quickly on infrastructure and project approvals if it hopes to capitalize on surging demand from Asian markets.Speaking at the 2026 National Coalition of Chiefs Clean Energy Summit on Tuesday, Shannon Joseph, chair of Energy for a Secure Future, a non-partisan civil society initiative, recounted a recent trip to Japan which highlighted how aggressively countries were working to secure supplies while Canada risks missing the current opportunity.She told the audience at the Grey Eagle Resort near Calgary that touring a Japanese LNG intake terminal and power plant shortly after a shipment from Mozambique had arrived was an “eye-opener,” considering LNG Canada had yet to deliver its own first cargo.“There was a lot of anticipation of Canada kind of getting on the board,” Joseph said..Hodgson puts LNG at heart of Canada’s energy ambition during Calgary event.Her comments come after Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson said in March that Canada could eventually export as much as 100 million tonnes of LNG annually, which would place the country among the largest suppliers in the world, adding China, India, Japan, and South Korea could be major customers.Joseph described Japan as playing a strategic role across Asia by investing in power plants, LNG terminals, and gas storage in developing economies such as Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines.“What I thought was very important for the moment we're in right now is that Japan plays a regional role in Asia that is a little bit of a counterpoint to China's Belt and Road Initiative,” she said.“Canada should also be helping with infrastructure. [We] should also help these customers build the infrastructure they need to use our energy.”She also urged Canada to use its leverage with institutions such as the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank to ease restrictions on financing fossil fuel infrastructure abroad.LNG Canada, the country’s flagship facility, has already begun to reshape the country’s role in global energy markets..Located in Kitimat, BC, the project has already attracted roughly $14 billion in investment and has a production capacity of 14 million tonnes annually.The first cargoes were shipped in mid-2025, with Japanese buyers being among the first customers, including Mitsubishi Corporation, which owns a 15% stake in the project and has the rights to market 2.1 million tonnes per year into Japan and other Asian markets.While Japanese officials have continued to prioritize nuclear energy in the country’s long-term planning, authorities have also acknowledged that LNG will play an integral part in the country’s energy system going forward.Joseph said the next major test for Canada is whether projects already far along in the approval process can proceed, especially a proposed second phase of LNG Canada and indigenous-backed projects such as Cedar LNG.“I'm especially convinced that if Canada does not manage to get LNG Canada phase two to final investment decision, [then] we're not gonna get any new project done,” Joseph said.“These ones are fully permitted, and we need to make sure that the things that are far enough along in the process keep moving so that other things can move, like an oil pipeline from Alberta.”Joseph also said she has been cautiously optimistic about rhetoric coming out of the Liberal government regarding upcoming projects and turning Canada into an “energy superpower.”“It has been important that the federal government is at least saying the right things and has given itself tools to do things,” Joseph said.However, she warned that the government must match its words with action.“Talk is cheap,” she said.
