Toronto, Ontario (Apr 5, 2023)
Introduction
“It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to the BMO Capital Markets and CAPP Energy Symposium.
This year is one of ‘Firsts”:
It is the first time in three years that we have been able to host this event in-person and it is great to be back here in Toronto, at the heart of Canada’s financial industry.
It is my first Energy Investment Symposium as CAPP’s President & CEO.
And it is the first Energy Symposium to be hosted by our new partner, BMO Capital Markets.
I will start by thanking our host, Brad Wells and BMO Capital Markets for your sponsorship of this important event. We at CAPP were excited to find a partner who understands the great value Canada’s oil and natural gas industry brings to people across this country and we are excited to kick off this long-term partnership here at the St. Regis Hotel.
I also want to thank our member companies, their CEOs and executives as well as all of our presenting companies that have come here to Toronto to tell the story about how a thriving, Canadian energy industry can build global energy security and fight climate change while growing our economy and generating significant value to our governments, shareholders, and all Canadians.
The global trilemma
Canada’s energy gas industry is at a pivotal moment in its history.
The global challenge of climate change and the need to drive down our emissions is accelerating innovation in our energy systems on a scale not seen since the industrial revolution.
In the midst of this challenge, the world was struck with the Covid-19 pandemic – resulting in an unprecedented shut down of the global economy. While it feels like a distant memory today, one year ago many of us were just returning to the office, restaurants were still operating with limited capacity (if they were open at all), and we were wearing masks to get our groceries.
As we started our societal and economic recovery from Covid, Russia invaded Ukraine – and the horrifying Russian assault on Ukraine’s people continues today.
In the past 12 months the rules of geopolitics have been rewritten, fracturing decades old trading alliances while plunging the world into a full energy security crisis.
These three calamities have created a global trilemma; How can we continue our drive to lower emissions, provide secure, reliable and affordable energy AND grow our economies to ensure opportunities today and for the generations to come?
At the centre of this trilemma is energy – and Canadian oil and natural gas has a significant part to play in the solution.
Climate Change
Canada has vast energy supplies along with expertise and commitment to develop oil and natural gas resources responsibly and sustainably.
Today, there is growing demand for Canadian energy because we are one of the few, stable democratic countries that produces more energy than we consume.
As a global leader of GHG emission reduction through cleantech innovation, Canada has an opportunity to become a preferred global supplier of responsibly produced energy for decades to come.
Canadian producers are among the country’s largest investors in clean technology. We have invested billions of dollars into emissions reductions technologies and as a result are one of the global leaders in carbon capture and methane reduction.
The goal for Canada to be a leader in attracting investment into responsible oil and natural gas production AND decarbonization projects is achievable because of our industry’s leadership role in both these spaces.
While we can debate which energy forecasts are the most likely, what we do know is even in a net zero world there will be far more oil and natural gas required than Canada alone can produce. There is an opportunity today to grab and maintain global market share that can enable a thriving Canadian oil and gas industry for decades to come.
Energy Security
Which brings me to the second part of the trilemma – energy security
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Canadians have a relatively energy secure existence.
About three quarters of conventional oil and natural gas produced here, is used here. Canadian natural gas heats homes and powers manufacturing here in Toronto while 73 percent of the oil supply refined in Quebec comes from Western Canada.
However, because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the world has been forced to rethink energy—and Canada must as well.
The U.S. is responding to this crisis.
A few weeks ago, at CERAWeek the U.S. Secretary of Energy, Jennifer Granholm, made it clear that the U.S. wants to be the number one oil producer and the number one LNG exporter in the world—AND that America’s energy future and energy security depends on every sector working in concert to ensure the U.S. is prepared to meet and lead the moment.
As our trading partners around the world move away from Russian energy supplies, Canada has an obligation to step up as well, and grow our role as a provider of lower emission, secure and reliable oil and natural gas.
When U.S. and Canadian policy makers talk about ‘Friend-shoring’, this is what they mean.
Canada contributes 22 per cent of the total oil production within NATO countries. We are a vital ‘friend’ in the energy mix of our allies.
In this context, Canada’s oil and natural gas production becomes exceptionally important to ensuring energy security.
As our trading partners move away from less secure regimes, Canada’s critical and abundant energy resources are needed to power their economies and help ease the energy crisis caused by the global turmoil in energy markets.
Economic prosperity
And when Canada’s oil and gas industry is given the room to grow and thrive, it creates opportunities and prosperity for all Canadians – creating jobs, generating revenues for governments and value for shareholders.
Our supply chain stretches across the country, reaching about 10,000 businesses located in every province and we provide about 200,000 jobs for Canadians.
Making up a significant part of that supply chain are hundreds of Indigenous-owned businesses, and our industry is a proud partner in economic reconciliation. In addition to the billions of dollars spent annually on procurement from Indigenous owned businesses, Canada’s oil and gas industry is one of the largest employers of Indigenous people in the country.
In the past, the industry has helped to pull the country out of recession and economic downturns, and we are positioned to do the same.
As CAPP announced a few weeks back, investment into Canada’s economy by the upstream sector is expected to reach $40 billion this year. This represents a milestone, surpassing pre-Covid levels of investment and showing that our resilient industry remains a foundational pillar of the economy.
That investment will continue to create Canadian jobs and generate significant revenues to governments – which are predicted to reach $50 billion in 2022 – that support critical social programs, infrastructure projects as well as helping to fund healthcare and education across the country.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the challenges of climate change, energy security and economic prosperity are not mutually exclusive. They are inherently intertwined.
We can, and must, work towards solving all three.
The companies presenting here at the CAPP-BMO Energy Investment Symposium are at the forefront of finding a solution to this trilemma. Investment into this industry will help advance those solutions while generating value for Canadians and shareholders.
They are representatives of Canada’s oil and natural gas sector – one of the world’s most responsible, efficient and best operated energy industries in the world.
Thank you once again for attending and I look forward to meeting many of you throughout the conference.”
– Lisa Baiton, CAPP President & CEO