Canada’s Natural Gas Dream: Pipelines, Cold Winters, and That Quebec Conundrum

In partnership with

If Canada had a superpower, aside from apologizing sincerely and producing more hockey stars than sensible infrastructure, it might as well be natural gas. The country has it by the truckload—mostly buried under Alberta and British Columbia—and apparently, it’s eager to sell it to faraway friends in East Asia and Europe. But there’s a catch or three, or a whole pipeline of them. But first a word from our sponsor of today:

Learn from this investor’s $100m mistake

In 2010, a Grammy-winning artist passed on investing $200K in an emerging real estate disruptor. That stake could be worth $100+ million today.

One year later, another real estate disruptor, Zillow, went public. This time, everyday investors had regrets, missing pre-IPO gains.

Now, a new real estate innovator, Pacaso – founded by a former Zillow exec – is disrupting a $1.3T market. And unlike the others, you can invest in Pacaso as a private company.

Pacaso’s co-ownership model has generated $1B+ in luxury home sales and service fees, earned $110M+ in gross profits to date, and received backing from the same VCs behind Uber, Venmo, and eBay. They even reserved the Nasdaq ticker PCSO.

Invest for $2.90/Share

_{Paid advertisement for Pacaso’s Regulation A offering. Read the offering circular at invest.pacaso.com. Reserving a ticker symbol is not a guarantee that the company will go public. Listing on the NASDAQ is subject to approvals.}

First, the dream: build new pipelines screaming coast-to-coast, ship liquefied natural gas (LNG) faster than the U.S. competition, and rake in the petro-dollars. Canada’s winter chill? That’s no problem; pipelines just operate like your overachieving furnace, keeping the gas flowing no matter how much snow covers the terrain. Cold weather doesn’t slow down energy transport—it’s practically built for it.

But let’s pump the brakes.

The west has the Montney and Duvernay formations, natural gas mother lodes that fuel most of the country’s production. The east? Well, Quebec’s got the resources but it’s decided to stay in fossil-free denial, slapping a moratorium on new oil and gas projects, thanking climate concerns for the party pooper RSVP. Ontario has a modest stash, a bit of offshore action in Lake Erie, but mostly it’s a consumer, not a producer. The Maritimes? They’ll kindly take their gas via imported shipments or from their neighbors—no production party here.

And when it comes to exporting to Europe? It’s complicated. Europe’s energy tastes have turned greener than a Tim Hortons’ Christmas sweater. Demand for gas is dropping fast—what with solar, wind, and the collective guilt over fossil fuels. Canada’s pipelines might be ready, but the eurozone market? They’re not exactly lining up for a warm Alberta hug.

Still, Canada exports nearly half its natural gas—mostly to the U.S.—and is gearing up to snap at Asia’s LNG market via British Columbia’s coast. The industry’s booming, with record production and serious investments, although it faces stiff competition from the U.S., which dominates LNG exports with almost all the swagger.

So, what’s the takeaway? Canada could become an accidental energy superpower if political will, infrastructure, and markets align. Or it could just be the polite pipelayer, building all the pipes but shipping mostly to its friendly neighbor south of the border. The cold winters? No excuse, the pipes (and trucks) are built for that.

To keep up with Canada’s energy odyssey, and all the pipeline drama, subscribe to the CanAmericanews newsletter. Because if anyone’s got the time to explain global energy blunders with a wink and a smirk, it’s us.

Subscribe now and stay ahead of the pipeline curve!