Market Snapshot: Energy’s Share of Canadian Exports Growing Again

Release date: 2017-09-20

Over the last 30 years, the total value of Canadian exports has increased seven-fold, from $95 billion in the first quarter of 1987 to $664 billion in the first quarter of 2017. During this time period, the value of energy exports grew by an even greater amount, increasing ten-fold from $10.4 billion to $100.8 billion.

Correspondingly, energy’s share of total Canadian exports grew from 11% in 1987 to over 15% in the first quarter of 2017. Energy joined the services and consumer goods sectors, which increased their share over the last three decades, while forestry products and building materials, and motor vehicles and parts, saw their share decrease between these dates.

Figure 1.

Canada’s energy exports also changed in composition from 1987 to 2017. Most prominently, the share of natural gas exports reached a high of nearly 60% in early 2001 but decreased to the 13% range from 2012-2017. The decreased share of natural gas exports corresponds to widespread adoption of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, which led to the development of previously uneconomic tight and shale resources in the United States (U.S.) and reduced demand for Canadian gas exports. At the same time, Canadian crude oil production and exports increased in response to new technology and infrastructure as well as a period of higher oil prices.

Figure 2.

Although the drop in oil prices at the end of 2014 decreased the value of Canadian energy exports substantially, crude oil continued to account for around 70% of value of total exports between 2014 and 2017. This is largely because oil export volumes continued to increase despite lower oil prices.

Date modified:

2023-07-14