Recent tensions at the Strait of Hormuz, through which 21 percent of global oil flows, expose Canada’s dangerous vulnerability. With the world’s third-largest oil reserves, Canada should be a stabilizing force during supply shocks. Instead, federal policies have repeatedly blocked pipelines, driven away investment, and left the country unable to help allies or shield its own families from price spikes. Past examples like the killing of Energy East, cancellation of Northern Gateway, and endless delays on Trans Mountain show how regulatory hostility has cost billions and weakened our strategic position.
True North has consistently called out this self-sabotage. While Alberta and Saskatchewan sit on vast resources, bureaucratic roadblocks and interprovincial fights keep oil landlocked and Canadian consumers exposed to volatile global markets. When Russia invaded Ukraine or when attacks disrupted Saudi production, prices jumped fast and stayed high, hammering grocery bills, heating costs, and factory jobs from coast to coast. Canada’s failure to ramp up exports was not due to lack of capacity, but lack of political will.
The Fraser Institute is right: Parliament must fix the broken approval system immediately. That means fast-tracking energy security projects, setting hard deadlines for decisions, pre-approving key pipeline corridors to tidewater, and building strategic reserves. Canada should also give provinces and industry the tools to respond quickly in emergencies instead of tying their hands with endless red tape. Energy security is not optional — it protects families, supports allies, and turns our natural advantages into real national strength. True North will keep pressing governments to stop the delays and start building. Canadians cannot afford another crisis where ideology trumps common sense.
