Canada has the potential to boost Europe’s energy security with a new alliance, but experts say that doesn’t necessarily mean tankers crossing the Atlantic carrying oil or liquefied natural gas.
Prime Minister Mark Carney was in Strasbourg, France, this week, where he and the European Union leadership discussed strengthening ties on several fronts amid tense relations with the United States.
Europe is in a “precarious position” as it aims to move away from Russian energy imports after that country’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, says Werner Antwiler, an economist at the University of British Columbia.
Canada has pipelines and port infrastructure to export oil and gas from the West Coast to Asia, but there is no such option in the East, and any such project could take a decade or more to come to fruition.
In the meantime, Antwiler says European companies have the ability to secure stable gas supplies from Canada through what are known as swap contracts, where, for example, a shipment bound for Asia could be traded with another shipment bound for its shores.
Rachel Doran, CEO of Clean Energy Canada, sees a promising opportunity to supply Europe with critical minerals, helping it transition away from fossil fuels and grow its clean energy supply.
& Edition 2026 The Canadian Press
