Tar Sands

01/12/25
Author: 
Andrew Nikiforuk
The plan to daily pump 1.4 million more barrels of bitumen includes expanding the Trans Mountain pipeline, shown here being buried in Abbotsford, BC, in 2023. Photo by Darryl Dyck, the Canadian Press.

Dec. 1, 2025

An energy expert lays out the risks and fallacies as Canada and the world fail to face the climate crisis.

Lo and behold, Prime Minister Mark Carney, a global banker, and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, a petro-populist à la Donald Trump, have big energy plans for Canadians.

26/11/25
Author: 
John Woodside
Art by Ata Ojani/Canada's National Observer

Nov. 26, 2025

A forthcoming deal between the federal government and Alberta for a new oil pipeline, reportedly set to be announced Thursday, promises to ignite a political firestorm.

21/11/25
Author: 
Gabriela Calugay-Casuga
Part of the Keystone fossil fuel pipeline system. Credit: shannonpatrick17 / Flickr

Nov. 20, 2025

Earlier this year, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board dropped its net-zero greenhouse gas emission commitment.

The board managing Canada’s largest pension fund has committed an estimated $7.1 billion to new oil, gas, coal and pipeline assets in the last year despite facing litigation for allegedly mismanaging climate related financial risks in its investment portfolio. 

21/11/25
Author: 
Mitchell Beerwith files from The Canadian Press
laying pipeline - Jason Woodhead/Flickr

Nov. 20, 2025

 

With the federal and Alberta governments touting an imminent deal on a new oil pipeline to British Columbia’s northwest coast, analysis released Thursday morning concludes that investors in Canadian oil and gas will face serious financial risk—and provincial revenues from the industry could fall 82%—as the global energy transition unfolds through the 2030s.

03/10/25
Author: 
John Woodside
Catherine McKenna on stage at an event at the UN climate summit COP27. Photo via UNFCCC Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Sept. 24, 2025

Catherine McKenna isn’t buying the potential grand bargain being discussed between fossil fuel companies and the federal government.

09/09/25
Author: 
Kyle Bakx
Trans Mountain is moving quicker to increase the amount of oil its pipeline system can transport from Alberta to British Columbia's coast. (Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press)

Sept. 4, 2025

Why Trans Mountain wants to expand when the oil pipeline isn't even full

Pipeline is operating at about 80%, while tankers are only 70% full

A little more than one year after completing construction of the Trans Mountain expansion oil pipeline, the Crown corporation is pursuing two different methods to increase how much oil can be exported.

The move comes at a time when the pipeline still isn't operating at full capacity.

27/11/24
Author: 
Angela Amato
An oil refinery near Fort McMurray. The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owns 90 per cent of a Calgary-based oil and gas company that signed an open letter calling for withdrawal of the federal oil and gas emissions cap. Photo via Shutterstock.

Nov. 21, 2024

A senior pension fund executive sits on the board of an energy company opposed to emissions caps.

In the world of energy, Dave Chambers of Toronto wears multiple hats.

19/11/24
Author: 
Mitch Anderson
Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault announced a $2 billion climate financing platform at COP29. Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Nov. 15, 2024

Canada Promises Climate Reparations at COP29 While Courting Big Oil at Home

With spotlight on politicians and their pledges in Baku, fossil fuel lobbyists are racking up private meetings with Trudeau’s government.

Steven Guilbeault came to the COP29 climate change negotiations in Azerbaijan ready to make what the federal Liberal government deemed a “major” announcement. 

14/11/24
Author: 
John Woodside
Art by Ata Ojani/Canada's National Observer

Nov. 13, 2024

Greenhouse gas emissions from the coal, oil and gas that Canada exports to other countries surpassed a billion tonnes last year — more than double the country’s total emissions, according to newly uncovered federal data. 

03/07/24
Author: 
John Woodside
Illustration by Ata Ojani/Canada's National Observer

July 3, 2024

Natural Resources Canada tapped a fossil fuel lobby group to help provide recommendations on expanding the nascent hydrogen sector, documents obtained by Canada’s National Observer reveal.

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