09/02/2026
This is what Eastern Canada said no to.
Energy East would have moved up to 1.1 million barrels of Canadian oil per day from the West to Eastern Canada.
Instead, here’s what we do now:
In 2025, Canada imported 506,000 barrels of foreign crude oil every day. That cost $17.8 billion.
And 75.6% of it came from the United States.
The Eastern Canada numbers are brutal:
Ontario: 87,000 barrels/day imported
99.7% from the U.S.
Quebec: 126,000 barrels/day imported
almost 100% from the U.S.
New Brunswick: 270,000 barrels/day imported
about 54% from the U.S.
At the same time, Canada exported 4.3 million barrels/day in 2025, with about 3.9 million barrels/day going to the U.S.
Think about how insane that is.
We produce massive amounts of oil in Western Canada.
We send most of it south.
Then Eastern Canada turns around and buys oil from the Americans because we never built enough east-west infrastructure.
That is how we shot ourselves in the foot.
Energy East was not a small project. Its proposed capacity was more than double all the crude oil Canada imported in 2025.
No, it would not have replaced every imported barrel. Saint John was also meant to be an export terminal. But it would have given Canada far more control over its own energy, its own supply chain, and its own economy.
Instead, Ontario is almost fully dependent on U.S. imported crude. Quebec too. And Saint John, home to Canada’s largest refinery, still has no crude oil pipeline connection.
So when politicians talk about sovereignty from the United States, remember this:
We had a chance to move more Canadian energy across Canada.
And we said no.
Canada does not have a resource problem.
Canada has a nation-building problem.