Per capita energy consumption in Canada [1] is very high when compared to other nations of the world. It is approximately 50% higher than that of the US and about 60 times higher than that of India. Canada has a high per capita consumption for a number of reasons: cold winters and hot summers; long travel distances; a high number of resource extracting and raw material processing/manufacturing industries that require much energy; and, a high public demand for comfort. Canada also has substantial energy resources, which means that there is little pressure to conserve or reduce energy use. These reasons not withstanding, Canadians are viewed by the world as wasters of energy.
Canada is a major producer as well as exporter of various energy resources [2] - oil, natural gas, coal, hydro, and other energy sources such as wood, solar, wind and nuclear. In the second half of the 1990s, Canada exported approximately $23 billion worth of energy per year, mainly in the form of natural gas, oil, coal and electricity. This represents about 7% of all Canadian exports [3]. As can be expected, most of the energy that is exported goes to the US with the remainder going to various Pacific Rim countries.
Canada's energy situation is unique because substantial variations [4] occur in resource availability across the country. Canadians speak of 'energy rich' and 'energy poor' provinces. In terms of hydrocarbon energy resources (i.e., coal, oil and natural gas), Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan are considered the 'energy rich' provinces and all others are 'energy poor'.
On the other hand, Manitoba [5], Quebec [6] and Newfoundland [7] are rich in hydroelectricity resources and export it to neighbouring provinces or the US. Major hydroelectric stations are often located in the more northern and remote sections of these provinces. To bring the electricity to the consumers in the south [8] requires long transmission lines, which often results in substantial amounts of electricity being lost during transfer. Moreover, many of these northern power stations require large areas of virgin land to be flooded in order to create the reservoirs [9] needed to store the water to run the turbines. Creation of these reservoirs is difficult and detailed negotiations with natives has often been the norm because these man-made lakes destroy large portions of traditional hunting and fishing grounds. Because of these conflicts in land use and the negative impact on the natural environment, the opportunities for setting up new hydroelectric dams in the future in many parts of northern Canada is rapidly declining.
In contrast, most of Canada's conventional oil reserves [10] are found in the western provinces. Alberta has more than 65% of the proven reserves, followed by Saskatchewan (12%), the Northwest Territories (8%), and the East Coast (15%). The latter is being extracted at Hibernia [11], some 300 km off the coast of Newfoundland on the Grand Banks. Extraction is taking place under provincial jurisdiction although the federal government claims all coastal waters as its territory. It is estimated that conventional oil reserves will last about another ten years at present rates of extraction provided no new oil is found. However, in the last ten years the reserve has actually declined very little. Subsequently, with the additional findings, Canadian conventional oil reserves should last another 50 years.
Non-conventional reserves are oils derived from the northern frontier, offshore and that derived from the tar sands of northeastern Alberta. The tar sands are a mixture of sand and tar [12] that forms a sticky tar-like substance and is found in large quantities near the surface, thus allowing access through open pit mining. Once mined, the substance is heated allowing the sand and oil to separate; the oil can later be processed like any conventional heavy oil. Presently, Canada produces about 25 % of the total crude oil potential [13] from the tar sands; it is the only country in the world to produce oil from tar sands. The oil potential in these tar sands is nearly equivalent to the conventional oil reserves of southern Arabia, the area with the largest proven reserves. Compared to Canada's own conventional oil reserves, the recoverable oil from the tar sands (using present technology) is about 300 billion barrels - 30 times greater than conventional reserves [14]. As a result, non-convential reserves should be good for another 250 years.
Natural gas is presently the fastest growing primary energy source in Canada. It is clean, relatively plentiful, and is quite easy and inexpensive to transport within the confines of Canada's pipeline network. Natural gas reserves are found mainly in the prairies, off the shore [15] of Nova Scotia, and in the Canadian Arctic [16]; the three most western provinces contain some 82% of recoverable reserves [17]. Similar to oil, most of the natural gas is exported to the US [18]. It is estimated that proven reserves will last another 30 years at the present rate of production.
Coal [19] has been the traditional energy source associated with the Industrial Revolution. However, its relative importance in the world economy, including Canada's has been declining as oil, natural gas and electricity have replaced it. Much of this decline results from the fact that coal is a dirtier, less efficient, and a less flexible fuel than other competitive energy sources. Nevertheless, it is still quite important in the generation of electricity at Canadian thermal power stations [20] (90% of usage) and in the steel industry. Demand for coal is projected to increase from its present 4.5% of total Canadian energy supply to about 8% by 2020 for two reasons: inexpensive open pit mining operations in the West, and its efficiency in generating electricity compared to other hydro and nuclear sources. The coal sector currently directly employs about 8,000 people, and has an annual value of output of about $5.8 billion [21].
Most of the coal is found [22] again in British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan [23]; half is exported to Japan [24]. In Ontario, coal is imported [25] from nearby coal fields in the US and is used in the province's steel industry and in Ontario Hydro's thermal power stations. Coal used to be mined on Cape Breton Island near Sydney, Nova Scotia, but its poor quality (high sulphur content), high underground mining expense, and the recent closing of the local steel mill have caused its demise, despite large reserves. Coal reserves in Canada are actually ten times as large as conventional oil and gas reserves. It is therefore estimated that coal should last a century or more at present rates of consumption, even if no new sources are discovered.
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