Geopolitics: Canada

Canada Resources

Canada is a huge country and very sparsely populated. But it’s very rich in forests, lakes and rivers. Water and wood are the country’s main natural resources.

39% of tress felled in Canada are used as lumber, while 61% are for the paper industry. Wood is a very important resource. Trees are found throughout Canada. British Columbia, Ontario, Newfoundland, the Northwest Territories and especially Quebec are the major wood-producing provinces.

Water is also a very important resource as 7.6% of Canada's territory is covered by lakes, rivers and rivers. The Great Lakes, the St. Lawrence River, Niagara Falls, the Rocky Mountain rivers, the James Bay region are examples.

Canada is also an oil and gas producer. These resources are found primarily in Alberta but also in British Columbia, Saskatchewan and the Yukon. Alberta produces 70% of Canadian oil and 81% of natural gas. There are many mines in Canada. Ontario is the largest producer of metals in the country. Coal is extracted in Alberta, gold in Quebec, Ontario and two others territories. But nickel, asbestos, copper, zinc, lead, and silver are found in other provinces.

The mining industry represents 10% of Canada’s gross national income. Fuel minerals (oil, gas, coal) account for 55% of total production.

Animals are also natural resources. Oceans and rivers provide a lot of fish. Forests, plains and mountains are home to many animal species. Fish and some fur-bearing animals are used for food, the moose industry and the making of various objects. (Grizzly, wolf, bison, black bear, polar bear, moose, arctic hare, deer, orca, pike, salmon, whiteness, whales, trout, eels, yellow perch, pyrargus…).

Petrol

Canada is the world’s fifth-largest oil producer and has the world’s third-largest proven oil reserves. Canada is a major supplier of good quality oil to international markets, producing almost 3.8 million barrels per day of crude oil in 2014. Canada also have one of the world’s largest oil reserve, only behind Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. Canada has 171 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, 166.3 billion of them are in the form of oil sands. In 2014, 97% of the petrol exports were sent to the U.S. and 3% to Europe and Asia. It’s the first supplier of USA, with 39% of the USA import of petrol.

Oil Sand

Oil sand is a naturally occurring mixture of sand, clay or other minerals, water, and bitumen. As we saw before, oils sands represent 166,3 billion of the 171 barrels of oil reserves (97%). The oil sand is developed by the private sector, with $243 billion invested in the oil sands, of which $30 billion were invested in 2014. International Energy Agency predict than Canadian oil sands production with increase by 2.5 million barrels per day in the next 25 years.

Canada has committed to innovation and responsible development in the oils sands. Innovation is a critical to reduce the environmental footprint of oil sands development.

The Canadian government has committed $200M every year in research and clean technology producers.

Gaz naturel

Natural gas is a natural hydrocarbon. Hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting of carbon and hydrogen and include crude oil, natural gas and coal.

Raw natural gas is composed mainly of methane, and may also contain varying amounts of ethane, propane, butane, and pentane.

Canada is the world’s fifth-largest producer and fourth-largest exporter of natural gas.

Liquefied natural gas

Liquefied natural gas is a natural gas in his liquid state. When the natural gas is When natural gas is chilled to a temperature of about minus 160° C (minus 260° F) at atmospheric pressure, it becomes a clear, colourless and odourless liquid.

LNG is non-corrosive and non-toxic. The liquefaction process removes water, oxygen, carbon dioxide and sulfur compounds contained in the natural gas. This results in an LNG composition of mostly methane with small amounts of other hydrocarbons and nitrogen.

As a liquid, natural gas is reduced to 1/600th of its original volume. This makes it feasible and economical to transport over long distances in specially designed ocean tankers. Once received, the LNG goes into storage tanks, is regassified, and delivered to markets

LNG has been a source of energy in the United States since the 1960s and is available from both domestic and

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