Twenty million barrels per day held hostage by the Strait of Hormuz blockade has opened a 20-million-barrel window of opportunity for democratically aligned oil-producing countries.
Canada, what about you? You have the resources. Do you have the enterprise and agility to win new business from oil-hungry customers chasing more reliable energy options today or in the near future?
Maybe.
Let’s consult the country’s traditional timeline for executing anything ambitious at anything but a geological pace.
Result: We have the resources, but they won’t be market-ready in any significant volume until 2033 at the earliest, if ever.
The sound you hear is that Middle East window of opportunity slamming shut, and oil customers moving on to more serious energy suppliers that are ready, willing, and able to address market demand.
Navigating the political quagmire
Entrepreneurial agility is not Canada’s MO.
In this big land of big government and small thinking, we are required to wade through a polarized political quagmire, navigate multi-jurisdictional levels of overlapping environmental and redundant regulatory approvals, lobby stonewalling career politicians whose re-election interests trump the country’s interests, and pray for approvals from taxpayer-funded Indigenous “nations.”
A microcosm of that process is about to play out in Metro Vancouver as the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority (NFPA) pursues a project to dredge a portion of Burrard Inlet to allow oil tankers calling at Burnaby’s Westridge Marine Terminal to take on a full payload of oil rather than the current 70% or so allowed by the inlet’s Second Narrows navigation channel.
The dredging would also help Trans Mountain Corp. deliver on its plans to increase Trans Mountain pipeline capacity and Westridge throughput to meet growing demand.
Imagine if the new tier of race-based government in Metro Vancouver that has been established by Ottawa’s Musqueam Indian Band agreement opposes Second Narrows dredging.
That will be game over for B.C.’s ability to significantly increase exports of oil today and other natural resources tomorrow.
Geography and global advantage
Considering that the Port of Vancouver recorded a 95% jump in crude petroleum exports in 2025 compared with 2024, that would be another lost opportunity for local, regional and national economies.
It would also confirm global trader suspicions that Canada is neither a reliable nor a serious seller of energy or other natural resources, despite Prime Minister Mark Carney’s claim that Canada is an energy superpower, and even though West Coast Canada has many transpacific trade advantages.
Geography alone gives it a leg up on its West Coast North American competition.
The ports of Vancouver and Prince Rupert are both at least two sailing days closer to major Asian ports than their U.S. competitors.
And B.C.’s liquefied natural gas exports have a direct route to Asian markets without having to transit the Panama Canal, which LNG exports from Gulf of Mexico ports do.
The Second Narrows dredging test
The current conflict in the Middle East has amplified concerns over the region’s oil and gas reliability.
Political stability and resource riches make a strong case for Canada as a reliable alternative in the global marketplace.
However, the country’s inability to execute ambitious resource development initiatives continues to undermine that case.
A drama-free Second Narrows dredging project would indicate minor progress in turning the corner on that entrepreneurial ineptitude.
B.C. ports and all the businesses that rely on them would applaud that storyline.
This article originally appeared in The Substack Shipping News. Timothy Renshaw can be reached at [email protected].
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