If the Canadian government decides to go ahead with plans to shut off the supply of oil to the United States, the bigger crisis will be a financial one, not a national unity kerfuffle. Companies facing bankruptcy when forced to abrogate their contracts will have to be compensated by taxpayers and that bill will be big enough to send us begging to the IMF.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says that if the federal government imposes an export ban on Alberta oil going to the United States as a retaliatory measure against expected U.S. tariffs it would precipitate a “national unity crisis.”
In addition, the United States is probably aware that the petrochemical supply runs both ways in some regions.
In 2023, Canada imported 16.9 million metric tons of crude oil from the United States, which was the largest quantity Canada imported from any country.



