Local MLA pushes for global trading partners for Alberta energy

ALBERTA -- The MLA for Drayton Valley-Devon says Alberta must establish new global trading partners for its oil and gas.

With the future of trade between Canada and the United States being more uncertain than ever, Andrew Boitchenko pushing the province to expand its resource market globally. He says that a consensus has been formed around the need to protect the province's resource sector, and that the need to create new markets for Alberta's resources is vital.

"Since the President of the United States started talking about crippling tariffs across the board -- and they are crippling, especially when they are on oil and gas -- all sides have aligned on the importance of energy infrastructure." said Boitchenko.

In 2024, Alberta’s exports to the U.S. totaled $162.6 billion, accounting for 88.7 per cent of total provincial exports. Meantime, energy products accounted for approximately $132.8 billion, about 82.2 per cent of Alberta’s exports to the U.S. last year. Boitchenko says it's time to look to other global regions such as Asia.

"We send the vast majority of our bitumen south of the border, while industry forecasts are talking more about rapidly exceeding markets," said the Drayton Valley-Devon MLA. "Particularly in China, India, Japan, Korea, and throughout all of Asia."

Boitchenko says that these countries are in dire need of natural gas and bitumen to help fuel their economies, A.I. data centres, and feed-stock for their electrical grids. While U.S. tariffs on Canadian energy currently sit at 10 per cent, it's not known where that number could go in the future. Premier Danielle Smith says she's heard from U.S. counterparts that energy tariffs could be scrapped completely in the coming weeks.