This week, the podcast starts with news on the West Coast oil pipeline. On July 2, Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced that a pipeline project exceeding 1 MMB/d was ready to be submitted to the Major Projects Office. Earlier that same day, PM Carney and B.C. Premier David Eby announced a Canada–B.C. Cooperative Prosperity Agreement, and, as part of the broader economic agreement, B.C. would not oppose a southern marine terminal for the oil pipeline. 

On July 6, there was more pipeline news, with Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Premier Smith announcing an early-stage feasibility study for a pipeline connecting Alberta to Ontario’s refining region in Sarnia.  

Peter and Jackie then welcomed Michele Harradence, Enbridge’s Executive Vice President and President, Gas Distribution and Storage, and the new Chair of the Board of the Canadian Gas Association (CGA), to the podcast. 

Peter and Jackie asked Michele about municipal bans on natural gas, the role of natural gas in cold-climate reliability, and natural gas’s GHG emissions. They also discussed the outlook for North American natural gas demand growth, including demand from AI data centres, and whether supply can keep pace. Finally, they compared the regulatory process for major projects in Canada with that in the United States. 

Content referenced in this podcast: 

• Canada and British Columbia's new cooperative prosperity partnership (July 2, 2026) 
• Canada and Alberta advance west coast pipeline project proposal and Pathways Project Carbon Capture Initiative (July 2, 2026) 
• Prime Minister Mark Carney forward guidance video on Canada’s energy future (June 30, 2026) 
• ARC Energy Ideas heat pump podcast “Decarbonizing heat: Are air-source heat pumps the solution for Canada? (June 11, 2024) 
• Ontario unveils proposed route for Northern Shield Energy Corridor (July 6, 2026) 

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This week, our guest is Mike Law, former president and CEO of the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO). Mike now leads MGL Advisory Services Ltd. and advises several companies, including Energy Alberta, where he is head of power system integration. Energy Alberta is proposing a nuclear generating station in northern Alberta's Peace River region. 

The podcast touches on a long list of Canadian electricity policy initiatives, including the federal government’s Nuclear Energy Strategy (June 22) and the Electricity Strategy (May 14). Other policies that are impacting investment and growth forecasts include the Alberta-Canada MOU, the Clean Electricity Regulations (CER), and – specific to Alberta – the new Data Centre Regulation and the Restructured Energy Market (REM). 

Topics covered include Canada’s need for new electricity generation to meet growing demand, including from AI data centres; how the CER is creating uncertainty for investment in new natural gas generation; and how Alberta’s REM adds another layer of uncertainty. The discussion also covers Canada’s new nuclear strategy and the plan to build 10 new reactors, including how it compares with the U.S. push toward a similar target. Finally, Mike outlines Energy Alberta’s large-scale Peace River nuclear project, including timelines, regulatory requirements, costs, and stakeholder engagement. 

Content referenced in this podcast:  

• Nuclear Energy Strategy for Canada (June 29, 2026) 
• Powering Canada Strong: A National Strategy for an Electrified Canadian Economy (May 14, 2026) 
• Energy Futures: BC Hydro Turns Back to Natural Gas to Help Fill Electricity Gap (June 1, 2026) 
• Alberta Data Centre Regulation (June 9, 2026) 
• CBC: Power plant proposed for area northeast of Edmonton inches closer to becoming reality (June 24, 2026) 

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This week on the podcast, our guest is Angela Stent, a globally recognized authority on U.S.-Russia relations. Angela has held senior roles at Georgetown University, the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), the Brookings Institution, the U.S. State Department, the National Intelligence Council, and the Council on Foreign Relations, among others. She is also an award-winning author; some of her books include The Limits of Partnership: U.S.-Russian Relations in the Twenty-First Century (2014) and Putin's World: Russia Against the West and with the Rest (2019). 

Russia's war with Ukraine is increasingly becoming an energy war. As Ukraine's long-range strike capabilities improve, it has begun hitting Russian energy infrastructure with growing success, meaningfully reducing Russia's ability to produce refined products and crude oil. Jackie and Peter explore the complex geopolitics of the conflict with Angela, including Russia's relationships with Europe, the United States, and China. They also discuss the implications for Canada, including the growing attractiveness of energy from a stable supplier, a point recognized at the recent G7 meeting in France, where Canada was identified as a welcome source of energy to diversify away from supply routed through the Strait of Hormuz. 

Jackie and Peter ask Angela: Ukraine has delivered military strikes deep inside Russia this year — does that kind of pressure move Putin toward ending the war? How does Putin view the recent U.S.-Iran conflict, and what are the implications for the Russia-Ukraine war? Beyond Ukraine, is Russia a threat to other European countries? What is a realistic path to ending the war, and what would the best-case scenario look like? 

Content referenced on this podcast: 

• G7 leaders' statement on geopolitical issues (June 17, 2026), welcoming the potential of Canada to deliver significant additional capacity to global markets in the coming years  

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This week on the podcast, Peter and Jackie begin with the big news of June 14th: the United States and Iran have reached a preliminary agreement to end the war, which takes the form of a memorandum of understanding (MOU). While the agreement leaves numerous details to be settled, both sides expect that shipping will resume through the Strait of Hormuz as a result. 

They then recap last week's episode with the Honourable Brian Jean, Alberta's Minister of Energy and Minerals, and his optimism about changes in the province that are expected to shorten regulatory timelines and advance a West Coast oil pipeline application toward submission in July. Peter and Jackie also discuss Alberta's referendum question this fall on separation, and how foreign investors may view it. 

On June 9, 2026, Peter Tertzakian toured Trans Mountain’s Westridge Marine Terminal in Burnaby, British Columbia, which exports Western Canadian crude oil to tidewater. Peter shares some of what he learned, including comments from people working at the terminal on safety, tanker filling times, and the project to deepen the channel, which would increase the amount of crude oil that can be loaded onto each ship. 

Content referenced in this podcast: 

• Photos from Peter’s tour  
• Trans Mountain website 

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This week, our guest is the Honourable Brian Jean, Alberta's Minister of Energy and Minerals. The conversation was recorded at an ARC Financial event in Calgary on June 9. 

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has underscored the importance of energy security and supply diversity. This, along with more supportive federal policies, is raising expectations for growth in Alberta’s oil and gas sector. 

On the podcast this week, Jackie asks Minister Jean about Alberta’s opportunity to expand oil and gas production, including: Is the Strait of Hormuz closure and the Iran war reshaping how people view Canadian energy? What is Alberta's goal for oil production growth, and what changes, regulatory and otherwise, are supporting that goal? How does Alberta benefit from the build-out of LNG export capacity on the West Coast? The Canada–Alberta MOU outlines a plan to submit a 1 MMB/d oil pipeline to reach Asian markets to the Major Projects Office, with the aim of starting the regulatory review by early July. What is its status, and does the decision on the large oil sands CCS project affect the path forward? Are discussions underway with BC on the pipeline and with local communities, including Indigenous groups? And what are Alberta's opportunities in mineral production and, potentially, processing? 

Content referenced in this podcast: 

• Canada Government, Overview of Canada’s National Artificial Intelligence Strategy: AI for All (June 4, 2026) 
• Global Energy Show (June 9 to 11, 2026) 

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The podcast opens with updates on the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a German state-owned energy company contracting for Canadian West Coast LNG, and the Pope's theological document warning about AI. 

Next, Peter and Jackie introduce this week's guest, Marc Spieler, Senior Managing Director for the Global Energy Industry at NVIDIA, joining from Houston, Texas, to discuss the latest developments at the intersection of AI and energy. 

Energy and AI are deeply interlinked. Energy companies are using AI to improve efficiency across oil and gas, renewables, and emerging sources such as next-generation fission and fusion. At the same time, AI's explosive growth is driving significant new electricity demand, requiring a build-out of both generation and grid infrastructure. 

Predicting future power demand from AI remains uncertain; it depends on the pace of adoption and whether GPUs, along with other delivery components of the digital infrastructure stack, will become more efficient over time. Marc highlights that data centres are becoming more flexible, with the ability to reduce consumption during periods of grid stress. This would allow new data centre capacity to be added without straining the grid, while also lowering costs for all power consumers by improving system utilization during off-peak periods. 

Content referenced in this podcast: 

• NVIDIA Blog with examples of energy company AI applications: Efficiency at Scale: NVIDIA, Energy Leaders Accelerating Power‑Flexible AI Factories to Fortify the Grid (March 2026) 
• NVIDIA’s NeMo Framework was used for asset integrity and reliability at Petrobras (March 2025) 
• NVIDIA’s Earth-2 library of open models, libraries, and frameworks that democratize global access to professional-grade weather and climate AI 
• NVIDIA Vera Rubin DSX AI Factory reference design to maximize efficiency (March 2026) 
• NVIDIA and Emerald AI, along with other energy companies, pioneer flexible AI factories (March 2026)  
• Pope Leo XIV, Magnifica Humanitas: On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence (May 25, 2026) 

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On May 15, Alberta and Ottawa announced updates to their MOU on carbon markets and energy policy, aimed at advancing a greenfield oil pipeline proposal to Asian markets by July 1, with possible construction readiness after September 2027. The agreement lowers industrial carbon compliance costs and introduces a TIER price floor (called a minimum transfer price), although industry groups still argue that costs remain too high. The new framework also introduces additional complexity and uncertainty around carbon markets. While the deal marks progress toward a West Coast oil export pipeline, key uncertainties remain regarding commitments to the Oil Sands Alliance Pathways CCS project, opposition in British Columbia, and the future of the Clean Electricity Regulations (CER). 

On May 14, the federal government also announced a national electricity strategy. The strategy includes plans for regional electricity planning, along with proposed measures such as extending the Clean Electricity ITC to certain intra-provincial transmission projects and a plan to consult on added flexibility to the CER. 

To help Peter and Jackie unpack this wave of policy announcements and their implications for carbon markets and investment, they are joined by Rachel Walsh, Director and Head of Carbon Strategy and Partnerships at BMO Capital Markets. 

Content referenced in this podcast: 

• Government of Canada, Powering Canada Strong: A National Strategy for an Electrified Canadian Economy (May 14, 2026) 
• Prime Minister's Office, Canada and Alberta strike agreement to diversify our exports, reduce emissions, and build a stronger economy (May 15, 2026) 
• Prime Minister’s Office, Implementation Agreement for the Canada-Alberta MOU of November 27, 2026 (May 15, 2026) 
• Alberta Government, Release on the updates to the Canada-Alberta MOU Agreement (May 15, 2026) 
• Studio.Energy, Carbon Competitiveness and Canada’s Oil Industry (April 21, 2026) 

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This week on the podcast, Jackie and Peter are joined by Marcus Rocque, Vice President of Research at the ARC Energy Research Institute. This episode focuses on how the oil and gas shock from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz is reshaping the outlook for clean energy, including how governments are rationing oil and gas use through policies such as work-from-home measures and lower speed limits. There is already evidence of increasing sales of alternatives, including EVs, heat pumps, and electric cookstoves. 

The shortage, however, is also expected to increase demand for coal as an alternative in countries like India and China, which have abundant domestic resources that provide energy security. The podcast discusses whether this could change long-term demand for oil and gas and the implications for Canada. 

They also consider some of the latest news in Canada, including last week’s visit to Ottawa by IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol, and reports that the federal government is proposing to reverse the order of environmental approvals, allowing cabinet to green-light projects prior to the completion of technical assessments and approvals, along with implementing a maximum one-year review period. Finally, Premier Danielle Smith also traveled to Ottawa last week and left with a confident message about the delivery of the MOU.

Content referenced in this podcast:

• Globe and Mail, “Canada should accelerate new energy infrastructure as market shifts, IEA chief says” (May 4, 2026) 
• Latitude Media, Jigar Shah, “This isn’t demand destruction. It's rationing.”  (April 24, 2026) 
• Premier Danielle Smith’s post on X regarding her positive meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney on the MOU agreement (May 8, 2026) 
• FT, Spencer Dale, “Why the Iran war might not spur a faster transition to low carbon energy” (May 4, 2026) 

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This week, our guest is Rory Johnston, a Toronto-based oil market researcher, the founder of Commodity Context, and, among other things, the host of the Oil Ground Up podcast.  

Peter and Jackie open the show with highlights from the federal government’s economic update, Polymarket bets on the Middle East conflict, and the shift in AI companies toward pay-per-use models over unlimited access. 

They then turn to oil markets, asking Rory: What’s your take on the UAE’s announcement about leaving OPEC? You recently wrote on your Commodity Context Substack that the oil market reaction has been shockingly sanguine; why? How do you interpret broader equity markets trading near all-time highs? What might upstream oil and gas investment in the Middle East look like under a fragile post-conflict scenario? With some Western countries shutting down refineries and becoming more reliant on imported products, which is now obviously a vulnerability, do you expect renewed investment in refining capacity? And in Canada’s pipeline debate, with expansions and greenfield projects proposed, which direction should be prioritized: routes to the U.S. or west-coast access to tidewater and Asian markets?

Content referenced in this podcast: 

• Futurism, “Bosses Are Blowing More Money on AI Agents Than It’d Cost Them to Just Pay Human Workers” (April 27, 2026) 
• Rory Johnson on Commodity Context, “Sanguine Strait Stoppage” (April 23, 2026) 
• Oil Ground Up Podcast

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The podcast opens with major news: Shell’s agreement to acquire ARC Resources, signaling strong confidence in LNG Canada Phase 2, the broader Canadian LNG sector, and the quality of the Montney resource. It also marks a shift, as this is the first major multinational acquisition in Canada following a long period of exits. 

Jackie and Peter discuss additional developments, including Minister Hodgson’s comments on major projects reaching FID or construction within a year and Prime Minister Carney’s announcement of a C$25 billion sovereign wealth fund. The episode then features the Honourable Tim Houston, Premier of Nova Scotia, who outlines Nova Scotia’s energy priorities, including offshore wind, oil and gas, and potential for onshore natural gas. 

Jackie and Peter ask Premier Houston: How does the recent agreement with the federal government to streamline environmental reviews affect project timelines and certainty? What are the barriers to advancing the Wind West project?  What factors led to the decline in offshore oil and gas production, and what actions is the province taking? What is the opportunity for onshore natural gas in Nova Scotia, and what is the history of the 2014 hydraulic fracturing ban? 

Content referenced in this podcast:

• ARC Resources Announces Agreement to be Acquired by Shell PLC (April 27, 2026) 
• Globe and Mail, “Slew of new major natural resource projects will be under way by next year, Hodgson predicts” (April 24, 2026) 
• Prime Minister Carney announces the Canada Strong Fund – Canada’s first sovereign wealth fund (April 27, 2026) 
• The Hub.ca, “Peter Tertzakian: Want to get pipelines built? Let Canadians own a piece of the action” (April 25, 2025)  
• Nova Scotia Government Wind West Strategic Plan 
• Information on Nova Scotia’s recent call for bids process for offshore oil and gas 
• Nova Scotia onshore natural gas opportunity

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