Canada must raise its level of ambition to compete in today’s rapidly shifting geoeconomic and geopolitical landscape. So far on the podcast, we’ve focused on how diversifying oil and gas exports can strengthen Canada’s power and influence. This week, we turn our attention to another strategic sector — mining. 

Our guest this week is Photinie Koutsavlis, Vice President of Economic Affairs and Climate Change at the Mining Association of Canada. She joins us to discuss the current state of Canada’s mining industry. 

Here are some of the questions that Jackie and Peter asked Photinie Koutsavlis:  How large is Canada’s mining sector, and what are its main products? Since the January 2020 announcement of the Canada–U.S. Joint Action Plan on Critical Minerals, what progress has been made on the ground? Has investment and production grown — and if not, what are the main barriers? 

Content referenced in this podcast: 

• The Hub.ca, “Peter Tertzakian: Even if Alberta gets a new pipeline, what is next for the oil sands?” (October 4, 2025)

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This week, Jackie and Peter discuss Peter’s recent writing, including his article in The Hub titled “Increasing Canada’s Energy Ambition is an Economic and Geopolitical Imperative” as well as two other pieces, “Geoeconomics and State Capitalism” and “The Cost of Being a Market Hostage.” 

Peter argues that Canada must raise its level of ambition to compete in today’s geoeconomic and geopolitical environment—one where markets are shaped less by free trade and more by state power, economic coercion, and the strategic use of industries to advance geopolitical objectives. In this new order, the effects of tariffs, sanctions, control of trade routes, and dominance over critical resources are felt daily on the global stage. 

Yet Canada is not showing up as a true contender. The country remains passive, heavily dependent on the United States for oil and gas exports, at significant cost to the economy. Peter outlines four levels of ambition that Canada could pursue. At the lowest level, the nation remains a “market hostage,” reflecting its current state in oil and gas. A modest step up would be the role of “competitor,” in which new tidewater export capacity expands Canada’s reach. Moving further, Canada could become a “negotiator,” able to leverage energy exports as a bargaining chip in international relations. At the highest level, Canada could aspire to be an “aggressor,” a country that wields genuine market power in vital resources—similar to the way China has achieved influence through state control of strategic industries. 

Content referenced in this podcast:

• The Hub.ca, “Increasing Canada’s energy ambition is an economic and geopolitical imperative” (September 9, 2025) 
• Studio.Energy, “Geoeconomics and State Capitalism” and “The Cost of Being a Market Hostage” (September 8, 2025) 
• CTV News, “Here’s what the parliamentary budget officer is warning of ahead of the budget” (September 28, 2025) 
• CBC News, “Canada's GDP rebounds in July after contracting for 3 months” (September 26, 2025) 
• WSJ “Trump Takes Aim at Chip Makers With New Plan to Throttle Imports” (September 26, 2025) 

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This week on the podcast, our guest is Brian Schmidt, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Tamarack Valley Energy. 

Tamarack is a Canadian oil and gas company with operations in Alberta, including the Clearwater and Charlie Lake plays. Brian was also a signatory to a letter, alongside more than 90 leaders from Canadian oil and gas producers, service providers, and midstream companies, sent to Prime Minister Mark Carney on September 15, 2025. The letter called for policy changes to enable companies to make long-term investments in Canada’s energy sector. 

Here are some of the questions that Jackie and Peter asked Brian: What makes the Clearwater play unique? What technologies are being used to produce oil in the play, including secondary recovery methods such as waterflooding? What are the regulatory and permitting challenges that are slowing development? How does Tamarack prioritize between using cash for stock buybacks, production growth, or other uses of capital? Would investors be more inclined to fund production growth over shareholder returns if pipeline capacity and supportive policies were in place in Canada?  Other topics included whether ESG remains a focus for investors, how the anti-greenwashing provisions in Bill C-59 affect the industry, and whether the recent shift in tone from the federal government has improved sentiment toward Canadian oil and gas. They also discussed the ongoing consolidation in the sector, where smaller players are merging into larger companies. 

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This week, our guest is David Nikolejsin, Strategic Advisor at McCarthy Tétrault. David previously served the B.C. government as Deputy Minister for seven years under the Natural Gas Development and Energy and Mines Ministries. He was involved with implementing a successful “one window” approach that helped LNG Canada Phase 1 advance through construction. 

 In recent weeks, the Canadian federal government has announced several initiatives to fast-track major projects, including the establishment of the Major Projects Office (MPO) and the announcement of the first five projects. 

Based on David’s experience in getting projects off the ground, both in government and now working with proponents, here are some of the questions we asked David:  How are environmental reviews for major LNG projects currently conducted in B.C., and which level of government—provincial or federal—takes the lead? What advice would you offer the newly appointed CEO of the MPO, Dawn Farrell, as she begins her new role?  In what ways have Indigenous rights in B.C. evolved over the past five or so years, and do projects now require Indigenous equity participation to get done?  Given that B.C.’s and Canada’s climate goals conflict with the acceleration of LNG exports, should GHG reduction targets be revised to attract more capital investment to B.C.? 

Content referenced in this podcast: 

• Prime Minister Carney launches new Major Projects Office to fast-track nation-building projects (August 29, 2025) 
• Prime Minister Carney announces first projects to be reviewed by the new Major Projects Office (September 11, 2025) 
• Globe and Mail, “Internal government list of 32 potential infrastructure projects includes new oil pipeline” (September 4, 2025)

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This week, our guest is Eric Nuttall, Partner and Senior Portfolio Manager at Ninepoint Partners. Eric manages the Ninepoint Energy Fund (NNRG) and the Ninepoint Energy Income Fund (NRGI).  

Here are some of the questions Peter and Jackie asked Eric: How would you compare investing in Canadian oil and gas producers versus U.S. companies?  Do you still believe Canada is undervalued relative to the U.S., as you did when we spoke a few years ago? With OPEC announcing on September 7, 2025, that it will add even more supply to the market, why are oil prices remaining so resilient, and what is Saudi Arabia’s strategy? What are your expectations for North American natural gas prices, particularly in Canada, which has experienced exceptionally weak pricing this year? Canada has seen a wave of consolidation in the oil patch—how do you view corporate consolidation in this context? You have long advocated for oil and gas producers to buy back shares, but if Canada succeeds in building new export pipelines for oil and gas, would you support companies growing production to create value rather than relying solely on buybacks? How can new export pipelines be built if investors continue to prefer buybacks over growth? Finally, do you believe Canadian oil and gas companies still trade at a “green discount” due to climate policies that burden the sector?

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After a summer break, Peter and Jackie are back with their weekly podcast. This week, they catch up on the events and news headlines from the summer, including: 

• Geoeconomics – recap examples where countries use economic tools to influence foreign affairs – as well as more moves towards state capitalism by the United States, where the government exercises more control over institutions and companies. 
• Canadian oil patch M&A news. 
• Updates regarding the federal government’s Bill C-5 and its plans for advancing nation-building projects. 
• Tariff negotiation tactics, including news that Canada is removing countervailing tariffs on the United States.  
• The United States is exerting more influence over the International Energy Agency (IEA), with the organization planning to reintroduce the Current Policies Scenario in the next World Energy Outlook to be released in the fall of 2025. 

Content referenced in this podcast: 

• CTV, “Hodgeson ‘hopeful’ first batch of major projects announcements to start in the fall” (August 20, 2025) 
• Calgary Herald, “Varcoe: Carney has opened the door to Canadian LNG exports — one closed by Trudeau government, says Liberal natural resources minister” (August 27, 2025) 
• The Vassy Kapelos Show, “I know there are buyers: Federal Energy Minister bullish on LNG as a nation-building project” (August 12, 2025) 
• Oilprice.com, “Republicans Move to Cut U.S. Funding for the IEA” (July 24, 2025) 
• E&ENEWS by Politico, “Trump team pushes for ouster of top IEA official” (August 7, 2025) 

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This week on the podcast, Jackie and Peter start by talking about Jackie’s recent op-ed in the Globe and Mail, titled “Yes, absolutely – Canada needs more oil and gas pipelines to our coasts,” also available on the ARC Energy Research Institute website. 

Next, Peter and Jackie review the fundamentals of oil prices, the muted effect of the 12-day Iran-Israel war, and why oil prices have been creeping up despite weaker short-term fundamentals. Peter argues that the growing importance of “geoeconomics” - where countries use economic tools to influence foreign affairs - means that predicting oil prices will no longer be just about counting barrels. In the future, one of the most significant factors shaping oil markets will be the geoeconomic strategies of nations, including actions such as sanctions, tariffs, and withholding supply. 

Finally, Jackie and Peter discuss President Trump’s recent letters to numerous countries threatening higher tariffs effective August 1st, including a letter to Canada with 35% tariffs on Canadian goods. Washington also introduced global copper tariffs. 

This is the last podcast before a break; the podcast will resume at the end of summer. 

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The President of the United States signed the “Big, Beautiful Bill” into law on July 4th. The new legislation brings big changes to the future of U.S. clean energy development. It reduces many (though not all) of the Biden-era subsidies from the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA). 

This week on the podcast, our guest is Mike Carr, Executive Director at SEMA Coalition—an organization supporting the U.S.-based solar supply chain. Mike has extensive experience in U.S. federal energy policy, including past positions at the Department of Energy and the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy. 

Jackie and Peter asked Mike: How would you characterize the Bill’s impact on U.S. clean energy, and what damage has it caused? At a high level, does this major policy shift lessen the appetite for investment, even in areas where subsidies remain, due to concerns about political uncertainty? For clean technology manufacturing, such as solar panels, do the newly introduced restrictions on Foreign Entities of Concern (like China) regarding content, intellectual property, and investment make it more challenging to qualify for the production tax credit (45X)? Renewable energy projects that commence construction within a year of the Bill’s passage can still be eligible for subsidies for the following four years; does this create a construction boom, and what happens afterward? Given China’s dominant position in manufacturing many types of clean energy technology, how should the U.S. compete? Is it better to leapfrog China with innovation, rather than simply following and producing the same technology?

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This week, our guest is Mark Maki, Chief Executive Officer of Trans Mountain Corporation. The original Trans Mountain pipeline was built in 1953, and the Expansion Project was completed just over one year ago, nearly tripling the pipeline’s capacity to 890,000 B/d (from 300,000 B/d).  

Here are some of the questions that Jackie and Peter asked Mark: How much do you expect to pay your shareholder (the Canadian Government) in 2025 and 2026? What are the logistics of moving the oil by tanker? Where are the tankers going, and what type of crude is shipped in the pipeline? How has the pipeline improved Canadian oil prices? What is the expected timing for a resolution on the tolls, as a Canadian Energy Regulator (CER) hearing is currently underway that could adjust the cost for shipping oil? What is the potential to increase pipeline flows, and is there potential for a northern leg as proposed in the early days of the expansion? The Federal Government has stated it plans to sell the pipeline; do you have any updates on that and the potential timing? What are your thoughts on Bill C-5 and the potential for this type of legislation to avoid the high costs and many delays faced by the Trans Mountain Expansion?

Content referenced in this podcast: 

• Globe and Mail, “Trans Mountain expects to pay federal government $1.25 billion in 2025” (May 2025)
• Financial Post, “Canada must maximize existing pipelines before building more, Guilbeault says” (May 2025) 
• Financial Post, “Northern Leg to Trans Mountain pipeline attracts interest amid brewing trade war” (February 2025)

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This week, our special guest is Daniel Yergin, Vice Chairman of S&P Global and Chairman of S&P's CERAWeek conference. Daniel is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of “The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, and Power”. His most recent book is “The New Map: Energy, Climate, and the Clash of Nations”. 

Please note that the interview with Daniel Yergin was recorded on June 11th, before the Israel and Iran conflict began on June 13th, 2025. 

Here are some of the questions Peter and Jackie asked Daniel Yergin: Why did you describe the energy transition as troubled and in need of a pragmatic path forward? Do you believe there is a growing consensus that the “fast energy transition” scenario is unrealistic? Do you anticipate Europe softening its green policies and subsidies or extending timelines for net-zero goals? How do you foresee the trade war and competition between the G2 (the United States and China) evolving? How dominant is China in clean energy, and what implications does this hold for the United States' ability to compete? What is OPEC’s motivation for reintroducing supply to the market during a period of weaker demand? What strategy would you recommend for Canada to address US trade pressures and potential annexation threats? 

Content referenced in this podcast:

• Foreign Affairs, “The Troubled Energy Transition: How to Find a Pragmatic Path Forward” by Daniel Yergin, Peter Orszag, and Atul Arya (April 2025) 

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