The Honourable Minister Tim Hodgson “Canada’s Energy Comeback: Building an Energy-Secure World” Opening of Canada House CERA Week 2026 Houston, Texas

March 23, 2026

Check against delivery

Good morning, everyone. Welcome to Canada House! Bienvenue à la Maison du Canada!

It’s an honour to be here in Houston, representing Canada at CERAWeek — one of the world’s premier energy conferences.

Energy has always been a key part of the story of how Canada engages with the world.

Going back to our earliest history, the first commercial oil well in North America was in Oil Springs, Ontario. That well launched the beginning of an oil boom that, in many ways, built this continent on both sides of the Canada–U.S. border. During the Second World War, oil and gas from the Turner Valley in Alberta helped fuel Allied ships and aircraft, keeping the war machine moving across the Atlantic.

Now, Canada will step up again and write a new chapter in our shared energy story with the U.S. — one where we double down and make good on our commitment to being a clean and conventional energy superpower, for the benefit of both our nation and all our allies.

Let me explain what I mean when I say we are a clean and conventional energy superpower.

As many of you know, Canada has the fourth-largest proven oil reserves in the world, representing 10 percent of global reserves. Over 97 percent of that is in Alberta’s prolific oil sands. We also have four significant producing oil fields off the coast of Newfoundland, with another — Bay du Nord — expected to come online by 2031, adding an additional one billion barrels of recoverable reserves.

We are the world’s fifth-largest natural gas producer, and we have nearly 1,368 trillion cubic feet of marketable natural gas reserves, which could last 200 years at the current rate of production. We are working hard to bring this resource to the world as we speak.

We are also a Tier 1 nuclear nation; a leader in CCUS; and the fourth-largest producer of renewable electricity in the world.

So when it comes to conversations about the future of energy for North America and the world, let me be very clear: Canada intends to play a constructive role in delivering affordable, reliable and secure energy for Canadians, Americans and all our allies.

That is why we are here today in Houston, with our own pavilion, our own voice and our own message. And that message is simple: Canada is back!

Canada is approaching energy policy with renewed ambition, pragmatism and urgency.

Our government, hand-in-hand with provincial and territorial partners and Indigenous Peoples, is making historic investments in strengthening and modernizing our electricity grids so we can electrify conventional production, power new industry and manufacturing, unlock new mines and enhance our Arctic sovereignty — all in service of bringing security, affordability, reliability and prosperity to our energy systems, to our citizens and to our allies around the world

And that is exactly what we intend to do when it comes to both our clean and our conventional energy.

In clean energy, the momentum across Canada is unmistakable.

We will soon become the first country in the G7 to deploy a small modular reactor. It will combine American technology from GE with Canadian expertise in nuclear safety and operations — a powerful example of what innovation and partnership between our countries can achieve.

And on our Atlantic coast, we are moving quickly on offshore energy development, unlocking some of the highest-capacity wind and conventional energy resources in the world to produce clean power and catalyze investment in Atlantic Canada and potentially the Northeast United States.

At the same time, we are equally clear-eyed about the importance of conventional energy as the foundation of energy affordability, reliability and security for North America and for the world. Over the last two weeks, with Iran closing the Strait of Hormuz, it has truly never been clearer that oil and gas from reliable producers like Canada are what our allies need.

We hear you, and we will deliver for you.

Canada is one of the world’s most trusted, responsible producers of oil and natural gas, and we will remain that way for decades to come — not just for our own economic benefit but so we can do our part to ensure energy security for North America, Europe, Asia and beyond.

To do our part as a trusted producer, our new government referred LNG Canada Phase 2 and Ksi Lisims LNG to our Major Projects Office. These projects — together with LNG Canada 1, which is now operating, as well as Cedar LNG and Woodfibre LNG, which are in advanced construction — will provide our allies around the world with a reliable gas supply in an increasingly unstable world. In fact, LNG Canada — the only LNG export facility on North America’s pacific coast — continues to ramp up production and just hit 50 cargoes. In total, we expect Canadian LNG supply to reach almost 50 MTPA by the end of this decade, supporting allies around the world, particularly in Asia.

We are also supporting the optimization of the TMX oil pipeline, which will bring it to a production capacity of 1,190,000 barrels per day by 2030, supplying more Canadian crude oil to our allies around the world.

And we are committed to doing more.

That is why we signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Alberta to strengthen co-operation on energy infrastructure and resource development. Because both Canada and Alberta agree that we must unlock and grow natural resource production and transportation in Western Canada so we can get our energy and natural resources to our allies, in collaboration with Indigenous Peoples and industry.

In fact, I was at Alberta’s pavilion just before this, and I must say, I am really proud to see the strength of our Team Canada presence in Houston this year, from not only Alberta but also Ontario, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador. To American and international companies and investors in the room, I encourage you to learn more about what all four provinces have to offer, because — between conventional energy, nuclear energy, critical minerals and on- and off-shore renewables — the opportunities are tremendous.

So Canada is not only back — we’re also open for business. In a world that feels increasingly dangerous and divided, Canada will continue to seek mutually beneficial trade relationships as part of our strategy to ensure energy and economic security. In the last eight months alone, Canada has signed 20 trade and security agreements across four continents.

Prime Minister Carney has set an ambitious goal of catalyzing $500 billion in private investment in Canada — and we have already seen success over the last year. In fact, in recognition of the opportunity Canada provides for strategic capital allocation — especially in energy and natural resources — foreign investment in Canada has surged to its strongest level in decades.

This is not about trading less with our American friends but about trading more with all our allies.

I want to take a moment to speak directly to the Americans in the room. I don’t think I need to tell you that not only are Canada and the United States deeply integrated when it comes to energy — this partnership has also been great for both our countries.

For decades, free trade between our two countries — from the Auto Pact in the 1960s to the USMCA today — has made us stronger, more secure and more prosperous. It has provided a way of life in North America that is the envy of the world.

When it comes to oil, gas, uranium, critical minerals and many other supply chains, you have no better, more reliable and more stable energy and resource partner than Canada.

And to our friends and allies in the audience from Asia, Europe, South America and beyond, I will say the same: For a reliable, stable partner with abundant energy and natural resources and with a national and sub-national governments that want to see our resources exported to allies, look no further than Canada.

While some nations look at energy as a coercive force, Canada looks at it as a unifying one.

This is the spirit Canada brings to CERAWeek this year. This is the message behind Canada House. And this is the energy future we are ready to build.

I wish you all a very productive and successful conference.

Thank you very much. Merci beaucoup.