ON THE ENERGY-RESOURCES OF CANADA

This study provides an energy outlook for Canada's energy resources, e nergy production and consumption, as well as energy trade, and a caref ul examination of the relationships between energy production and cons umption and price, economic, demographic and technological factors, an d an investigation of effective factors for future energy production a nd consumption. Technological advances have played a key role in alter ing the makeup of Canada's energy system. Technology has altered the w ay in which Canadians produce and consume energy, increasing the diver sity of sources, i.e. oil, natural gas, natural gas liquids, electrici ty, nuclear energy and renewables, and increasing flexibility of consu mption, i.e. net domestic consumption ranged from 6081 PJ to 8191 PJ b etween 1973 and 1993 with an increase of 35.0%, while primary energy p roduction increased from 6869 PJ to 13034 PJ with an increment of abou t 90% during this period. Energy conservation technologies have provid ed the technical basis for increasing the efficiency of energy use and shifting demand away from oil. Advances in energy use in the agricult ural, residential, industrial, transportation and commercial sectors r equire, in part, significant improvements in energy efficiency in Cana da. Similarly, research and development into improving recovery effici encies for oil sands and heavy oil have taken a priority. Improvements in alternative transportation fuel technologies have facilitated a si gnificant substitution of oil products by propane, compressed natural gas and methanol, as well as electricity and hydrogen for future poten tial. Energy is also an important element in Canada's economy. It is e xpected that the Canadian economy grows at an annual average rate of 2 .5% implying a doubling of Canada's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) until 2010. In 1990, the energy supply sector accounted for about 7.0% of t he real GDP and 17.0% of total investment. Also, the sector provided a bout 2.0% of total employment and energy exports generated 11.0% of ex port income. During the last decade, Canada's average yearly increase in energy consumption was between 1.0% and 2.0%, just slightly higher than the average annual population growth for the same period. In the light of these results, Canada is the world's most energy-intensive co untry and would continue to be such in future.