Canada-US Energy Sector Competitiveness Survey 2023

This report presents the results of the Fraser Institute’s 2023 Canada-US Energy Sector Competitiveness Survey regarding barriers to investment in oil and gas exploration and production facilities in each country. The survey responses have been tallied to rank Canadian and American jurisdictions according to the extent of such barriers.
A total of 165 respondents participated in the survey this year, providing sufficient data to evaluate four Canadian provinces and 13 American states.
For a second year in a row, Wyoming is the most attractive jurisdiction for oil and gas investment followed by North Dakota (2nd), Saskatchewan (3rd), Oklahoma (4th) and Kansas (5th).
Saskatchewan’s third-place ranking makes it the highest-ranked Canadian province this year. It is followed by Alberta (9th), Newfoundland (14th), and British Columbia (15th).
Investors indicated that uncertainty concerning environmental regulations, regulatory duplication and inconsistencies, and disputed land claims were more concerning in Canadian provinces than in US states.
On average, 68 percent of respondents were deterred by the uncertainty concerning environmental regulations in Canada compared to 41 percent in the United States. Similarly, 54 percent of respondents for Canada, on average, are deterred by regulatory duplication and inconsistencies compared to 34 percent for the United States. On average, 45 percent of respondents indicated that uncertainty concerning disputed land claims is a deterrent to investment in Canada’s provinces compared to 25 percent for the United States.
Overall, the US performs better than Canada in 13 out of the 16 policy factors.