Nicholas Cartel's Bottom Line Brief

  Together the US and Canada produce more oil than anywhere else on Earth, according to SP Global.  President Trump, who took office on January 20, 2025, for his second term, had planned to charge a 25% tariff on Mexican crude and a 10% levy on Canadian crude beginning in March, which has now been removed. Nonetheless, the threat of tariffs exposes Canada’s vulnerability.  Canada, the biggest oil supplier to the U.S., exports some 4 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude into the U.S., 70% of which is processed by Mid-Continent refiners. A barrel of Western Canada Select (WCS) heavy crude in Alberta has been reported to trade at approximately $13.00 below Western Texas Intermediate (WTI), as compared with Mars sour, a US medium sour crude produced along the US Gulf of Mexico (America), at approximately $2.00 above WTI. The US continues to be the largest source of Canada’s imported crude oil. In 2023, 72.4% of Canada’s oil imports originated from the US, compared to 72.0% ...

  On July 29, 2024, the Competition Bureau provided a news release that it is officially launching its market study of competition in domestic air passenger services. Specifically, the Bureau plans to examine three key topics:  • the state of competition in Canada’s airline industry;  • the barriers to entry and expansion that exist in the domestic industry; and  • the impediments to Canadians seeking to make informed choices for air travel.  The link to the news release is here: https://www.canada.ca/en/competition-bureau/news/2024/05/competition-bureau-to-study-competition-in-canadas-airlines-industry.html. The market study is likely based on the new powers provided by amendments to the Competition Act that took effect in December, 2023, which provides the Commissioner of Competition with the power to seek a court order compelling companies to produce volumes of documents and electronic information in support of market studies, which are intended to include in...