Venezuela has huge implications. Canada better wake up. MOUs aren’t going to cut it. My piece from November https://financialpost.com/comm...

The Venezuela wild card

While Canada dithers, the U.S. may be preparing a bold pivot. A U.S. political escalation with Venezuela would likely be framed under the Monroe Doctrine, which historically asserts American influence over the Western Hemisphere to counter external powers. With Venezuela holding some of the world’s largest proven oil reserves, Washington could justify intervention as a strategic move to secure energy supply chains and prevent adversarial nations such as China or Russia from deepening their foothold in Latin America. U.S. Representative Maria Elvira Salazar recently hinted at Venezuela becoming “a field day” for American oil companies.

Engaging Venezuela not only unlocks access to vast reserves but also serves as a counterweight to Chinese and Russian influence in the region. Critically, Venezuela’s heavy crude is chemically similar to Canadian oil sands bitumen, meaning it could replace Canadian barrels at U.S. Gulf Coast refineries without major retooling. In essence, the U.S. sees Venezuela as a dual opportunity: energy security and strategic realignment. Whereas Canada, despite being a stable and friendly supplier, offers neither the same geopolitical payoff nor the chance to displace rival powers from America’s backyard.

This shift could have profound consequences for Canada. While the U.S. repositions itself to secure energy dominance and geopolitical influence, Canada is bogged down in internal disputes over carbon taxes, pipeline cancellations and costly carbon capture mandates that erode competitiveness. Instead of leveraging our vast resources to strengthen North American energy security, we risk becoming a passive bystander and watching investment and strategic relevance flow south.