Canadian oil exports rose to record highs in November as non-US countries nearly tripled their consumption from a year earlier, according to Statistics Canada data released this week.
Canada exported 4.44mn b/d of oil in November, up from 4.21mn b/d a year earlier and 4.23mn b/d in October 2025, Statistics Canada reported.
The US remained the largest destination in November at 3.76mn b/d, down from the 3.97mn b/d in November 2024, as the expanded Trans Mountain pipeline continued to draw more volumes to Canada's west coast. Still, shipments to the US were up from 3.6mn b/d in October.
But Canada's oil exports to non-US countries rose to a record 676,000 b/d in November, surpassing the previous high of 674,000 b/d set in October and up nearly three-fold from 234,000 b/d in November 2024, as Asian demand for Canadian crude continued to climb.
The 890,000 b/d Trans Mountain pipeline was expanded by 590,000 b/d in May 2024, providing the first meaningful waterborne outlet for rising oil sands output that does not have to go through the US. It connects the trading hub of Edmonton, Alberta, to various points in British Columbia, including the Westridge Marine Terminal in Burnaby.
Production from the oil-rich province of Alberta hit a record high 4.4mn b/d in November, up from 4.2mn b/d in the same month of 2024, according to the Alberta Energy Regulator.
Importantly for Canada, the share of exports sent to non-US markets grew to 15pc in November, or about 1-in-6 barrels, up from 6pc in November 2024. Prime minister Mark Carney has vowed to further expand relationships with non-US partners, like China and India, to decrease dependency on the US. More energy exports to those nations are at the forefront of those plans.
The Trans Mountain Expansion (TMX), commissioned about a year before Canada found itself in a trade war with the US, highlights the strategic aspect of Canadian crude reaching new markets. Trans Mountain has plans to further expand its system by 300,000 b/d, with the first increase of 100,000 b/d coming as early as January 2027.
Meanwhile, the province of Alberta wants to build another pipeline to the west coast with capacity of at least 1mn b/d.
