The number of people needed to produce a barrel of oil has been declining since 2012 -- and no, it isn't Ottawa's fault (it's happening in Texas too). If we want to create jobs in the future, they have to be jobs *of* the future. #cdnpoli #abpoli www.nationalobserver.com/2025/08/28/o...
Is the increase in productivity Ottawa's fault? Impossible -- everything the feds have done to increase productivity, in every sector, has pretty much failed. So, the blame for a productivty increase rests purely with the private sector, I assume.
The feds were/are pushing green energy but corporations/conservatives aren’t buying.(ditto Notley who wanted to diversify the economy).
Please do not call it industry when its practices are that of the mafia.
Isn’t carbon capture a huge fucking scam that fossil fuel industries have used to pretend they don’t have to change at all?
Lol yup. Painfully obvious BS that continues to somehow mop up public funding.
I think you’re right But there is some cooler stuff happening too. aqualung-cc.com
Yes. Yes it is.
O&G needs to clean up before being allowed to mine more. Giving them free rein while their profits rise is a disservice to Alberta and Canada 🇨🇦
If you look at the multipliers used in the Federal government models, the jobs per $1million new investment in O&G is very low while the number of jobs invested in Arts & Entertainment is relatively very high. Now whether this is communicated to the Politicians or whether they care is the question
Automation in agriculture is coming, horticulture crops first then cereals and oilseed crops
Sadly I know too many young men who believe they can blindly follow in their father’s footsteps and acquire great riches in the patch with nothing more than a trades certificate or high school diploma. The great normalization of Alberta continues.
great point. I would like my 18 year old nephew to focus on a skill that’s needed in both economies. Electricians are needed by oil refineries and is going to be a booming industry for a decade or two. But he’s in Taber, and isn’t taking advice from his “woke” uncle
Many skills are needed no matter the state of the patch. What’s changing is the idea that a kid with no skills can get in to the patch and make $200k just for waking up in the morning. Being an electrician here will be no different than being an electrician anywhere else.
Having electrician skills that cross from O&G to housing and condos could be the ticket, for now, as everyone wants to build more housing.
I don't know about that, my brother decided that he was better off working for the railway than in Fort Mac., electrician jobs have dried up.
It was similar in BC with the forestry industry.
Doesn't sound like mass deportations that the Lloydminster racists are calling for is going to help their younguns' get a job. Maybe they should try encouraging their kin-folk to pursue an education or job training in something other than O&G. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
About the same time that the O&G corps stop bribing them
Or...we could see about that UBI thing and try to move ourselves into a post-scarcity model.
I choose to be non ignorant of the proven reality climate change. I support natural gas pipeline expansion to methane pyrolysis facilities, to split methane into hydrogen and solid carbon. Natural gas is part of the climate change solution.
It’s a story that sells to Alberta voters and most importantly, makes more money for oil companies (who seem to wholly own the Alberta govt)
Coal production was exactly the same. People should not be shocked
Most people don't know that this is happening at all. They think more oil = more jobs.
I think you're right. It's almost too obvious, but it isn't something people spend a lot of thinking time on. Innovation will almost always lead to this sort of efficiency, but it is often overlooked.
It's nice to see some numbers put on these changes. For anyone in the industry... yes automation, yes M&A but also crushing workloads for any that remain. There is also very little competition between the major operators which allows them to run folks ragged for less pay.
Awesome post 👏
Fewer people employed, lower royalty rates, not to mention cost of cleaning up abandoned oil wells--what's really in it for Albertans?
The whole purpose of Trickle Down Economics, at least it terms of rationale for the public good, is that the companies that get the tax breaks create large scale, stable, & well-paying jobs for citizens. Now it’s being used to automate, hire less workers & maximize profit so what are we doing? 🤷🏽 🤔
Fantastic article as usual, Max. Bang on. A reality check is coming to those in public Alberta leadership positions who continue to - willfully - avoid seeing the forest through the trees. In fact, their heads are far too deep in the sand. The oil sands, of course.
Over 25 years in the control systems world, I watched as pipeline control centres went from 1 operator / pipeline or region of pipeline down to 1-2 operators overseeing an entire network. Very few jobs are immune to those considerations.
rugged *unemployed* individualism
And having fewer workers and more output is considered to be good for productivity in the business world, something the fossil fuel pundits like to overlook when talking about Canada's oil. Thanks for your work on this issue, Max. It's refreshing to read a factual take on the oil industry.
Exactly. They label corporate greed as "efficiency", and write a report to gloss over everything involved in this efficiency.