The countries that emerge strongest from the current energy crisis will be those that can use their energy more wisely, according to a Financial Post special report. Canada has a vital role to play in the changing energy landscape, from conventional energy supplies to clean energy technologies and critical minerals. Yet today's crisis has laid bare a deeper vulnerability: countries remain highly exposed to energy shocks when they consume more energy than needed to deliver economic growth.
Energy Efficiency: The Overlooked Resource
One of Canada's energy advantages may be hiding in plain sight: the opportunity to use energy more efficiently. The International Energy Agency (IEA) has long called energy efficiency the world's 'first fuel' because the most affordable and secure energy is the energy never produced or paid for. Energy efficiency delivers a rare triple dividend: stronger energy security, lower costs, and greater economic competitiveness, all while supporting local jobs.
Government Responses to the Middle East Crisis
Governments have taken serious actions to limit the near-term economic impacts of the Middle East crisis on businesses and households. More than 110 governments have introduced measures to conserve energy or support consumers. In Canada, this included suspending the federal fuel excise tax and introducing targeted measures to support the airline sector. These were immediate responses to an extraordinary disruption, but they also underscore the importance of making energy systems more resilient by reducing the amount of energy they require.
Lessons from History
History has shown that opportunity can emerge from crisis. Following the oil shocks of the 1970s, governments around the world, including in Canada, transformed how energy was used across their economies. Stronger building energy codes, appliance standards, and vehicle efficiency requirements delivered remarkable progress. For example, major household items such as refrigerators and cars became nearly twice as efficient within roughly a decade.
The result was not sacrifice, but prosperity. Higher efficiency helped raise living standards, lower energy bills, and strengthen economic resilience. Today, the global economy requires roughly half the energy to produce the same level of economic output as it did in the 1970s, a transformation that has supported decades of growth and made economies more resilient to major energy supply shocks.
Scaling Up Existing Policy Tools
A key advantage today is that governments are not starting from scratch. Many of the policy tools required to improve energy efficiency are already in place. The challenge for countries now is to scale them up with greater ambition and speed. At a time when countries are racing to secure more energy in all its forms, they should not overlook the resource that every nation—and every province and territory in Canada—has in abundance: the opportunity to use energy more efficiently.
