Energy statistics, March 2026
Released: 2026-06-01
26.9 million cubic metres
March 2026
0.2% 
(12-month change)
10.1 million cubic metres
March 2026
5.1%
(12-month change)
755.1 million gigajoules
March 2026
5.6%
(12-month change)
58.2 million megawatt-hours
March 2026
2.9%
(12-month change)
Primary energy production (+0.9%) increased year over year to 2.2 million gigajoules in March, with gains in five of the six subsectors. Secondary energy production rose 2.7% with refined petroleum products contributing the most to the increase.
Chart 1
Year-over-year contribution to change in primary energy production
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Production and exports of natural gas continue to climb in March
Production of marketable natural gas rose 5.6% year over year to 755.1 million gigajoules in March, with production in British Columbia (+13.8%) contributing the most to the increase, followed by Alberta (+1.2%). Over the past 12 months, growth in the production of natural gas has been driven by increasing demand for exports.
Total exports of natural gas rose 7.4% to 339.7 million gigajoules in March, of which 282.1 million gigajoules went to the United States, down 10.8% from the same month a year earlier, while 57.6 million gigajoules were shipped overseas. This was the highest level of exports to countries other than the United States since Canada began exporting liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Kitimat, British Columbia, in July 2025.
Chart 2
Marketable production and exports of natural gas
Crude oil production edges up
Production of crude oil and equivalent products edged up 0.2% to 26.9 million cubic metres in March, the smallest year-over-year increase in 10 months.
On a year-over-year basis, a 3.2% increase in oil extraction (non-oil sands) was partially offset by a 1.2% decrease in oil sands production in March. Production of synthetic crude oil fell 6.4% to 6.3 million cubic metres due to maintenance on the Alberta natural gas pipeline system which limited deliveries to some facilities in the oil sands for several days. Meanwhile, production of crude bitumen was up 2.1% to 10.9 million cubic metres in March, partially offsetting the overall decline in oil sands production.
Exports of crude oil rose 4.2% year over year to 22.5 million cubic metres in March, the highest level recorded since the start of this series in 2016. The increase in March was driven primarily by a 5.9% increase in exports by pipeline to the United States as global demand increased sharply following the start of the conflict in Iran. Exports to countries other than the United States also contributed to the overall gain, up 25.4% to 3.4 million cubic metres, while exports to the United States by other modes of transportation fell 47.0% year over year.
Chart 3
Production and exports of crude oil and equivalents
Production and exports of finished petroleum products set records for March
Production of finished petroleum products rose 5.1% year over year to 10.1 million cubic metres in March. Motor gasoline (+8.1%), distillate fuel oil (+4.0%), and kerosene-type jet fuel (+19.5%) all contributed to the gain. This was the highest level of March production for finished petroleum products recorded since this series began in 2019, as well as the highest March level for each of the three products individually. Similarly, exports of finished petroleum products jumped 13.3% to 2.1 million cubic metres, the highest March export level recorded in this series. The high production and export levels may be the result of refiners responding to restricted global supply and elevated prices for petroleum products caused by the conflict in Iran.
Meanwhile, domestic consumption of finished petroleum products (+0.1%) edged up slightly in March.
Chart 4
Production and exports of finished petroleum products for the month of March, 2019 to 2026
Generation and exports of electricity climb in March
Total electricity generation in Canada was up 2.9% year over year to 58.2 million megawatt-hours (MWh) in March. Generation from combustible fuels (+6.4%) led the growth, primarily due to an increase in Ontario (+48.7%).
Generation from nuclear (+7.8%) also contributed to the overall increase in March due largely to units at Bruce and Darlington nuclear generating stations in Ontario returning to operation during the month following periods of maintenance.
Exports of electricity to the United States jumped 48.8% year over year to 3.1 million MWh in March, with Quebec (+403.6%) driving the increase. In March 2025, Quebec's exports were low due to persistent drought conditions which reduced the province's hydroelectric generation and export capacity.
Imports of electricity fell 7.9% to 2.3 million MWh in March 2026.
Chart 5
Exports of electricity from Quebec
Focus on Canada and the United States
For data and insights on areas touched by the socioeconomic relationship between Canada and the United States, see the Focus on Canada and the United States web page.
Canada's first liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal began shipments in July 2025, exporting LNG from Kitimat, British Columbia, to the global market. Previously, all Canadian exports of natural gas went to the United States. A new data series is now available in table 25-10-0086-01 as part of the monthly natural gas survey, which includes exports of natural gas to countries other than the United States.
For more information about LNG export data produced by Statistics Canada, see LNG EXPORT DATA: CER and Statistics Canada Explained.
Note to readers
The Energy Statistics Program relies on data collected from respondents and administrative sources.
The Consolidated Energy Statistics table (25-10-0079-01) presents monthly data on primary and secondary energy by fuel type (crude oil, natural gas, electricity, coal, etc.) in terajoules and supply and demand characteristics (production, exports, imports, etc.) for Canada. For more information, consult the Consolidated Energy Statistics Table: User Guide.
Data in this release are not seasonally adjusted.
The following survey programs support the "Energy statistics" release:
- Crude oil and natural gas (survey number 2198; tables 25-10-0036-01 and 25-10-0063-01)
- Energy transportation and storage (survey number 5300; tables 25-10-0075-01 and 25-10-0077-01)
- Natural gas transmission, storage and distribution (survey numbers 2149, 5210 and 5215; table 25-10-0086-01)
- Refined petroleum products (survey number 2150; table 25-10-0081-01)
- Additional data from the Monthly Renewable Fuel and Hydrogen Survey (survey number 5294; table 25-10-0082-01), available on request
- Electric power statistics (survey number 2151; tables 25-10-0015-01 and 25-10-0016-01)
- Coal and coke statistics (survey numbers 2147 and 2003; tables 25-10-0045-01 and 25-10-0046-01).
Revisions
Energy data from surveys and administrative sources are subject to revisions to reflect new or updated information. Historical revisions will be processed periodically.
With this release, revisions have been made to the following data series:
- Table 25-10-0036-01: Natural gas liquids and sulphur products from processing plants data have been revised for the period from December 2025 to February 2026.
- Table 25-10-0046-01: Monthly coal production and export data have been revised for the months of January and February 2026.
- Table 25-10-0063-01: Supply and disposition of crude oil and equivalent monthly crude oil and natural gas data have been revised for the period from February 2024 to February 2026.
- Table 25-10-0081-01: Petroleum products by supply and disposition data have been revised for the period from December 2025 to February 2026.
- Table 25-10-0082-01: Renewable fuel plant statistics data have been revised for the months of January and February 2026.
- Table 25-10-0086-01: Natural gas data have been revised for the period of January 2025 to February 2026.
- Table 25-10-0079-01: Consolidated energy statistics have been revised to incorporate data from the above-mentioned revisions.
Starting with the January 2026 reference month, tables 25-10-0057 (Canadian monthly natural gas storage), 25-10-0058 (Canadian monthly natural gas transmission), 25-10-0059 (Canadian monthly natural gas distribution) and 25-10-0055 (Supply and disposition of natural gas) have been discontinued and replaced by table 25-10-0086 (Natural gas supply and disposition).
Table 25-10-0086 contains newly added data: receipts from other provinces, deliveries to other provinces, imports from the United States, imports from other countries, exports to the United States, exports to other countries, deliveries to natural gas processing plants, metering differences, line losses and adjustments. These data allow for a more comprehensive picture of the supply and disposition of natural gas in Canada.
With this release, historical data back to January 2016 have been added to table 25-10-0086.
Occasionally, data from Environment and Climate Change Canada are referenced by the Energy Statistics Program using Cooling Degree Days (CDDs) or Heating Degree Days (HDDs) as a measure of temperature. CDDs reflect the relationship between outdoor temperatures and the need to cool indoors to maintain room temperature. As temperatures outside rise, the number of CDDs increases. HDDs are the opposite and reflect the need to heat indoors to maintain room temperature. As temperatures outside fall, the number of HDDs increases.
Contact information
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).
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