Alberta supplied nearly all the synthetic crude oil and about two-thirds of the conventional crude traded between Canadian provinces and territories in 2024, according to a new Statistics Canada report.

The findings show how energy connects Alberta producers and communities to refineries, distributors and consumers elsewhere in Canada.

Energy products accounted for more than one-fifth of Canada’s internal trade in goods during the year.

Conventional crude oil was the largest energy product in that trade, with a value of $15.8 billion. It represented 7.1 per cent of all goods moving between provinces and territories.

Synthetic crude oil added another $10.1 billion.

Statistics Canada reported that nearly all interprovincial synthetic crude shipments originated in Alberta. The province also supplied roughly two-thirds of the conventional crude moving across provincial borders.

Synthetic crude is produced by upgrading bitumen into a lighter product that can be transported and processed by refineries. Much of Canada’s supply comes from Alberta’s oilsands.

The figures form part of a broader Statistics Canada study examining the size and composition of Canada’s internal market.

About $527 billion in goods and services moved between provinces and territories in 2024. That total was equal to 17 per cent of Canada’s gross domestic product.

Services accounted for approximately $306 billion of the total, while goods accounted for $221.2 billion.

Internal trade was equal to 34.2 per cent of Canada’s combined domestic and international trade in 2024. Its share has declined substantially since 1981, when trade between provinces and territories represented 50.6 per cent of the total.

The change does not mean internal trade has decreased in dollar terms. Its nominal value grew by 435 per cent between 1981 and 2024, but international imports and exports expanded much faster.

Energy remains one of the clearest examples of regional specialization within Canada. Alberta produces more crude oil than it can use or refine within the province, while refineries and fuel markets elsewhere depend on shipments from western producers.

That relationship makes pipelines, railways and other transportation systems important parts of internal trade.

It also connects rural Alberta communities to economic activity outside the province. Oil production supports field workers, contractors, equipment suppliers, transportation companies and municipal tax bases in energy-producing regions.

The report cautions that internal trade figures measure economic activity across provincial and territorial borders. They do not include goods and services sold within the province where they were produced.

Statistics Canada also found that approximately 1.6 million Canadian jobs were directly connected to internal exports in 2022. Manufacturing accounted for the largest number, followed by professional, scientific and technical services and wholesale trade.

Mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction accounted for 12.7 per cent of internal trade when industries were measured in 2022.

The report arrives as federal, provincial and territorial governments continue discussing ways to make it easier for workers, goods and services to move across Canada.

Removing regulatory differences would not eliminate geographic and transportation costs. The new figures nevertheless show that Alberta energy already operates as a major part of the national internal market.