Borderless Energy: How an integrated US – Canada natural gas market keeps energy affordable, reliable, and competitive across North America

Alisaleh Shariati

No 2026-02, CSLS Research Reports from Centre for the Study of Living Standards

Abstract: Energy policy has consequences that extend well beyond producers and pipelines to impact household and business costs. In North America, a key factor keeping energy affordable is the flow of Canadian natural gas into US markets. When gas moves freely across the border, households and businesses save billions of dollars. When gas trade is disrupted, those additional costs are passed on to consumers through higher heating bills, higher electricity prices, and higher costs for goods and services. This makes an integrated Canada–US natural gas market a major competitive advantage for both countries. It lowers energy costs, strengthens electricity reliability, supports manufacturing, and helps meet rapidly growing demand from data centers and other energy intensive industries. Preserving and strengthening this integration should be a priority for policymakers on both sides of the border.

Keywords: natural gas; Canada–US energy trade; energy integration; USMCA; natural gas exports; pipelines; energy affordability; electricity prices; energy security; grid reliability; manufacturing competitiveness; data centres; artificial intelligence; LNG; cross-border infrastructure; North America (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-06
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