Market Snapshot: Canadian crude oil imports dipped slightly in 2025, with most still coming from the U.S.

Release date: 2026-07-15

In 2025, Canada imported 506 thousand barrels per day (Mb/d) of crude oil, down 2% from 517 Mb/d in 2024. Imports remain roughly 200 Mb/d below pre-pandemic levels. This is partly due to the closure of the Come by Chance Refinery in Newfoundland and Labrador in 2020, which relied on imported crude oil.^Footnote 1 The total cost of imported crude oil was $17.8 billion in 2025, 14% lower than in 2024.

Figure 1: Annual Canadian crude oil imports

The United States remains Canada’s main source of imported crude oil

Since 2014, the United States (U.S.) has been Canada’s largest source of imported crude oil. In 2025, 75.6% of Canada’s oil imports came from the U.S., with most coming from the Gulf Coast (70.5%) and the remainder from the Midwest region (29.5%).^Footnote 2

Over the past three years, Saudi Arabia and Nigeria each supplied about one-tenth of Canada’s crude oil imports. In 2025, Saudi Arabia was the second-largest supplier at 11.2% of Canada’s total, followed closely by Nigeria at 10.9%. Imports from Saudi Arabia peaked at almost 20% of Canada’s total imports in 2018 but have decreased to around 10% since 2023.

Figure 2: Share of annual Canadian crude oil imports by country of origin

New Brunswick imported the most crude oil

Refineries need crude oil as feedstock to produce refined petroleum products (RPPs) like gasoline, diesel, heating oil, and jet fuel. Each refinery operator decides where to source its crude oil feedstock based on several factors, including quality, price, availability of local supply, transportation costs, and other logistical considerations.

Although Canada produces more crude oil than its refineries need, some provinces still import crude oil. In general, provinces with refineries located farther from western Canadian production sources–Ontario, Quebec, and New Brunswick–consistently import the most crude oil. Provinces located near domestic crude oil production and connected directly by pipeline generally do not need to import crude oil.

New Brunswick continued to import the most crude oil of any province in 2025. Canada’s largest refinery, the Irving Refinery in Saint John, is not connected to crude oil pipelines, so it relies on marine shipments for its crude oil feedstock. New Brunswick imports have been fairly consistent since 2017, averaging about 270 Mb/d in 2025.

Quebec remained Canada’s second-largest crude oil importer in 2025, although its imports have declined over the past decade. In 2025, Quebec imported 126 Mb/d of crude oil, entirely from the U.S. The Valero Refinery in Lévis, Quebec, Canada’s second-largest refinery, relies on marine shipments of imported crude oil in addition to western Canadian crude oil supplied by Enbridge Line 9.^Footnote 3

Ontario's refineries receive the majority of their oil from western Canada via the Enbridge Mainline System. In 2025, Ontario imported 87 Mb/d of crude oil, with 99.7% coming from the U.S. Ontario’s crude oil imports have increased steadily since 2020 and have returned to pre-pandemic levels.

Figure 3: Annual crude oil imports by province

Date modified:

2026-07-15