Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs on Canadian crude oil have already shown signs of unsettling the country’s energy industry, raising concerns about investment and job losses.
According to analysts, the 10% tariff threatened could abruptly hit the sector, from which the US imports around four million barrels a day.
“I know that certainly the anxiety level is rising,” Canadian Association of Energy Contractors president Mark Scholz warned in a Reuters-cited interview.
“Any sort of investment reduction will have an immediate and very, very quick effect on our industry,” he added, pointing to a limited slowdown so far.
Having been delayed by a month, Trump’s tariffs are set to be enforced on Canadian goods and energy from Tuesday, with the level of these as yet unclear.
Canada's largest drilling rig operator, Precision Drilling, already reported a sharper-than-expected slowdown in its well servicing segment for the fourth quarter.
“Some of the tariff uncertainty slowed down customer decision-making,” chief executive Kevin Neveu said at the time.
TD Cowen analysts also previously cut Canadian rig count estimates from an average of 185 to 175 for 2025 and flagged producers would “err on the side of conservatism”.