America Drained Its Oil Reserve. Then It Noticed Canada Owns 63% of Its Supply

The United States faces a critical structural energy vulnerability as it imposes tariffs on Canada, the source of 63% of its daily crude imports. American refineries are specifically engineered for Canadian heavy bitumen, meaning they cannot easily switch feedstocks without massive, decade-long infrastructure investments. This dependency is exacerbated by the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which has plummeted to a 43-year low, leaving little emergency capacity to absorb supply shocks. Meanwhile, Canada is systematically reducing its reliance on the American market by expanding pipeline capacity to Asia and securing long-term export agreements with China and other nations. By initiating a trade war while its energy infrastructure remains tethered to Canadian supply, Washington risks severe, long-term economic consequences as Canada pivots its energy exports toward more lucrative and stable international markets.