ICYMI: 2025 News Round-Up from YCR

Happy New Year! We can’t believe it’s already 2026 – it feels like just yesterday we were listening to Drake’s “One Dance” and J.B.’s “Love Yourself” (both charted 10 years ago)…

Looking in the rear-view at 2025, it was a year filled with a ton of headlines in the energy/resources space and otherwise.

A new federal government. An ongoing trade war. Massive merger deals. There’ve been more major energy and resource-related news stories than most of us can keep up with in 2025.

Let’s face it – it can be hard to pay attention to the news while also juggling school, work, and life. After a long week, distilling and digesting complicated news stories is just about the last thing we want to do. That’s not to mention the million other attention draws on our phones and TVs these days.

That said, the happenings of the energy and natural resources sectors have a real impact on our lives. It may not feel like it sometimes, but things like energy deals, new projects, and changes to law and policy are super important. Why? How about more jobs, cheaper electricity, and a stronger economy? Sounds pretty important to us.

So, in case you missed them, here are some of the biggest energy/natural resources stories of the year (excluding December):

January

• On the day of his inauguration, US President Donald Trump promises to impose tariffs on Canada and Mexico, causing significant concern that the tariffs (and the threats of tariffs) would negatively impact Canada’s economy

February

• US President Trump announces a 25% tariff on most Canadian products, signalling the start of a months-long, constantly changing tariff war affecting many Canadian industries, including steel, potash, and energy

March

• Two major Canadian O&G producers combine as Whitecap Resources acquires Veren Inc. in a $15 billion transaction

April

• Ontario introduces Bill 5, the “Protect Ontario by Unleashing Our Economy Act”, which is aimed at streamlining regulatory approvals for critical minerals and other major infrastructure projects, with a particular emphasis on developing northern Ontario’s Ring of Fire region
• BC enacts Bill 15, the “Infrastructure Projects Act”, to shorten the regulatory and permitting timelines for major projects across multiple sectors
• The federal Liberals are elected after having run on a pro-projects platform that focussed on strengthening Canada’s economy in the face of economic threats from the US

May

• Addressing the Calgary Chamber of Commerce, federal Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson discusses Canada’s potential to become a global “energy superpower”, reflecting a positive trend towards federal government support for natural resource development in 2025

June

• Federal government passes Bill C-5, the “One Canadian Economy Act”, aimed at expediting major projects (through the new Major Projects Office) and breaking down inter-provincial trade barriers
• LNG Canada – Canada’s only major LNG export terminal – sends its first shipment to market, bound for South Korea

July

• BC’s forestry sector takes a “gut punch” as the US slaps a 20% anti-dumping duty onto Canadian lumber in addition to widespread tariffs in relation to the US-Canada trade war

August

• Canada and Germany sign a critical minerals partnership, reflecting Canada’s growing ambition to export raw materials (natural gas, minerals, etc.) to the EU

September

• Major Projects Office announces the first round of projects it’ll review on an expedited basis
• Teck Resources (a major Canadian mining company with operations in BC and around the world) announces a $70 billion merger with Anglo American, a British mining company – the new company, Anglo Teck, will be headquartered in Vancouver

October

• Prime Minister Carney and US President Trump discuss reviving the defunct Keystone XL project, a major cross-border pipeline project that would’ve carried crude oil from Alberta to refineries on the US Gulf coast
• New Brunswick Power executives tell a government committee that the province is at risk of running out of electricity in as little as 3 years if new generating capacity isn’t added – this comes in the midst of the New Brunswick government moving to build a new natural gas plant to meet growing demand

November

• Ontario Government announces $26.8 billion plan to refurbish the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station – this refurbishment project will create 35,000+ jobs
• Federal budget bill signals end to oil and gas sector emissions cap and removal of certain anti-greenwashing provisions in the Competition Act – changes announced but yet to be concretely implemented
• Major Projects Office announces the second round of projects it’ll review on an expedited basis
• Two Canadian energy giants merge as Cenovus (second biggest Canadian O&G company) acquires MEG Energy in a $8.6 billion deal, after a heating bidding war with Strathcona Resources
• The Alberta Government signs a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the federal government for a new energy deal that includes a new pipeline, carbon capture project investment, and a renewed look at the west coast oil tanker moratorium

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