Canada Resource Reserves (2026)

1980

2025

What to know

As of 2021, Canada's reserves were dominated by crude oil: 170.30 billion barrels of proved reserves. It also held 73.00 trillion cubic feet of gas and 7.3 billion short tons of coal. Over the last decade, oil reserves edged lower (-3%). EIA stopped publishing oil and gas proved reserves in 2023; the figures above use the latest archived release, while coal continues to update through 2023. Beyond fossil fuels, Canada is the world's largest producer of Potash and a top-five producer of Gold and Nickel, part of a critical-minerals base spanning 11 commodities tracked by USGS. It also holds top-ten reserves of Lithium and Iron Ore.

Key reserves

Oil reserves (2021)

170.30 B bbl

Natural gas reserves (2021)

73.00 TCF

Coal reserves (2023)

7.3 B ST

Potash reserves (2025)

1.1 Gt

Gold reserves (2025)

3.2 kt

Lithium reserves (2025)

1.6 Mt

Key terms

Proved reserves: — Quantities of crude oil or natural gas that geological and engineering data demonstrate with reasonable certainty are recoverable under existing economic and operating conditions.
Recoverable reserves: — Coal that can be technically and economically extracted with current mining methods at current prices. Excludes inaccessible deposits.
Billion barrels (B bbl): — Unit for oil reserves. One barrel equals 42 US gallons or about 159 litres.
Trillion cubic feet (TCF): — Unit for natural gas reserves. One TCF is roughly 28.3 billion cubic metres.
Million short tons (M ST): — Unit for coal reserves. One short ton equals 2,000 lb or 907 kg.

Crude oil proved reserves

In 2021, Canada had 170.30 billion barrels of proved crude oil reserves. Over the prior decade, those reserves edged lower (-3%).

Natural gas proved reserves

In 2021, Canada held 73.00 trillion cubic feet of proved natural gas reserves. Reserves grew significantly over the prior decade (+18%).

Coal recoverable reserves

As of 2023, Canada's recoverable coal reserves totaled 7.3 billion short tons. That held roughly steady compared with a decade earlier.

The bottom line

Canada was a meaningful holder of crude oil reserves, which anchored its position in global energy markets.

Critical minerals (USGS)

Canada produces Lithium, Cobalt, Nickel, Copper, plus 5 more among USGS-tracked critical minerals.

USGS marks 2025 production figures and all reserve estimates as estimated; some earlier production years are USGS estimates as well. Each commodity below charts its own mine-production history, with the 2025 reserve shown beneath its chart.

Lithium production

Cobalt production

Nickel production

Copper production

Natural Graphite production

Gold production

Iron Ore production

Zinc production

Phosphate Rock production

Potash production

Reserves only (2025)

USGS reports 2025 reserves for these commodities but no mine-production history for Canada, so they have no chart.

Rare Earths reserves

830,000 metric tons

2025 (est.)

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration · Updated June 2026

What to know

Key reserves

Oil reserves (2021)

170.30 B bbl

Natural gas reserves (2021)

73.00 TCF

Coal reserves (2023)

7.3 B ST

Potash reserves (2025)

1.1 Gt

Gold reserves (2025)

3.2 kt

Lithium reserves (2025)

1.6 Mt

Key terms

Proved reserves: — Quantities of crude oil or natural gas that geological and engineering data demonstrate with reasonable certainty are recoverable under existing economic and operating conditions.
Recoverable reserves: — Coal that can be technically and economically extracted with current mining methods at current prices. Excludes inaccessible deposits.
Billion barrels (B bbl): — Unit for oil reserves. One barrel equals 42 US gallons or about 159 litres.
Trillion cubic feet (TCF): — Unit for natural gas reserves. One TCF is roughly 28.3 billion cubic metres.
Million short tons (M ST): — Unit for coal reserves. One short ton equals 2,000 lb or 907 kg.

Crude oil proved reserves

In 2021, Canada had 170.30 billion barrels of proved crude oil reserves. Over the prior decade, those reserves edged lower (-3%).

Natural gas proved reserves

In 2021, Canada held 73.00 trillion cubic feet of proved natural gas reserves. Reserves grew significantly over the prior decade (+18%).

Coal recoverable reserves

As of 2023, Canada's recoverable coal reserves totaled 7.3 billion short tons. That held roughly steady compared with a decade earlier.

The bottom line

Canada was a meaningful holder of crude oil reserves, which anchored its position in global energy markets.

Critical minerals (USGS)

Canada produces Lithium, Cobalt, Nickel, Copper, plus 5 more among USGS-tracked critical minerals.

Reserves only (2025)

USGS reports 2025 reserves for these commodities but no mine-production history for Canada, so they have no chart.

Rare Earths reserves

830,000 metric tons

2025 (est.)

United States of America

What to know

Key reserves

The bottom line

Critical minerals (USGS)

Reserves only (2025)

United States of America

What to know

Key reserves

The bottom line

Critical minerals (USGS)

Reserves only (2025)