Les StelmachThe Globe and Mail
The year started quite literally with a bang when the United States abducted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. So it’s a good time to check in with Les Stelmach, a well-seasoned oil and gas investor based in Calgary. He joined the board of Alberta’s Management Employees Pension Plan in 2023, but says he expresses his own views, not those of MEPP.
1. Of course politics affect the energy sector. But Stelmach, who spent two decades with what was Franklin Bissett Investment Management (now ClearBridge Investments), says one new thing is “this chaotic and destructive force known as Donald Trump.” In some ways, he says, Trump wants to “suck and blow at the same time” — support oil and gas producers, but lower U.S. gas prices to fight inflation.
2. If you ignore recent upheavals, the industry has done well. The S&P/TSX Equal Weight Oil & Gas Index has climbed from about 150 in 2021 to roughly 380 lately. But Stelmach says oil prices have been “kind of meh” — West Texas Intermediate crude was about US$65 then and still is, and Canadian natural gas prices are tepid. But producers are now more financially disciplined.
3. Does Canada now have enough pipelines? The Trans Mountain Expansion Project to the B.C. coast opened in 2024, roughly tripling the amount of Alberta crude loaded onto tankers. But Stelmach says that “if you assume some growth, we need more capacity”—preferably to ship more oil and gas across B.C. for export or more pipelines headed east. Canada needs to diversify its customer base.
4. It’s early days, but Stelmach is impressed with Prime Minister Mark Carney. In 2025, Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith signed a memorandum of understanding on energy. It helps the industry, recognizes Indigenous rights and keeps a carbon price in place, which will help producers reduce emissions. “You need a carbon price to make it viable,” Stelmach says.
5. Oil and gas are global businesses, and that’s how companies and investors should look at them. Stelmach’s sense is that, say, a decade ago, “ESG was at the forefront as money managers piled in and clients asked for it.” But now they’ve pulled back. A medium has to be found. Improved environmental practices help economic efficiency, he says. “Don’t let perfection be the enemy of the good.”