The US now produces half of the oil it consumes with the production level increasing and the consumption level decreasing at a rate in which the US will be energy independent in the next ten to twenty years. After this 'checkpoint,' the US is expected to replace Saudi Arabia, Iran, Kuwait, the UAE, Iraq, Venezuela, and other OPEC countries as the biggest exporter in oil. The point is that Canada has much, much more oil than the United States, yet they are slow to seize their oil. Yes, Canada has SOME oil they are producing, but it is very insignificant to the level they could be producing at. So at this point, you're probably thinking Canada is a bit foolish not to have acted better on this chance. However, in a way they could be making an intelligent long term decision. Western and industrialized nations are ever so slowly turning away from the use of dirty fossil fuels, but oil will still be extremely popular for countries still developing in the next decades (such as Asia, and eventually Africa) and they will profit much more when fewer countries still have oil to produce. Anyways, is Canada making the smart decision or are they missing out on an opportunity to make themselves rich?