CAPP survey shows oilpatch spends billions on Indigenous-affiliated businesses

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19 hours ago

Workers stop for lunch at the arena, one of many amenities and infrastructure projects the Indigenous community of 700 in the oilsands region has been able to finance through relationship with industry, in Fort McKay, Alta., on Thursday April 25, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Amber Bracken
CALGARY — A survey commissioned by the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers shows oil and gas companies spent more than $14 billion procuring goods and services from Indigenous-affiliated businesses between 2021 and 2023.
Data science firm iTOTEM Analytics collected numbers from 12 members of the industry advocacy group that together represent half of Alberta's oil and natural gas production.
The report says during the three-year period, almost 18 per cent of the industry's supply chain spending was directed to Indigenous-affiliated vendors, which iTOTEM defines as businesses with some degree of First Nations, Métis or Inuit ownership.
In Alberta, where the bulk of those funds were spent, the CAPP members did business with 585 Indigenous-affiliated enterprises across 110 municipalities and 45 Indigenous communities.
Most of the spending was on construction vendors, followed by environmental and industrial waste services and equipment services and maintenance.
CAPP says staffers of Indigenous descent make up seven per cent of the oil and gas workforce — well above the national average of just under four per cent.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 19, 2025.
Lauren Krugel, The Canadian Press