ABSTRACT
Canada is one of the world’s leading producers of food as well as a large consumer of the world’s total primary energy supply. Canada is also one of the largest energy exporters, playing an important role in the world’s consumption of energy. To understand Canada’s role in sustainable energy security, it is important to analyze its production, consumption and trade flows related to energy. Using the material and energy flow analysis (MEFA) indicators, this chapter attempts to operationalize the energy metabolism of Canada. The data for energy contains food and feed, renewable and non-renewable energy sources. This chapter answers the following three questions: How has the metabolic profile of Canada changed over time? How does Canada compare to other nations such as the United States in terms of its energy usage? What is the potential for a transition to sustainability in the Canadian energy sector? The results indicate that Canada is self-sufficient with regard to energy consumption with the exception of a few food crops. In Canada, 54% of the technical energy domestically extracted is used for exports whereas 29% of locally consumed technical energy comes from imports. The chapter further elaborates on the role of food and feed in Canada’s total energy metabolism. The contribution adds to the growing research on social metabolism and provides data points for Canada for the global MEFA database.
