Canada sent south more than 4.4 million barrels of oil a day in the week that ended Jan. 3, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, more than in any week since 2010—as far back as its open data extends. American imports of Canadian crude have resumed an upward trend since early 2023 after plateauing at around 3.5 million barrels a day after 2018. (The Logic)

Talking point: Canadian crude made up more than half of all U.S. petroleum imports and more than two-thirds of the crude oil it brought in, according to the figures; in recent years, without the energy trade, Canada’s goods trade surplus with the U.S. would have been a deficit. President-elect Donald Trump left Canadian oil off his list of goods the U.S. could do without as he mused earlier this week about using “economic force” to annex Canada. Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson retorted that oil, uranium, potash and other critical minerals give Canada leverage, and Trump’s assertion that the U.S. has no need for the country is “simply false.”