Hours after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, purportedly to “de-Nazify” a country led by an elected Jewish president, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Canada would join allies in sanctioning the assets of 58 people and entities it holds responsible for Russia’s “reckless and deadly military strike.”

Those include Russia’s ministers of defence, finance and justice. The idea, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said Thursday, is to target friends and supporters of President Vladimir Putin personally.

“You are not going to be able to be a high roller, enjoying all of the fantastic things which Western democracy has created, and continue to support this evil, barbaric policy,” Freeland said.

Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly said Canada would forbid exports of aerospace technology and minerals to Russia, with the goal of weakening Vladimir Putin’s government and the Russian economy.

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce replied cautiously. “We support efforts by Canada and its allies to find an urgent resolution to the conflict,” it said in a statement, without commenting on any of the economic measures Canada is applying.

The immediate impact on Canada’s economy: Financial markets in Canada reacted with aplomb. The TSX opened lower but ended above yesterday’s close—unlike in Europe and Asia, where stocks opened lower and stayed there. Canadian government bond yields also kept steady.

The benchmark North American oil price, for West Texas Intermediate crude, reached US$93.33 a barrel. That’s a level not seen since 2014, but it follows a steady upward march that began in December.

What Canada is doing: Joly said cancelling export permits would affect about $700 million worth of goods. In 2021, Canada exported about $650 million in goods to Russia and imported about $2.1 billion worth; those are each fractions of a percentage point of Canada’s trade.

The two countries are more competitors on the global market than cooperators, as major exporters of both wheat and oil. If Russia’s sales of those commodities are blocked, Canadian producers could benefit—but Canadian buyers would be affected by the same rise in global prices.

Thursday’s measures add to preliminary sanctions Canada imposed Tuesday, which include forbidding Canadians to buy Russian sovereign debt. Canada has not called for Russia to be cut off from the SWIFT banking network, which would effectively isolate its financial institutions—but also cut off creditors from collecting money Russians owe them.

What it means for oil and gas: High oil prices are good for the Canadian provinces that produce it (Alberta, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador), and bad for the provinces that consume it (especially Ontario and Quebec). Alberta Premier Jason Kenney responded to the invasion by calling for a global embargo on Russian oil and gas exports, which would create a gap that Alberta petroleum would help fill.

Russia is a huge exporter of natural gas to western Europe, particularly Germany; in Britain, Prime Minister Boris Johnson called on Europe to “collectively cease the dependence on Russian oil and gas that for too long has given Putin his grip on western politics.” That could also create an opening for Canadian exports—though getting western Canadian natural gas to the Atlantic isn’t easy.

Canada also imports some Russian oil, to fill demand in the eastern provinces, though a tiny fraction of what it brings in from the United States and other countries. Cutting off the Russian supply could mean an opening for more expensive domestic sources.