Fact Check: Would an Independent Alberta have the most oil reserves per person in the world?
Alberta's roughly 31,400 barrels per resident puts it ahead of major Gulf petroleum states like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar on this particular measure.
An independent Alberta would have more oil reserves per person than some of the world's wealthiest petroleum states, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
Alberta currently has about 158.9 billion barrels of proven oil sands reserves. With Statistics Canada putting Alberta's population at 5.06 million as of April 2026, that works out to roughly 31,400 barrels for every Albertan.
That's an extraordinary concentration of petroleum resources.
Alberta's government currently describes the province as having the fourth-largest proven oil reserves in the world, behind Venezuela, Saudi Arabia and Iran. Older Alberta government materials described the reserves as third largest, but updated international estimates have pushed Alberta into fourth place.
Saudi Arabia has about 267 billion barrels of proven crude reserves, while Kuwait has roughly 102 billion, Qatar 25 billion and the UAE about 113 billion, according to OPEC figures. Their substantially larger populations mean Alberta's roughly 31,400 barrels per resident puts it ahead of those major Gulf petroleum states on this particular measure.
A future government could choose to slash or abolish personal income tax and rely more heavily on resource revenues and other taxes, but that would depend on spending, royalty revenues, debt obligations and the services the new country chose to provide.
Sheila Gunn Reid
Chief Reporter
Sheila Gunn Reid is the Editor-in-Chief, Alberta Bureau Chief, member of the board of directors, and host of The Gunn Show at Rebel News. Sheila also serves as President of the Independent Press Gallery of Canada. A mother of three and longtime conservative activist, Sheila is the author of bestselling books, including her most recent release, Independence Blueprint: What Alberta Can Learn From Quebec.
https://mybook.to/sheila
COMMENTS
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Bruce Atchison commented 2026-08-20 20:06:18 -0400Let Ottawa sue. Mineral rights were seeded to the province in 1930 so they belong to Alberta. Sure Ottawa will throw a tantrum but we had a powerful bargaining chip. And if we unite with Saskatchewan and untie from Ottawa, we’ll be even stronger.
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Bernhard Jatzeck commented 2026-08-20 16:18:56 -0400The key word is “independent”. If Alberta was indeed successful in separating, the rest of Canada will be bombarding the province with lawsuits, claiming that the oil reserves actually belonged to “the people” or some such waffle.
