Canada supplying 23.6 million oil barrels under IEA release plan

By Canadian Press on March 13, 2026.

OTTAWA — Canada has committed to supplying 23.6 million barrels of oil as part of a larger International Energy Agency plan to help stabilize energy markets as the war in the Middle East continues.

The announcement comes two days after Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson said Canada would “do its part” to lower the cost of oil globally.

A statement from the minister’s office says Canada’s natural gas exports will also expand in the coming months but provided no further details.

The statement says the 32 member countries of the International Energy Agency, including Canada, have agreed to a co-ordinated release of oil stocks.

It says this represents the “largest ever” oil stock release in the IEA’s history.

Global oil prices have been spiking because the war in the Middle East has shut down oil shipments through the critical Strait of Hormuz, where a fifth of the world’s global oil supply transits.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 13, 2026.

Catherine Morrison, The Canadian Press