Oct 28, 2026
On Tuesday — just days after oil traded above US$100 a barrel — ConocoPhillips, a Houston-based oil and gas producer with oilsands and natural gas operations in Western Canada, told its staff in Calgary to stay home and wait by their phones to hear whether they still had jobs.
This isn’t news that just impacts Alberta. The oil patch has been doing much of the heavy lifting for Canada’s economy this year, and what happens there reaches government budgets, jobs in other provinces and the portfolios of anyone who owns Canadian stocks.
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The cuts also point to an uncomfortable shift: even if oil prices are high, there’s no guarantee that will translate to more energy jobs. For Canadians counting on the sector to keep the economy steady, that changes the math.
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What do we know about the ConocoPhillips layoffs?
The company confirmed to CTV News that the Oct. 27 cuts affect employees and contractors in Calgary and at its Surmont and Montney operations, but it hasn’t said how many jobs are being axed. Dennis Nuss, the company’s director of media relations, told CTV that ConocoPhillips regularly reviews its organization to align with its long-term strategy and “remain well-positioned for future opportunities.”
This is the second year in a row of cuts to their Canadian workforce. Last year, the company announced plans to reduce its global workforce by 20% to 25% after acquiring Marathon Oil, a U.S. producer.
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Why are oil companies cutting jobs when prices are high?
The timing stands out. The December crude oil contract topped US$102 a barrel on Oct. 23 and prices like that could suggest an industry in expansion mode.
Instead, large producers keep getting leaner. Calgary-based Imperial Oil announced last fall it would cut about 20% of its workforce — roughly 900 jobs, mostly in Calgary — by the end of 2027. Richard Masson, an executive fellow at the University of Calgary School of Public Policy, told CBC that the move likely reflected a push for efficiency by “taking advantage of technology” more than a statement on the oil market.
The signal indicates that energy profits and energy employment are drifting apart. A price spike can still lift energy stocks and government revenues without adding many jobs.
Why should Canadians outside Alberta care?
The province of Alberta has been carrying the national job market. ATB Financial, the Alberta government-owned financial institution, calculates that Alberta accounted for 73% of Canada’s employment gains in the first three quarters of 2026. Meanwhile, Canada lost 68,000 jobs in September and the national unemployment rate rose to 6.5%.
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The sector’s reach also goes well beyond Alberta. According to Natural Resources Canada’s Energy Fact Book, the petroleum sector made up 7.2% of Canada’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2025 and directly employed about 199,500 people, while also supporting roughly 322,000 more jobs in industries that supply it. Governments collected an average of $24.4 billion a year from energy-sector companies between 2019 and 2023.
If those jobs and revenues weaken, the effects can ripple into other provinces’ economies and public budgets.
What does this mean for your investments?
Many Canadians own a share of the energy sector without realizing it. Together, banks and energy companies make up more than half of the S&P/TSX Composite Index, according to Cboe Canada, so a Canadian index fund in your Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) or Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) carries meaningful oil exposure.
Job cuts don’t necessarily hurt shareholders — leaner companies can mean bigger margins. But a portfolio built mostly on Canadian stocks is a concentrated bet on a few industries, including one that’s openly bracing for leaner times.
What to do now
- Check your portfolio’s sector mix, including what’s inside your index funds and ETFs, and decide whether your energy exposure fits your risk tolerance
- If your job is tied to resources, directly or through trucking, engineering, construction or professional services, don’t treat high oil prices as job security
- Keep an ample emergency fund that covers several months of essentials, since Employment Insurance (EI) replaces 55% of insurable earnings to a maximum of $729 a week in 2026
- If you work in energy, learn your minimum termination notice rights under Alberta law before you need them
The companies themselves are planning for tougher times even with prices high. Oil market analyst Rory Johnston, author of the Commodity Context newsletter, told CBC last year that producers were cutting to strengthen their balance sheets in case of a deeper price slump. It’s a page worth taking from their playbook, whether or not you work in energy. As Johnston put it: “They want to make sure that they are as prepared as possible.”
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Leslie Kennedy served as an editor at Thomson Reuters and for Star Media Group, followed by a number of years as a writer and editor and content manager in marketing communications, before returning to her editorial roots. She is a graduate of Humber College’s post-graduate journalism program and has been a professional writer and editor ever since.
