Discussions have been intensifying between Canadian provinces in recent weeks about the rationale for altering existing pipelines and/or building new capacity to allow for the transportation of western crude oil to eastern Canada. From a financial standpoint, we think that such a development would be a good thing. According to the most recent data compiled by l’Institut de la Statistique du Québec (ISQ), Quebec’s trade deficit caused by crude oil imports (Brent for the most part) stood at close to $13 billion at the end of last year. According to our calculations, the province’s economy could save close to $3 billion annually from switching its imports from Brent to Western Canadian Select (WCS), even after allowing for transportation costs – see Hot Chart. It may be difficult to know for sure how long the current spreads between WCS, West Texas and Brent will persist, but even a return to more normal levels would provide substantial savings.