Talk of Canada as an energy superpower has taken hold again. Finance Minister Jim Flaherty -- who was just in Kananaskis to meet with provincial finance ministers -- recently reminded a New York audience of our desirability as a supplier of U.S. energy needs, noting our safe geo-political environment among other advantages over many of the world's regimes.

Flaherty was on to something. Since the Americans suffered a hostage taking in Tehran, Iran in 1979, American dependence on oil from that region has declined significantly.

In 1979, 24.5 per cent of America's oil imports came from the Persian Gulf countries; last year, just 14.4 per cent did. Back then, Canada accounted for just 6.5 per cent of all U.S. oil imports; as of 2009, Canada has a 21.2 per cent share of the U.S. import market -- the largest of any country.

Canada as a safe, reliable supply of energy to the U.S. and perhaps to the rest of the world, will only increase over the next several years and decades.

This is critical for Canadians, and others around the world who might be hyper-critical of oil and gas, to remember, especially as oil and gas will be necessary for a long time yet.

As Peter Boag, president of the Canadian Petroleum Products Institute noted recently in his presentation to the Senate standing committee on energy, environment and natural resources, gasoline and diesel -- fossil fuels -- will still be needed and make up the lion's share of how Canadians transport themselves and their goods for the foreseeable future. And the same applies to the rest of the world. That's due to simple physics: "They store large amounts of energy in a relatively small space and are therefore ideally suited for transportation use," said Boag in his presentation.

"By comparison, ethanol, the most widely used alternative fuel today, contains only two-thirds of the energy content of gasoline."

Cynics might assert Boag has self-interest in downplaying the viability of alternatives. But facts are facts and can't be wished away.

Even the International Energy Agency, in its recent forecast looking ahead to worldwide energy use 25 years from now, forecasts that even for its most radical carbon replacement plan and most hopeful energy efficiency plans, many of the technologies needed are not yet available and that many others require substantial refinement and cost reductions.

So by 2035, traditional sources of energy will still make up the vast bulk of energy usage -- and this despite the IEA's urging for governments to spend trillions over the next decades on alternative energies and hoped-for technological breakthroughs.

So does that mean Canada must only be a traditional oil and gas superpower? No, and in fact, Canada already leads the world when it comes to renewable energy.

For example, while Canada uses slightly more oil as a share of its total energy supply usage than the world average (35.3 per cent versus 33.1 per cent), we use far less coal than the world average (8.4 per cent compared to 21 per cent). Our use of cleaner-burning natural gas and nuclear power is also higher than the world average according to the International Energy Agency.

Importantly, we score substantially higher on usage of renewable energy as a portion of total energy supply usage. In Canada, 16.9 per cent of our energy supply is due to renewables -- mainly hydro sources; that compares to renewable usage of just 5.4 per cent in the United States, an OECD average of 7.3 per cent, and a world average of 12.8 per cent.

Canada will be a growing energy superpower in safe and secure oil and gas, but in many respects, on the type of energy the rest of the world wants everyone to use more of -- renewables -- Canada already is an energy superpower and leader.