"2016: Canada's Oil Sands Downturn Hints at Ominous Future"

"Low oil prices that caused project cancellations, as well as new climate policies, have activists seeing the beginning of the end in Canada's oil patch."

"It was a dark year for Canada's tar sands.

Plunging oil prices caused companies to cancel or delay nearly three dozen projects. Extensive wildfires forced producers to shut down operations for weeks. And after a decade that saw little action on climate change policy, Canadian officials began shaping plans to cap the tar sands' emissions and set a national price on carbon with an eye to meeting the country's commitment to the Paris climate agreement.

Now the question is whether the downturn is just a blip or is the start of a trend away from the expensive and carbon-intensive fuel."

Nicholas Kusnetz reports for InsideClimate News December 29, 2016.