The development of Canada's vast reserves of oil sands will make a mighty contribution to the U.S. economy and improve our national security as well.
Billions of dollars will be invested in this capital-intensive venture in the years to come, supercharging the Canadian economy and providing innumerable secondary benefits for Canada's primary trading partner, the United States.
Investment in Canadian oil sands and subsequent production will revitalize their economy and increase demand for U.S. goods and services. As many as 350,000 new jobs could be created in the U.S. in the next five years, and as much as $34 billion added to our gross domestic product.
Canada is our top oil supplier, sending nearly 100 percent of its oil exports to the United States -- half of which are derived from oil sands. Having a safe and reliable source of oil just across our northern border is an economic and national-security benefit of inestimable
value.
Illinois and the Midwest are already reaping benefits from the accelerating pace of investment in Canadian oil sands. Pipelines and refineries are generating thousands of jobs for our workers, ensuring the stability of our energy supplies, and contributing to our tax revenues.
Thanks to its oil sand deposits, Canada is second only to Saudi Arabia as the world's largest holder of recoverable oil reserves. More than a third of U.S oil imports could come from Canadian oil sands by 2035. As a major Midwest oil refiner and a hub for several major crude oil pipeline systems, Illinois is ideally situated to benefit from the oil sands boom.
This is a boom we don't want to miss.