Canada is the fifth-largest producer of oil in the world. But when the price of oil plummeted in late 2014, the country's oil-rich western province of Alberta began hurtling toward a recession, with widespread layoffs and historic reductions in drilling activity.The impact was felt across Canada, too. Crude oil is the country's number one export, and 99 percent of it is sold to the United States. But in recent years, the US has emerged as a major oil producer in its own right, following a revolution in controversial fracking technology that has increased US oil production and contributed to a global oversupply of oil. Now, Canada's energy sector faces the difficult question of how to meet new markets in a changing global energy landscape.VICE News visited Alberta, known as Canada's "Texas of the North," in what is normally high season for drilling — just before the frozen ground thaws — to explore how the bitter sting of low oil prices is affecting the region's the economy.Watch "Pipeline Nation: America's Broken Industry"Video Shows Iraq's Largest Oil Refinery Engulfed in Flames After Battle With the Islamic State"Read "Prosecutors Consider Criminal Charges in Santa Barbara Pipeline Break"Read "Shell's CEO Says We Can't Burn Fossil Fuels in an 'Unmitigated Way'"Read "Canada's Carbon Cutting Pledge Is Criticized for Being the Weakest Among Leading Economies"
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