Fraser Institute Study Finds Shunning Canadian Oil Will Force U.S. to Buy Crude from 'Repressive Governments'

CALGARY, ALBERTA--(Marketwire - July 20, 2011) - TransCanada Corporation (TSX:TRP) (NYSE:TRP) (TransCanada) highlights the findings of a new report by the Fraser Institute that found the United States will have to rely on getting its oil from repressive regimes overseas if it shuns crude oil imports from Canada.

The 134-page report, In America's National Interest-Canadian Oil A Comparison of Civil, Political, and Economic Freedoms in Oil-Producing Countries, was written by Dr. Mark Milke of the Fraser Institute - Canada's leading public policy think tank.

In his report, Dr. Milke measured how 38 major oil-producing jurisdictions performed on 17 comparisons of civil, political and economic freedoms. He found that 'in the absence of Canadian oil, Americans would likely face increased costs for oil and possible supply limitations. Unlike Canada, most oil imports are from governments that any reasonable person would find objectionable.'

The study cited a recent forecast from the International Energy Agency (IEA) that notes oil will remain 'the dominant fuel in the primary energy mix to 2035' with global crude oil demand reaching 99 million barrels a day by that time. The IEA also forecast that Canadian oil sands crude will play an increasingly important role in world oil supply through at least 2035, regardless of what governments do to curb demand. Currently, the U.S. consumes 15 million barrels of oil per day and imports 10 to 11 million barrels.

To quote Dr. Milke: "Oil will remain a chief component of the global energy mix for the next several decades, so the United States has two options: either continue to embrace oil imports from Canada - a safe, secure and stable ally with an excellent record on human rights - or resort to importing oil from governments that regularly violate human rights as a matter of policy, and in some cases, are state sponsors of terrorism.'

TransCanada's Keystone XL pipeline offers Americans a solution in making the choice Dr. Milke highlights as the crude oil pipeline would ensure a secure, stable supply of domestic U.S. oil and Canadian oil sands crude to refineries both in the U.S. Midwest and at the Gulf Coast in Texas.

Keystone XL would create 20,000 direct construction and manufacturing jobs, lead to 118,000 spin-off jobs and inject over $20 billion into the U.S. economy.

A copy of the Fraser Institute Report can be found at: http://www.fraserinstitute.org/uploadedFiles/fraser-ca/Content/research-news/research/publications/in-americas-national-interest-canadian-oil.pdf

With more than 60 years experience, TransCanada is a leader in the responsible development and reliable operation of North American energy infrastructure including natural gas and oil pipelines, power generation and gas storage facilities. TransCanada's network of wholly owned natural gas pipelines extends more than 57,000 kilometres (35,500 miles), tapping into virtually all major gas supply basins in North America. TransCanada is one of the continent's largest providers of gas storage and related services with approximately 380 billion cubic feet of storage capacity. A growing independent power producer, TransCanada owns, or has interests in, over 10,800 megawatts of power generation in Canada and the United States. TransCanada is developing one of North America's largest oil delivery systems. TransCanada's common shares trade on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges under the symbol TRP. For more information visit: www.transcanada.com.

FORWARD LOOKING INFORMATION

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