Jacob Irving is a natural fit as president of the Industrial Gas Users Association 

Late last year, when the Industrial Gas Users Association (IGUA) was searching for a new president following the retirement of Shahrzad Rahbar, they hired the ideal candidate: Jacob Irving.  

Well-experienced and passionately devoted to the Canadian energy scene, Irving had successfully led some of Canada’s most prominent energy industry associations, including the Oil Sands Developers Group, the Canadian Hydropower Association, and the Energy Council of Canada.  

Originally from the Huron and Franco-Ontarian community of Penetanguishene, following graduation from the University of Ottawa, his first job was as an Information Officer with the Library of Parliament in Ottawa, where he specialized in parliamentary procedure. That led him to South Africa—apartheid had fallen, and new provincial legislatures were being created. “I started on contract with the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) to help rewrite the Standing Orders for the Western Cape Provincial Parliament,” he recalls, and was later hired to help create their first Member of Parliament Induction Program. They were valuable years, he says. They set his mind for decades, influencing his choice of career. “Working and traveling throughout southern Africa, I was struck by the many communities that went dark after the sun went down,” he recalls. “Although I was working in the field of parliamentary procedure at the time, I was constantly struck by the importance of energy.” 

So, rather than return to Ottawa, he chose Calgary to pursue energy development (and to live with his wife-to-be, who worked for TC Energy). “It was the year 2000, and Canada was hosting the World Petroleum Congress for the first time,” he says. His involvement with the Congress was “an incredible opportunity to work with the many great and different energy companies headquartered in Calgary,” he says. “I was hired by BP Canada Energy Company following that experience to assist them with government and public affairs; this marked the beginning of my energy career.”   

His exposure to energy poverty in other countries triggered an interest in learning how Canada largely avoided the same scourge. One of the first, basic lessons he noted was that if a country could make more energy than it needed, it was far more likely to enjoy the advantages of energy security. During his time in Calgary, that became self-evident. “We have the oil sands, no other country does. I used to ask my family and friends, if the oil sands deposit has to be located in any country on earth, where else other than Canada would you like to see it placed? I still ask that question.”  

And constant questioning to ensure understanding any situation helps grow a career. “From my role as Executive Director for the Oil Sands Developers Group in Fort McMurray, I was approached to become President of the Canadian Hydropower Association,” he says. “The opportunity to return to Ottawa and learn about Canada’s other great foundational energy pillar was unique and exciting—I’m always thinking about the energy advantages Canada enjoys that others simply do not. There are many. The oil sands and our hydropower strengths are unique. We are also particularly strong in natural gas and nuclear. We have escaped the trap of energy poverty quite simply because we do it all and we do it well.”    

At this point, Irving was well on his way in a brilliant career. Next came the Energy Council of Canada, where “I was fortunate to promote all forms of Canadian energy expertise domestically and internationally,” he says. “Working with Global Affairs, we delivered the positive energy messages that we consolidated through Canada’s major national energy industry associations to interested audiences abroad: the United States, Poland, the UAE, Vietnam and South Africa.” They connected numerous Canadian companies with those missions abroad and the business opportunities they created.  

And, importantly, it also involved engagement with First Nations. “As we have since 2000, we recognize the Canadian Energy Person of the Year,” says Irving. “During my time with the organization, I was fortunate to be part of the selection of Chief Jim Boucher and, most recently, Chief Crystal Smith for the award. Along with Volumes One and Two of our publication, Indigenous Energy Across Canada, we were able to elevate and celebrate the growing leadership of First Peoples in Canadian energy development both at home and abroad. Indigenous energy leaders joined the Energy Council of Canada’s board of directors for the first time during my tenure. It was a privilege to learn, understand and promote their perspectives.”    

With the retirement of Dr. Rahbar, IGUA was seeking a new leader—and Irving was approached. He immediately gravitated toward it. “I was fortunate to learn about the oil sands while serving as the Executive Director for the Oil Sands Developers Group and then to learn about hydropower while serving as the President of the Canadian Hydropower Association,” he says. So what next?  

“I’ve enjoyed a diverse and rewarding career in the upstream energy sector but always felt I was missing an important dimension,” is his answer. “I understand the energy producers’ perspective, but what about the customer? In this (IGUA) role, I am fortunate to approach energy from the point of view of those who consume it and thereby underwrite its actual development. I bring a great deal of experience to the position but also value how it will make me a more well-rounded energy professional. I am truly fortunate to learn, understand and serve the needs of my members.”     

With all these considerations occupying IGUA, Irving still makes time for more mind-relaxing activities. “I like to downhill ski in the wintertime and water ski in the summer time,” he says. And there’s the all-important family. “We have two university-aged daughters and two high school-aged sons,” he says. “I like to focus on helping them realize opportunities that are the same or greater than the ones I was once afforded. I feel there was a time where this was not a remarkable thing to aspire to and that it didn’t even bear mentioning. But today, I think it requires much more of a parent’s time, effort, resources, and attention. It’s a good thing I really like my kids, almost as much as I like my wife.”