Suncor sells oil stakes to Ithaca Energy, linked to Israeli settlements
Prime Minister Mark Carney's commitment to ban trade with illegal settlements faces scrutiny over the sale.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
N.L.’s offshore oil could help bankroll a company linked to Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine
Photograph: Narcity (embedded from source)
What this story says
- Suncor has agreed to sell its stakes in the Terra Nova, White Rose, and West White Rose offshore oil projects to Ithaca Energy for CAD $1.2 billion, with an additional $350 million contingent on oil prices.
- Ithaca Energy is majority-owned by Delek Group, an Israeli oil and gas company listed in a UN database for activities in occupied Palestinian territories.
- Prime Minister Mark Carney committed to banning trade in goods with Israel’s illegal settlements in Palestinian territories.
- Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East stated that the effectiveness of Canada's trade ban depends on its details and enforcement.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 6 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. Coverage measured .
Trust
60/100
Craft
60/100
Hype
45/100
6 sources · methodology
Thin on the right so far
None of the 6 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated right.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
Suncor has reached an agreement to sell its interests in three offshore oil projects in Newfoundland and Labrador to Ithaca Energy. The sale includes Suncor's 48 per cent stake in Terra Nova, 40 per cent in White Rose, and 38.6 per cent in West White Rose. The deal is valued at CAD $1.2 billion, with the potential for an additional $350 million based on oil prices. Ithaca Energy would also assume operational control of the Terra Nova project.
Ithaca Energy is majority-owned by Delek Group, an Israeli oil and gas company. Delek Group has been named in a United Nations database for its involvement in activities that have raised human rights concerns in occupied Palestinian territories. The UN database lists allegations of Delek providing services and utilities that support settlements, including transport, and using natural resources for business purposes. Yitzhak Tshuva, an Israeli billionaire, is Delek's controlling shareholder.
Prime Minister Mark Carney previously committed to banning trade in goods with Israel's illegal settlements in Palestinian territories. He stated that settlements are illegal under international law and that Canada, France, and the UK would take steps to ban imports from settlements and enforce targeted measures. Human rights advocates have expressed cautious optimism, with Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East noting that the ban's effectiveness will depend on its specific details and enforcement.
Disagreement on company's current involvement
Delek Group has claimed it is no longer involved in settlements and was wrongly named in the UN database, according to the UK's Daily Telegraph. The UN's Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights stated that its commission considered alleged involvements between August 2, 2019, and April 15, 2026, for inclusion in its database update released on September 25, 2026. The update reflects a factual assessment of involvement during that period.
What the coverage left out
None of the left- or centre-rated reports mentioned any comment from Newfoundland and Labrador's Energy Minister Lloyd Parrott, who was reportedly asked for comment by The Independent. Global Affairs Minister Anita Anand was also asked for comment by The Independent, but no response was received by the time of publication, and this was not mentioned in the left- or centre-rated reports.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 5 times, most recently on 9 Oct 2026, 21:00, and will add the sides that appear.
How other outlets pictured it
Which photograph to run is each newsroom’s own choice. The leaning beside a name is that outlet’s published rating, not a claim that the pictures divide along it. Every picture is shown from the outlet’s own server and links to the article it ran in.
Prime Minister Mark Carney (left) has committed to banning trade in goods with Israel’s illegal settlements in the Palestinian territories. Israeli billionnaire Yitzhak Tshuva (centre) is a majority shareholder of Delek Group, which has a majority ownership of Ithaca Energy. N.L. Energy Minister Lloyd Parrott (right) did not answer questions from The Independent about Ithaca’s impending takeover of Suncor’s stakes in three of the province’s offshore oil projects. Terra Nova photo: IceSpecialist/Wikimedia.
theindependent.ca — embedded from source
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
5 rated outlets
- The left-rated reports focused on the potential for the sale to contribute to Israel's illegal occupation of Palestinian territories. They highlighted that Ithaca Energy is majority-owned by Delek Group, an Israeli company named in a UN database for activities in occupied Palestinian territories. The reports also noted Prime Minister Mark Carney's commitment to banning trade with illegal settlements and questioned whether the acquisition aligns with this policy. NDP Foreign Affairs Critic Heather McPherson was quoted stating that a company on a UN blacklist should not have a stake in Canadian projects. The reports also mentioned a similar controversy in the UK regarding Ithaca's stake in the Rosebank oil field.
Centre
1 rated outlet
- The centre-rated report led with the headline that the sale of N.L.'s offshore oil could help bankroll a company linked to Israel's illegal occupation of Palestine. It detailed Suncor's agreement to sell its stakes to Ithaca Energy for CAD $1.2 billion plus up to $350 million contingent on oil prices. The report identified Ithaca Energy's majority ownership by Delek Group, an Israeli oil and gas company named in a UN database for activities in occupied Palestinian territories. It also highlighted Prime Minister Mark Carney's commitment to banning trade with illegal settlements and included a statement from Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East regarding the ban's effectiveness.
Right
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated right has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Suncor sells oil stakes to Ithaca Energy, linked to Israeli settlements?
- Of the 6 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 83% are rated left, 17% are rated centre, 0% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Suncor sells oil stakes to Ithaca Energy, linked to Israeli settlements left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 6 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of Suncor sells oil stakes to Ithaca Energy, linked to Israeli settlements biased?
- Suncor sells oil stakes to Ithaca Energy, linked to Israeli settlements is one event reported by 6 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting Suncor sells oil stakes to Ithaca Energy, linked to Israeli settlements?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated right had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered Suncor sells oil stakes to Ithaca Energy, linked to Israeli settlements?
- 6 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- What is Suncor selling and for how much?
- Suncor is selling its stakes in three offshore oil projects: Terra Nova, White Rose, and West White Rose. The sale is for CAD $1.2 billion, with an additional $350 million possible depending on oil prices. Ithaca Energy is the buyer.
- Why is Ithaca Energy linked to controversy?
- Ithaca Energy is majority-owned by Delek Group, an Israeli oil and gas company. Delek Group is named in a UN database for activities in occupied Palestinian territories, including providing services to settlements and using natural resources.
- What is Prime Minister Mark Carney's stance on Israeli settlements?
- Prime Minister Mark Carney has committed Canada to banning trade in goods with Israel's illegal settlements in Palestinian territories, stating they are illegal under international law.
Read it at the source
6 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
5- N.L.’s offshore oil could help bankroll a company linked to Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine – The Independent (opens theindependent.ca in a new tab)
theindependent.ca — is theindependent.ca biased? Our profile of this outlet
- N.L.’s offshore oil could help bankroll a company linked to Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine (opens WellandTribune.ca in a new tab)
WellandTribune.ca — is WellandTribune.ca biased? Our profile of this outletOpinion
- N.L.’s offshore oil could help bankroll a company linked to Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine (opens NiagaraFallsReview.ca in a new tab)
NiagaraFallsReview.ca — is NiagaraFallsReview.ca biased? Our profile of this outletOpinion
- N.L.’s offshore oil could help bankroll a company linked to Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine (opens St Catharines Standard in a new tab)
St Catharines Standard — is St Catharines Standard biased? Our profile of this outletOpinion
- N.L.’s offshore oil could help bankroll a company linked to Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine (opens The Hamilton Spectator in a new tab)
The Hamilton Spectator — is The Hamilton Spectator biased? Our profile of this outletOpinion
Centre
1Right
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Not rated
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
How did this read?
About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.
