The following paper examines the case of strategic petroleum reserves (SPR) and, more specifically, the case of Canada’s decision to forego an SPR, which goes against the norm of International Energy Agency (IEA) members, but more specifically goes against the choices of the other net-export IEA countries. The first section of this paper will outline the puzzle as to why Canada is going against the grain in regards to an SPR, and then the second section will take a look at this puzzle from a rational choice/game theory theoretical perspective. This section will also discuss the findings and interaction between the theoretical framework and the evidence. The evidence for this paper was mainly conducted through various interviews. The final section will summarize the results, including limits and suggestions for further research along with practical implications and policy recommendations.