A former Canadian diplomat says the use of Chinese capital is indispensable to the development of Alberta's oil and gas industries.

Alberta Oil Magazine reports that Gordon Houlden, current director of the China Institute of the University of Alberta, says Canada is unable to develop oil sands on its own and will need to avail itself of overseas investment, most likely from China.

"Thirty-four million Canadians or 3.6 million Albertans are not going to be able to do that. The capital is going to have to come from somewhere else," said Houlden.

In October the China Institute released its annual survey on the views of Albertans on China, indicating that a solid majority of respondents were opposed to Chinese investment.

Of those surveyed, 64% opposed Chinese investment in the form of full ownership, while 53% were opposed to investment in the local oil and gas industry by Chinese state-owned companies.