Canada – Economy Overview

• Capital: Ottawa
• Area: 9,984,670 km²
• Population: 33,312,000
• GDP (PPP): US$1.274 trillion
• GDP (Nominal): US$1.432 trillion
• Currency: Canadian Dollar (CAD)
• Time Zone: GMT-3.5 to -8

Canada is the world's eighth largest economy and a member the G8. Similarly to other post-industrial nations, the service industry makes up the bulk of the Canadian economy, employing approximately 75% of Canadians. Canada stands out from among developed countries in the prominence of its primary sector, the logging and oil industries being two of the top Canadian industries. Canada's manufacturing sector is also quite significant, the automobile industry in particular.

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Canada is a social market economy which has one of the highest economic freedom rankings in the world. It also ranks among the leaders on the Human development index, with a median household income roughly on par with that of the US.

Canada is the second largest country in the world, and as such has abundant natural resources dispersed across its various regions. British Columbia is distinguished for its forestry industry, while in Alberta, Newfoundland and Labrador the oil industry is of great importance. Northern Ontario is a major producer of mineral resources, while the Atlantic provinces are famous for their fishing industry, though it has been recently struggling. With that said, these industries are constantly decreasing in importance to the overall economy, and today they account for less than 6% of GDP.

Canada is also a world leader in the production of natural resources such as diamonds, gold, uranium, nickel and lead, the vast majority of these used for exports, mostly to the S. These primary industries also serve to generate many secondary and service industries around them, such as the paper industry, directly linked to logging.

The great variation of natural resources from region to region contributes to Canada's distinct regionalism by causing differing economic structures to develop in each region of Canada.

Energy

Canada is a net exporter of energy, mostly due to its large oil and gas resources in Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan. These combined make Canada the owner of the world's second largest oil reserves after Saudi Arabia. Various regions in Canada rely on hydroelectric power, a cheap and environmentally friendly source of energy. This cheap energy has facilitated the flourishing of several important industries, such as Canada's large aluminum industry.

One of the oldest issues in Canadian politics is that while Western Canada is a rich source of energy, the country's industrial heartland has few native sources of power. This is complicated by the fact that it is cheaper for Alberta to ship its oil to the US than to the Canadian east. The eastern ports are thus left to import large amounts of oil from overseas, and make significant use of nuclear power. When the prices of oil are high this means that most of Canada's population suffers, while the West reaps the benefits.

Manufacturing

Canada is one of the rare wealthy nations that did not make the transition from a primary industry based economy to a manufacturing based one, and then to a service based economy, simply because manufacturing has always been secondary. In the 1970s and 1980s, while all other nations were experiencing the struggles of deindustrialization, Canada sailed by unharmed partially due to this characteristic.

Central Canada houses automobile plants to all major American and Japanese brands, and produces more vehicles each year than the center of the American automobile industry in nearby Michigan. Manufacturers are attracted to Canada thanks to its highly educated population, low labor costs relatively to the United States, and a publicly funded health care system.

Service

The Canadian service sector accounts for approximately two thirds of the national GDP. The retail sector is the largest employer and it's concentrated in a relatively narrow group of chain stores that are bunched together in shopping malls. The second largest field in this sector is business services, which includes real estate, the financial services, and communications industries. Canada also has a significant high tech industry, and an entertainment industry that is flourishing both for locally and across the border. The Canadian tourism industry is experiencing consistent growth, despite the damage caused by the recent strengthening of the Canadian Dollar.

Agriculture

Canada is one of the biggest suppliers of agricultural products in the world, most notably of wheat and various grains, which it exports to the US, Europe and Asia. The industry receives considerable government subsidies and supports, however Canada has been an avid supporter of reducing subsidies that may influence the market through the World Trade Organization.

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