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Teaching aim: Problem oriented overview on the principal economic sectors with special consideration of the primary industries, secondary industries (manufacturing), trade and service industries.
Keywords: Agriculture, forestry, fishery, mining, primary resources, energie, manufacturing, Auto-pact, High-Tech, trade, trading partners, retailing, services |
In the mid-1990s, primary resources contributed just over 7% to Canada's
gross domestic product, manufacturing and construction 24%, and the service
industries 69%. This distribution reflects the importance of manufacturing
and service industries in modern industrial economies, but an abundance
of natural resources [1] has been extremely important in the development of Canada, and remains a vital foundation of the Canadian economy, especially its export sector. A closer look at its component is therefore justified (see Staple
growth theory table).
Canada is energy rich. However, the different kinds of energy sources
are unevenly distributed within the country, and hydroelectricity, coal,
oil, and natural gas usually have to be shipped long distances from where
they are produced to the main markets where they are needed. Each of these
commodities is also exported, and in turn Canada imports energy when it
is cheaper to use foreign supplies. Thus there is a great flow of energy
both within Canada and in and out of the country.
Hydroelectricity [2]
is available in all major regions of the country, although installations
are few in the North because of freeze-up problems in winter and small
markets, and non-existent in Prince Edward Island because of its low elevation.
The first large generating facilities in Canada were built in Ontario at
Niagara Falls, and there are other power plants downstream on the St. Lawrence
River in both Ontario and Quebec, greatly expanded in the 1950s in connection
with the building of the St. Lawrence Seaway. The Canadian Shield with
its numerous lakes and rivers and considerable local relief provides tremendous
potential for generating hydroelectricity, and there are installations
in many places from Labrador through to Saskatchewan and the Northwest
Territories. Quebec has huge installations, some of which have become notorious
because large tracts of land east of James Bay used by Native peoples were
flooded when reservoirs were created. In Labrador, power is produced mainly
for export to the United States. To transmit the electricity through Quebec
to the United States, the electric power is sold to Hydro-Quebec, which
sells the energy to the U.S. In Quebec much cheap electric power
is used to refine aluminum from bauxite. Ontario electric power needs are
so great that it has had to turn to nuclear reactors as well as using hydroelectricity,
but Manitoba has a large surplus of hydro power it produces in the Shield
that is also exported to the United States. British Columbia has great
hydroelectric installations in river valleys in the Cordillera, and exports
power to the United States under long term agreements. There is potential
to produce more hydro electricity in Canada, but this would once again
involve flooding large areas that are the homelands of Native peoples.
However, today the total negative impacts are thought to be far greater
then the positive ones and hence no new major stations are being planned.
Coal [3] has long
been mined on the Atlantic coast in Nova Scotia, where it remains the foundation
of a small iron and steel industry. Coal was also mined on the Pacific
coast in Vancouver Island, but those mines are now closed. Canada's largest
coal mines today are in the Rocky Mountains and adjacent foothills, and
in the Great Plains. Together these two areas produce over 95% of Canada's
coal. Alberta is the leading province, followed by British Columbia and
Saskatchewan. The thermal coal produced is mainly used within Canada, and
the metallurgical coal is exported, mainly to Japan. Canada's industrial
heart in Ontario and Quebec does not have coal, and the coal needed for
the iron and steel industry of Ontario is imported from the United States.
In Nova Scotia, Ontario, Saskatchewan and Alberta coal is also used to
produce thermal electricity.
Petroleum [4]
was first produced in southern Ontario in the nineteenth century, and then
in the early twentieth century in Alberta, but only in small quantities.
Until 1947, Canada remained largely dependent upon imports for its petroleum
needs, but in that year a large oil field was discovered south of Edmonton,
Alberta, which transformed the industry. Presently, Alberta is by far the
largest oil producing province, followed by Saskatchewan, and both provinces,
and also British Columbia, have huge quantities of natural gas [5]. Pipelines carry oil and gas to the large markets in Ontario and Quebec,
and to the United States. Large oil reserves have been proven in the Arctic,
but they are not being exploited at present because alternative sources
that are cheaper to develop are available. On the Atlantic Ocean continental
shelf, oil is produced off Nova Scotia, and the huge Hibernia oil field [6],
well out in the Atlantic, 310 km from St. John's, Newfoundland, started
production in 1998. In northern Alberta, much oil is produced from the
oil sands [7]
located along the Athabasca River at Fort McMurray. The oil sands comprise
some of the largest oil reserves in the world.
Interpretations of Canadian economic development emphasize the importance
of export primary commodities such as fish, furs, farm products and minerals,
first mainly to markets in Europe and then to the United States. These
goods were the early driving forces behind the country's growth, and are
still significant in the Canadian economy. The fisheries [8]
are most significant on the Atlantic and Pacific coastal shelves, but are
also carried out in numerous freshwater lakes in interior Canada. Since
1992, the cod fishery has been closed on the Atlantic continental shelf,
destroyed by over-fishing, and the fish stock is being monitored closely
for indications that it may be recovering. In the meantime the closure
has devastated many communities, particularly in Newfoundland. Right across
Canada the forest industry [9]
is of great importance. British Columbia, with its great temperate rainforest
is the leading producer, consistently producing about one half of CanadaÕs
forest product, and the industry has also been long important in Quebec,
Ontario, and New Brunswick. More recently, forestry [10]
has attained greater significance in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba,
where the forests of the central and northern sections of those provinces
are exploited. Canadian forest products produced for export include pulp
and paper.
When one thinks of Canadian agriculture one often thinks of the wheat
fields [11] of the prairies, and particularly Saskatchewan. When the price of grains is high and yields
are good, Saskatchewan with its huge acreages in grain crops can be the
leading agricultural province by value of farms products produced. Wheat,
other small grains, and canola [12]
are important crops on the prairies. Southern Ontario, with its diversified
and relatively intensive agriculture, growing cash crops such as corn and
soybeans, with mixed farms producing dairy products and beef cattle, and
with vegetable, grape, and fruit growing in favoured areas, often is the
leading province. Recently, however, Alberta has taken the lead ahead of
Ontario and Saskatchewan as its cities grow, providing an increasing market
for dairy products, and with its large areas in cattle ranches and grain
fields. Manitoba grows grain, and has mixed farms, and British Columbia
with a large urban market produces dairy products, and in the interior,
fruit growing under irrigation and ranching are significant. Quebec leads
the country in dairy products, and diversified agriculture is significant
in the Maritimes. Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick are specialty
producers of potatoes, and fruit and vegetable growing is significant in
Nova Scotia. The diversity of agriculture outputs [13] accross the nation is quite great. Canada as a whole is a great exporter of foodstuffs, especially wheat,
canola, and cattle, and has a trade surplus in agricultural commodities, but it still imports many food products because of the need for tropical
and sub-tropical fruit, such as bananas and oranges, and for vegetables
during the winter season.
Alberta is consistently the leading mineral producing province, because
of its high value oil and natural gas production. Provinces with extensive
sections of the igneous and metamorhic rocks of the Shield potentially
possess important commercially viable metallic mineral deposits of many
kinds. Ontario produces gold, silver, copper, zinc, and nickel; Quebec,
iron ore, gold, and base metals; Manitoba, nickel, copper and base metals;
and Labrador, iron ore. In 1993, an extremely rich nickel deposit right
on the Atlantic coast was discovered in Labrador and is being developed.
Saskatchewan has the richest uranium deposits [14] in the world, located in the Shield, and is the worldÕs leading
producer, and in the sedimentary strata of the southern interior plains
in Saskatchewan are the world's leading potash deposits, used in making
fertilizer. A wide variety of minerals are produced in British Columbia,
including gold, copper, lead and zinc. Mining in British Columbia began
with a well known gold rush in 1858 to the placer gold fields of the interior
plateaus. However, what turned out to be the best known mineral find in
Canadian history was the discovery of placer gold deposits in 1896 in the
Yukon of today, culminating in the world famous Klondike gold rush [15] of 1898. Today, mining is much more important in the Northwest Territories than
in Yukon. Yellowknife has been an important gold mining centre since the
1930s, and there is excitement about the opening in the next few years
of Canada's first diamond mine [16],
290 km north of Yellowknife. This is north of the tree line in a region
of permafrost where great care has to be taken in protecting the landscape
and the caribou herds. Just north of Resolute, in the Northwest Territories
is the farthest north mine in the world, producing lead and zinc since
1981 .
As can be seen from the above Canada has and still is using many resources
to foster its development. In fact a theory of growth has been proposed
to capture this phenomenon. It is called the staple growth theory.
But with time the importance of resources in Canada's development has declined
and with it the importance of the theory to present development efforts
in Canada.
Secondary industries - Manufacturing
Since the late nineteenth century, Canada's centre of manufacturing
has been concentrated in two provinces, Ontario and Quebec. Consistently,
year after year, Ontario contributes about 50% of the Canadian total of
manufactured goods produced, measured by value, and Quebec 25%. The largest
share of Canada's iron and steel production is in Ontario, with coal coming
from the United States, and iron ore from various places, including northern
Quebec and Labrador. The year after Henry Ford [17] built his first automobile factory in Detroit, Michigan, in 1904, Ford
established a branch plant across the Detroit River in what is now Windsor,
Ontario. Since then the automobile assembly and automotive parts industry
has remained the engine behind the Ontario economy, heavily influenced
by the big United States automobile companies, Ford, General Motors, and
Chrysler as well as all the major Japanese carmakers. There is no direct
Canadian-owned automobile industry, although there are major Canadian-owned
auto parts manufacturers. In 1965, a tariff agreement, commonly called
the Auto Pact [18],
was signed between Canada and the United States, facilitating the exchange
of parts and assembled automobiles across the international border. The
agreement ensured that the U.S. owned auto companies would manufacture
in Canada automotive products that would as a minimum be equivalent in
value to their products sold in Canada. This agreement has proved to be
of great benefit to Canada, particularly Ontario where the automobile industry
is almost entirely concentrated. Here Canada assembles twice as many
cars as it buys. The Canadian aerospace industry is centred in Montreal,
and that city is also the main location of Canadian garment manufacturing.
Electronic high technology enterprises are concentrated in Ottawa, in close
proximity to the National Research Council laboratories, and in the region
near Toronto, where a number of important universities invloved in technological
research are located.
Trade
Europe used to be the great market for the resource-based goods produced
in Canada. be it food commodities such as fish or grain, or wood products.
Europe is still a highly significant market, taking 7% of Canadian exports,
but Canada's most important trading partners [19] at present are the United States and Japan. In 1995, 79% of Canada's exports went to the United State.
In part this is so high because many raw materials are sent to the U.S.,
particularly lumber, pulp and paper, and minerals. Of even greater significance,
however, is the flow of automotive products, part of the trade exchanges
stemming from the Auto Pact. In turn, Canada imports more goods from the
U.S. than from any other country, 67% of its total imports. Canada has
a large trade surplus with the U.S., but in the trade exchange with many
other countries Canada imports more than it exports. Apart from the United
States, important trading partners are Japan, United Kingdom, Germany,
France, and Italy, and with each of these countries Canada has a trade
deficit. The general pattern of trade with Germany is typical. Canada tends
to send raw materials, and some machinery and equipment to Germany, and
gets back manufactured goods. In 1995, Canada sent goods valued at $3,150.3
million to Germany, and received goods worth $4,801 million. In its total
trade balance Canada has a substantial surplus of exports over imports
largely because of its advantageous trade relationship with the United
States. The North American Free Trade Agreement between Canada, US,
and Mexico may change this over time. With respect to kinds of commodities [20]
traded, overall Canada has a trade surplus in agricultural, fishing, energy,
forestry, industrial, and automotive products, but a deficit in machinery
and equipment products, and consumer goods.
Services industries
The workers employed in the primary and secondary enterprises referred
to above comprised about 26% of Canada's labour force of 14,832,000 persons
in 1994. As in other industrialized parts of the world an increasing proportion
of the working population [21] is in the service sector. In 1994, service workers
comprised more than 74% of the total work force, and, of course, the majority
of these persons worked in urban centres. There are hundreds of service occupations ranging from bus drivers, medical doctors, and service station attendants to store clerks, university administrators,plumbers, and lawyers, working in thousands of stores, service shops, schools,
hospitals, city halls, and office buildings located in villages, towns,
and cities scattered across the country .
A characteristic of Canada is that numerous commercial companies operate
in all parts of the country, with their headquarters usually located in
one of the major cities, and their subsidiaries in urban centres large
and small across the land. Banks are a good example. Canada has only five
major banks, all with their operating head offices in Montreal or Toronto,
but each has a very extensive branch banking system with branch banks in
towns and cities in every part of the country, involving thousands of employees.
Similarly, there are national or regional chains of department, hardware,
grocery, and drug stores, automobile dealerships and service stations,
hotels, motels, and fast-food franchises and coffee houses, each with its
distinctive building styles or advertising signs, distributed either within
a major section of Canada or across the entire country. As a result the
individuality of many commercial districts in towns and cities is almost
obliterated by the overwhelming architectural conformity introduced by
these service establishments owned either by Canadian or international
corporations.
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Questions for further consideration:
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[1]
http://www.nrcan-rncan.gc.ca/inter/index_e.html
[2]
http://www.canhydropower.org/hydro_e/p_hyd_b.htm
[3]
http://www.coal.ca
[4]
http://www.pcf.ab.ca/silos/ET-CanEn01.asp
[5]
http://www2.nrcan.gc.ca/es/ener2000/online/html/chap3b_e.cfm
[6]
http://www.gov.nf.ca/mines&en/maps/offshore/SDOGB.pdf
[7]
http://www.nrcan-rncan.gc.ca:80/media/newsreleases/1996/199609a_e.htm
[8]
http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/communic/statistics/commercial/landings/index_e.htm
[9]
http://www.portes.ouvertes.cppa.ca
[10]
http://www.forest.ca
[11]
http://www.newholland.com/na/news/nhn/Sept01/V47No6_3.htm
[12]
http://www.ag.usask.ca/exhibits/walkway/story/canola.html
[13]
http://www.cfa-fca.ca/english/agriculture_in_canada/commodities.html
[14]
http://www.uic.com.au/nip03.htm
[15]
http://www.nps.gov/klgo/
[16]
http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/nr/ecd/ssd/otm11_e.html
[17]
http://www.motorsportshalloffame.com/halloffame/1993/Henry_Ford_main.htm
[18]
http://archives.cbc.ca/IDD-1-73-326/politics_economy/auto_pact/
[19]
http://www.statcan.ca/english/Pgdb/gblec02a.htm
[20] http://www.statcan.ca/english/Pgdb/gblec04.htm
[21]
http://www.statcan.ca/english/Pgdb/labor21a.htm
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