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Canada's Natural Resources
Canada's rich natural resources and the industries they support are
a vital part of the country's economy and society. This sector is the
lifeblood of hundreds of communities in every corner of Canada — many
of them rural, remote, northern and Aboriginal. Forestry, energy, minerals, metals, earth
sciences and allied industries account for 13 percent of Canada's
gross domestic product and more than 40 percent of total Canadian exports.
Natural resources companies directly employ almost one million Canadians
and as many indirectly.
The Canadian resource sector is high-tech, innovative and growing. Resource-based
industries are among Canada's largest consumers and creators of new technology,
pushing the sector's productivity growth in recent years to more than
twice the Canadian average.
Emerging and increasing in importance are dynamic, high-value-added
products, such as engineered wood products and energy-efficient housing,
and knowledge-based
industries, such as geomatics, and equipment and service providers.
Canada has developed world-class niches in:
- geomatics, remote sensing and global positioning systems applications;
- geoscientific information and research;
- lightweight metals;
- mining and mineral exploration technology and financing;
- safety controls and environmental technologies specific to resource
industries;
- satellite mapping;
- forest fire and pest management technologies;
- oil sands technologies;
- oil and gas development, especially offshore;
- electricity generation and long-distance transmission;
- nuclear power production; and
- energy efficiency.
Canada also has a strong record of protecting the environment while
developing the natural resources sector to achieve economic and social
benefits. Increasingly, Canadian resource companies are taking into account
their impact on society through the products they make, the people they
employ and the communities in which they work.
Through sustainable resource development, we can improve the
quality of life of all Canadians, now and for the future.
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