The economy of Canada is the largest across the globe and is highly developed. The gross domestic product of Canada in the year 2020 was around $1.64 trillion according to the latest data given to the public by the World Bank. That makes the Canadian economy the 9th largest in the world. The economy of Canada depends heavily on trade with other countries, especially the import-export of goods and services each making one-third of the GDP. The top three trading partners of Canada by size are the United States of America, China, and the United Kingdom. According to the contributions they make to the GDP of Canada, the three main industries of Canada right now are real estate, including leasing and rentals, the manufacturing sector, and the mining sector including quarrying and oil extraction.
Canada houses the famous e-commerce corporation Shopify Inc., Enbridge Inc, responsible for the distribution and transportation of energy as well as the Royal Bank of Canada. The Covid-19 pandemic led to the economy of Canada having to pull back in the first of 2020, but the economy picked up in the last 6 months of the year. The rise in the GDP was helped by low rates of mortgages, a rise in the demands in the housing industry as well as transfers by the government to businesses and households.
Top Industries Of Canada
Real Estate, Rental, and Leasing
The real estate industry of Canada, including leasing and rentals, consists of various establishments that primarily are involved in activities such as the management of the real estate, selling, buying, or renting of real estate, appraisals of real estate properties, leasing and renting of tangible assets which can include automobile and related equipment as well as the leasing of intangible non-financial assets such are works under copyright. The industry has under its employ around 250,000 people and the GDP of this industry rose by 3.7% in the last year, as reported by the government of Canada.
Manufacturing
The manufacturing industry of Canada has been focusing on the transformation of the materials as well as substances used in products both physically and chemically. The product in focus can be the finished goods or semi-finished goods that are later used in other manufacturing processes. The major products of the manufacturing sector of Canada include food, petroleum, chemicals, products of fabricated metal and machinery, and transportation equipment. The industry has in its employs around 1.5 million people and makes up around 8.1% of the GDP of the country.
Mining, Quarrying, and Gas And Oil Extraction
Extraction of naturally occurring minerals is the primary activity that engages the mining, quarrying, and extraction sector of the Canadian economy. Oil and gas extraction is dominating the sector but there are also other types of mining activities that fuel the economy such as mining coal, and a range of metals such as copper, nickel, gold, silver, etc. Mining for stone, gravel, clay, and sand as well as ceramic mining and quarrying are also a major part of this industry including mining for potash. The industry employs 190,000 people and has grown by 15.1% in the last year.
Major Canadian Industries
Listed below are the 10 major industries of the Canadian economy in terms of their contribution to the GDP of the country. When looked at together, they show the picture of the contribution of three-fourths of the economy of Canada.
- Real Estate, Rental, and Leasing
- Manufacturing
- Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction
- Construction
- Healthcare and Social Assistance
- Finance and Insurance
- Public Administration
- Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
- Educational Services
- Wholesale Trade
Top Trading Partners Of Canada
Going by the volume of goods and services imported and exported, the top three trading partners of Canada are the United States of America, China, and the United Kingdom.
Trading Partner: The United States of America
The top exports of Canada to the United States of America are crude petroleum and the top goods imported from the country were cars. The trade relationship that exists between Canada, the United States of America as well as Mexico is governed under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement which came into existence in July 2020. This agreement has key provisions in fields such as agriculture, dairy, automobiles labor, and intellectual property. The USMCA acts as a replacement for the North American Free Trade Agreement which had been governing the trade relationship between Mexico, Canada, and the United States of America since its enactment in 1994.
Trading Partner: China
The main goods exported to China were coal and the main goods imported from China by Canada were computers in 2020.
Trading Partner: The United Kingdom
The top goods exported from Canada to the United Kingdom were precious metals, pearls, precious stones, and coins, and the top goods imported from the United Kingdom were nuclear reactors, machinery, and boilers. The Canada-United Kingdom Trade Continuity Agreement was introduced in April 2021. After Brexit, the United Kingdom left the European Union, and the Canada UK TCA was designed to preserve the benefits of trading with Canada and the agreement with the European Union as outlined in the Canada-European Union Comprehend Economic and Trade Agreement.
Interesting Facts About The Canadian Economy
- Canada ranks 9 in terms of the size of economies in the world as of 2020. The United States, China, Japan, India, France, Italy, Germany, and the United Kingdom are the only countries with economies larger than that of this country.
- The Canadian economy is not richer when compared to that of the United States of America. Even though the economy of Canada is counted among the largest in the world, it is still smaller than the economy of the United States of America since this country has the largest economy in the world as of 2020. The GDP of Canada is $6.1 trillion and that of the USA is $21 trillion.
- Canada as a nation is wealthy primarily because of the diversified and strong nature of its economy. The economy also very heavily depends on its mining industry, primarily involved in the mining of zinc, copper, gold, and nickel. These are also the metals that are used extensively around the globe. Canada also happens to be a very important player in the oil business and houses many large oil corporations. The financial sector of the country is also very large, consisting of many banks and other institutions of finance, and Canada also boasts a large real estate industry.
