| Canada is one of the world's wealthiest nations, with a high per-capita
income, and is a member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development (OECD) and Group of Eight. It is one of the world's top 10
trading nations. Canada is a mixed market, ranking lower than the U.S. but
higher than most western European nations on the Heritage Foundation's
index of economic freedom. Since the early 1990s, the Canadian economy has
been growing rapidly with low unemployment and large government surpluses
on the federal level. Today Canada closely resembles the U.S. in its
market-oriented economic system, pattern of production, and high living
standards. As of October 2007, Canada's national unemployment rate of 5.9%
is its lowest in 33 years. Provincial unemployment rates vary from a low
of 3.6% in Alberta to a high of 14.6% in Newfoundland and Labrador. 2008
forbes global 2000 list of world's largest companies, Canada had 69
companies in the list ranking 5th next to France.. As of 2007, the
Canada’s total government debt was $467.3 billion CAD, or 68.5% of GDP.
In the past century, the growth of the manufacturing, mining, and service
sectors has transformed the nation from a largely rural economy into one
primarily industrial and urban. As with other first world nations, the
Canadian economy is dominated by the service industry, which employs about
three quarters of Canadians. However, Canada is unusual among developed
countries in the importance of the primary sector, with the logging and
oil industries being two of Canada's most important.
Canada is one of the few developed nations that are net exporters of
energy. Atlantic Canada has vast offshore deposits of natural gas and
large oil and gas resources are centred in Alberta. The vast Athabasca Tar
Sands give Canada the world's second largest oil reserves behind Saudi
Arabia. In Quebec, British Columbia, Newfoundland & Labrador, New
Brunswick, Ontario and Manitoba, hydroelectric power is a cheap and clean
source of renewable energy.
Canada is one of the world's most important suppliers of agricultural
products, with the Canadian Prairies one of the most important suppliers
of wheat, canola and other grains. Canada is the world's largest producer
of zinc and uranium and a world leader in many other natural resources
such as gold, nickel, aluminum, and lead; many towns in the northern
part of the country, where agriculture is difficult, exist because of a
nearby mine or source of timber. Canada also has a sizeable manufacturing
sector centred in southern Ontario and Quebec, with automobiles and
aeronautics representing particularly important
Economic integration with the United States has increased significantly
since World War II. This has prompted Canadian nationalists to worry about
cultural and economic autonomy in an age of globalization as American
television shows, movies and corporations have become omnipresent.. The
Canada-United States Automotive Agreement in 1965 opened the borders to
trade in the auto manufacturing industry. In the 1970's, concerns over
energy self-sufficiency and foreign ownership in the manufacturing sectors
prompted Pierre Trudeau's Liberal government to set up the National Energy
Policy{NEP) and Foreign Investment Review Agency (FIRA). In the 1980's,
Brian Mulroney's Progressive Conservatives abolished the NEP and changed
the name of FIRA to Investment Canada to encourage foreign investment. The
Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement (FTA) of 1988 eliminated tariffs
between the two countries, while North American Free Trade Agreement
(NAFTA) expanded the free trade zone to include Mexico in the 1990s . In
the mid-1990s, Liberal governments under Jean Chretien began posting
annual budgetary surpluses and began steadily paying down the national
debt. Since 2001, Canada has successfully avoided economic recession and
has maintained the best overall economic performance in the G8.
Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada |
