The economy of Canada is among the largest economies in the world in relation market exchange rates measured in US dollars. Canada is therefore one of the wealthiest nations in the world. This country is ranked eleventh largest economies in the world and it is one of the members of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).This country is also a member of Group of Eight called G8.The service industry dominates the Canadian economy like the rest of the developed nations. The service industry in Canada therefore employs around 75% of the Canadians. The Canadian economy has also given much emphasis on the primary sector where oil and logging industries are among the most important in this economy. The manufacturing sector in Canada is also well developed especially the aircraft industry and automobile industry which plays a great role in contribution to the economy of Canada with respect to employment opportunities. The sea food industry and commercial fishing are also very well developed along the coastline of Canada thereby making a large contribution to the world’s economy. The entertainment software industry is also very well developed in Canada in contribution to the Canadian economy as well as the world economy. The Canadian software industry is therefore one of the global leaders.
The public to private property ratio of Canada is 40:60 which is among one of the greatest levels of economic freedom in the world economy. In relation to the production pattern and orientation of the market economic system Canada closely resembles the US. The national unemployment rate of Canada stood at 7% in February of the year 2013.This rate of unemployment is an indication of the recovery of the economy from the global economic crisis of 2005-2007.The unemployment rate however varies from one province to another.in relation to the stock listing, Canada had 69 listed companies among the largest companies in the world in the year 2008.Canada was therefore ranked the 5th in relation to the number of companies listed by the Forbes Global 2000 list of stock listings.
International trade contributes to the largest part of Canadian economy especially in relation to natural resources. The exports of Canada in 2008 mainly consisted of agricultural, forestry, energy and mining contributed to about 58% of the total exports of Canada. On the other hand the machinery, automotive products, equipment and manufacturing product attributed to about 38% of the total exports in Canada in the year 2009.The exports in Canada accounted for about 30% of Canadian GDP in the year 2009.The largest trading partner of Canada is the US leading to about 73% and 63% of exports and imports respectively in the year 2009.In the context of imports and exports, Canada was the 8th in the year 2006 in the world.
The primary industries in Canada are becoming of less importance in the whole world economy. The primary industries only accounts for 4% of the population of Canada employed in the economy and this is about 6.2% of the GDP of Canada. The primary industries, however, are still rampant in the economy of Canada. In northern Canada, agriculture is difficult thereby people heavily depends on mining and logging industries. Canada is therefore the largest of the world leaders in production of natural resources including nickel, gold, uranium, lead and diamonds. Most of the companies in Canada re based on these natural resources. Some of the companies based on natural resources includes Cameco, EnCana, Barrick Gold and Goldcorp. Most of the products from these companies are exported to the US. In Canada many of the service industries and secondary industries are related to the primary industries in Canada. The paper and pulp sector contributes to one of the largest manufacturing industries that heavily depends on the logging industry.
The Canadian society and Canadian economy faced several effects due to heavy reliance on natural resources. The natural resources industries changes from one region to another making it difficult to standardize as opposed to the manufacturing industry. The different structures of the economy in different regions of Canada encouraged strong regionalism spirit in Canada. Most of the resources in Canada are exported thereby contributing to the international economy through international trade. This therefore contributing to integration of Canada into the world economy. The government intervention is clear in Canadian economy due to the instability of this industry where this government intervention greatly reduce the impact the people in the market changes (Aandc, 2013).
The industries relying on natural resources in pose a great threat in relation to sustainability since the sources of thee resources will be depleted if not taken good care of. The risk of depletion is therefore present in relation the industries based on natural resources therefore the production levels are likely to decline in case of depletion thereby posing a threat to the economy of Canada. This risk of depletion calls for diversification into the manufacturing sector and agriculture in order to minimize the risks of depletion on the economy of Canada. Large discoveries of the natural resources like nickel are still made in Canada thereby improving the future economy of Canada in the long run. The northern region of Canada is not well developed due to low receptive levels of new technology and costs associated with exploitation of natural resources. Most of the resources in northern Canada are not fully exploited due to the fact that the production processes are not yet cost effective in facilitating the exploitation of such resources. The producers also tend to await the technological changes and prices to improve in order to engage in exploitation of such resources. The destruction of the environment as a result of natural resources have been greatly rejected by the people of Canada due to high remunerations and high standards of living. Aboriginal land and the high wages have greatly assisted in curbing the expansion of the industries based on natural resources. The companies of Canada have therefore diverted their investments in relation to mining to countries which are well developed and their governments accommodate such activities without much consideration of the environmental issues. The Canadian companies may also target the overseas market where the prices are fairly low. The companies of Canada are therefore playing a very vital and crucial role in countries like Africa, Latin America and South East Asia thereby improving and supporting the economies of such countries.
The Canadian economy has taken into consideration the issues concerning overexploitation of the natural resources which are renewable. The industries like logging and fishery industry needs close attention in order to attain a more sustainable model of investment. The logging industry have considered the issue of replacing the trees which are cut down for wood and timber. These type of industries are therefore taking a good angle in exploitation of natural resources in order to minimize the effects on the environment. This therefore helps in improvement of the environmental standards in Canada and are among the contributors of the high levels of production in Canada.
In the context of measuring productivity of the Canadian economy several factors and key indicators are taken into consideration. The productivity and performance of this economy is therefore indicated by competitiveness and economic growth. The measurements relating to productivity of the economy of Canada are prepared and publicized on annual basis in order to present the actual the growth of the various sectors of the Canadian economy. Productivity is the main driver of the growth of the economy therefore influence the sectors of the economy which therefore calls for accurate and reliable information from each sector of the economy in Canada in order to note the areas which need the attention for improvement. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) plays very crucial role in presentation and publication of information of the several of the economy of Canada. This information is also instrumental in identifying opportunity gaps for business ideas as well as loopholes which need correction and stabilization of the economy. This information also shows the level of technology and innovation in Canada and this therefore helps in measuring the GDP of the Canadian economy bot overall and the GDP for each region or province (Aandc, 2013). The GDP of Canadian economy enables us to demonstrate the labor productivity in various sectors of the Canadian economy. In the year 2011 the overall Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the Canadian economy stood at $CDN 1,720,748 Million. In relation to the multifactor productivity (MFP), the economic survey shows that Canada innovation and technological factors are greatly improving the economy of this country. These are therefore essential in improving and boosting the living standards of the people of Canada. The economic survey in the year 2012, the multifactor productivity in the Canadian economy seemed to be declining.
In the context of the Central Government Debt, the report of OECD shows it in the form of a percentage of the GDP. This data shows that the Central government Debt have increased from 28 percent in the year 2008 to 36.1 percent in the year 2010.this indicated a very low level of the Central government debt thereby making the economy of Canada among the developed economies in the world. The government debt burden of Canada is the lowest among the G8 thereby making the economy of the country very stable which in turn boosts the standards of living of the population. The public debt of the Canadian government in the year 2012 was around 84 percent ranking the country the 22nd in the economy of the world. The household debt in the Canadian economy consists of both the mortgage loans and consumer debt.in the year 2013, the mortgages were around 167 percent of the disposable income of the people in the economy. This therefore indicates the high standards of living of the people as reflected by the disposable incomes from each household in the economy of Canada (Aandc, 2013). The housing market of Canada is considered to be overvalued compared to the other economies of the developed countries in the year 2013.The housing prices are currently rising making them to be valued very highly. This therefore led to elevation of housing prices in the year 2013 which also indicates very high standards of living in Canada.
In the context of employment, the service sector in the Canadian economy employs around 75 percent of the population especially in the retail sector. This is due to the fact that the service sector is very large in the economy of Canada. The retail sector covers most of the retail stores in the country which employs around 12 percent of the Canadian employees. These large stores and shopping malls constitute the major segment both the Canadian economy. The retail sector is also centered in a small number of large stores. The business services are also another major component of the service industry in the Canadian economy which entails banking, communication services as well as real estate. These sectors of the service industry also employs a relative large section of the Canadian employees. Health and education sectors are also the components of the service industry in Canada which are mainly under the control and monitoring of the government of Canada. Entertainment and tourism sectors have also contributed greatly to the economy of Canada since they are important pillars both for national and international economy. Most of the tourists who visits Canada comes from the US and a few number of tourists from China.
The economy of Canada also consists of manufacturing based industries like the automobile industry thereby leading to high levels of output to the country from this sector. The economy of Canada also consists of large production plants which employs a portion of the employees in Canada thereby contributing to the GDP of the country. These large plants offer job opportunities both the blue collar jobs and the executive job opportunities to the people of Canada.
The energy industry in relation to mining have contributed greatly to the economy since the energy enables the mining for such precious minerals. The country therefore exports these minerals in order to earn foreign currency which enables it to improve the GDP of the country. The energy sector also employs many people in the gas and petroleum mining and processing companies. The output from these minerals is relatively high thereby enabling the country to improve its GDP. The economy of Canada is therefore heavily dependent on the energy sector because most of the industries and plants cannot run without energy (Aandc, 2013). This therefore gives Canada an upper hand because it is independent in relation to the source of energy leading to low costs of production. The economy Canada is therefore improved due to high output from the sectors of the economy at low costs.
The economy of Canada is also rich in relation to the supplies of agricultural crops like wheat and grains. Canada therefore helps ensure food security as well as export of its crops. This will greatly help in improving the output and GDP of the country. The agricultural sector of Canada gets great government assistance in terms of taxes which therefore facilitates higher levels of production and output as well as employing people in the farms. This will also facilitate self-dependence by the country.
In conclusion, the economy of Canada is among the high and best performing countries in the world. This is highly attributed to the nature of industries like the manufacturing, agriculture and service industries which are well developed. The levels of output of this country are very high making the Gross Domestic Product very high which reflects good performance of the economy. The standards of living of living of the people of Canada are also high as indicated by food security, high level of housing as well as good education services and health sector.
Works Cited
Aandc: Aboriginal Economic Development and Participation in the Economy. N.P., 2013. Print.
