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Important Facts on Canada's Natural Resources
Natural resources–our forests, energy, and minerals and metals–are fundamental to the daily lives of Canadians. How Canada harnesses and uses these resources has a
significant impact on our global competitiveness, the health of our environment and our overall quality of life. The natural resources sectors and earth sciences industries have been anengine of economic growth and job creation for generations. As a leading exporter of natural resources and resource-based technology and knowledge, Canada contributes to the well-being of people in many countries and promotes the sustainable development of natural resources in today’s investment climate. The new global context for natural resources demands that Canada fundamentally adapt, actstrategically and challenge itself to maintain and enhance its status as a world leader in sustainable development and management of natural resources.
Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), a department of the Government of Canada, has a mandate to ensure the sustainable development and responsible use of the country’s natural resources. NRCan’s aim is to strengthen conditions for Canada’s economicsuccess, sound environmental leadership, and safety and security. This goal requires working innovatively with our partners to provide a prosperous, sustainable and secure natural resources future for Canadians.
This brochure provides a statistical snapshot of the importance of Canada’s natural resources industrial sectors in 2007.
Figure 1 - Natural resources sectors and Canada’s gross domesticproduct in 2007

Other Sector 87.4%
Natural Resources Sector 12.6%
Energy 7.0%
Minerals 3.4%
Forest 2.2%
Canada's total GDP is $1,226.0 billion.
Note: Numbers may not add up due to rounding.

Facts for 20071 | Forest | Minerals | Energy | Total
natural resources | Canada |
Gross Domestic Product | $26.5 B
(2.2%) | $41.9 B
(3.4%) | $86.6 B
(7.0%) | $155.0 B
(12.6%) | $1,226.0 B(100.0%) |
Direct employment2
(thousands of people) | 259
(1.8%) | 363
(2.5%) | 272
(1.9%) | 895
(6.3%) | 14 307
(100%) |
New capital investments | $2.6 B (0.8%) | $9.2 B
(2.9%) | $69.1 B
(21.4%) | $80.8 B
(25.1%) | $322.6 B
(100.0%) |
Trade |   |   |   |   |   |
Total Exports | $33.8 B
(7.5%) | $84.3 B
(18.7%) | $92.2 B
(20.5%) | $210.2 B
(46.7%) | $450.4 B
(100.0%)|
Domestic exports (excluding re-exports) | $33.6 B
(8.0% ) | $80.7 B
(19.2%) | $91.5 B
(21.8%) | $205.8 B
(49.0%) | $420.0 B
(100.0%) |
Imports | $10.2 B
(2.5%) | $62.8 B
(15.4%) | $37.1 B
(9.1%) | $110.0 B
(27.0%) | $406.7 B
(100.0%) |
Balance of trade | +$23.6 B | +$21.5 B | +$55.3 B | +$100.4 B | +$43.7 B |
The data reported for each of the natural resources sectorsreflect the value of primary industries and related downstream manufacturing industries as of October 2008. “Minerals” includes uranium and coal mining. Balance of trade is the difference between the total exports and the total imports of goods. Services and capital flows are not included.
Natural Resources Canada
The Department of Natural Resources ,(operating under the FIP applied title NaturalResources Canada (NRCan), is the department of the government of Canada responsible for natural resources, energy, minerals and metals, forests, earth sciences, mapping and remote sensing. It was created in 1995 by amalgamating the now-defunct Departments of Energy, Mines and Resources and Forestry. Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) works to ensure the responsible development of Canada's naturalresources, including energy, forests, minerals and metals. NRCan also uses its expertise in earth sciences to build and maintain an up-to-date knowledge base of our landmass and resources."[1] To promote internal collaboration, NRCan has implemented a departmental wide wiki based on MediaWiki.[2]
Under the Canadian constitution, responsibility for natural resources belongs to the provinces, not the...