One of the fundamental factors for the success of the Canadian economy is a developed industry. It is significantly integrated with the largest American enterprises, characterized by the presence of large volumes of foreign capital. Canada and its economy are embedded in the trends of globalization, the development of the market of information technologies, relations in the areas of retail and investment. An important role in these processes, despite adherence to capitalist principles, is played by the country's government.
Geography factor
The main features of the location of Canada's industry are related to its geography. This country is northern, large, sparsely populated, and its main economic centers are located in the southern, eastern and western parts. They are separated by distances of thousands of kilometers.
About 85% of the employed population work in these territories of the country. At the same time, raw materials for Canadian industry are usually mined in the North. Logically, agricultural resources are concentrated in the South. As such, production is concentrated mainly in Ontario (in the same place - part of farmland), Quebec, Vancouver. Industry Canada is very dependent on export markets, mainly American.
Country of natural wealth
The Canadian economy is represented by many industries. In addition to developed production, the country is the largest exporter of wood on the planet, one of the leaders in the export of fuel of mineral origin. Freshwater and forest reserves are considered by many experts to be inexhaustible.
Canada’s oil and gas industry is especially developed - the country occupies the 3rd position, inferior to the USA and Russia, in gas production, the 6th in the world ranking of countries for the extraction of “black gold”. Diamonds are mined in the north-west of the country, 90% of which are sold to Europe. Canadians successfully produce uranium (about 18% of world production). Actively developing deposits of metals (iron, nickel, copper, rare earth elements), which are also in demand by European industries.
Diversification benchmark
Canada's industry specialization is represented by many segments - automobiles, aircraft, metal, wood, paper, chemicals. The food sector is developed. Of course, Canada is also strong with high technology. With regard to innovation, business support is provided by the government.
It is worth noting that with all the marked development of various segments, the Canadian industry is characterized by environmental friendliness. It’s clear that greenhouse gas emissions are high, but the country that left the Kyoto Protocol in 2011 set itself the goal of reducing the amount of CO2 into the atmosphere by 17% by 2020 compared to 2005.
Military rails
It is worth mentioning that Canada produces many types of military products. The state is a traditional ally of the United States (as it is adjacent to them) and Great Britain (it is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations and, concurrently, NATO). The Canadian Army is equipped with advanced military equipment, including national production. About 90 enterprises are working in the country's defense industry.
In addition to supplies for their armed forces, Canadians export military equipment to the United States and play an important role for the American army. For example, it is the “northern neighbor” of the United States that equips the latest technologies for detecting marine targets with radar control panels for systems designed for early detection. It is worth noting that many of the Canadian military firms are wholly owned by the Americans.
Space and Aviation
Industry Canada also produces aerospace equipment. This industry is represented by a group of hundreds of companies, and about 40 thousand employees work in them. These firms produce equipment annually in excess of 3 billion Canadian dollars, and it is exported to the United States, France, Germany and the United Kingdom. Among the main goods are parts, components, equipment, that is, to a lesser extent, finished products in the form of aircraft.
Although Canada has its own aircraft, including the production of aircraft engines. The share of military products is very high: among them are “drones” CL-227, CL-89, parts and components for F-15 and F-18, F-111 bombers. Sounding air-to-air missiles of the air-to-ground class, various elements of jet engines and power units themselves are produced.
At Canadian Shipyards
Canada is a supplier of modern ships, including military ships with a displacement of up to 5000 tons. At the shipyards of this large country, ships for scientific needs (oceanographic, hydrographic), security services (patrol on boats), and industry (bulk carriers, tankers with a capacity of up to 150 thousand tons) are produced. Canada's industry location in the shipbuilding sector is distributed across several major cities. Among them - Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Victoria, Halifax, St. Catharines, Sorel, St. John. In Canada, there is a government program to modernize the fleet and build new warships. Demand for ships produced in this country (including from the armies of various states) remains high.
Unresolved issues
Manufacturing Canada is a key factor in the competitiveness of the country's economy. At the same time, the country is experiencing difficulties in this direction of development: in order for the industry to produce quality products, stable investments in technology and equipment are needed. There have been periods in Canadian history when such investments were in short supply, largely due to growing debts in the foreign arena and subsequent problems with the state budget. The country has unemployment characteristic of capitalist economies, the duration of which tends to increase. As a result, investments in industry are not going very actively, as a result of which the production base does not always meet the current demands of the world market.
Socialism in capitalism
Despite the fact that the Canadian economy is very dependent on the United States, it is characterized by increased government intervention (which is not too typical for developed countries). The government primarily cares about the social well-being of citizens. And because the administrative factor affects almost all industries in Canada. Some scientists call the economy of this state a “hybrid” between a liberal-oriented type and a social one.
However, experts noted not the highest efficiency of such a policy. The government is sometimes forced to experience pressure from business. The facts of “socialist” generosity were noted when investments received projects that did not have real commercial prospects. At the same time, the positive side of the increased influence of the state for the Canadian economy is called the standardization of some industries and, as a result, the improvement of product quality.
Raw materials for the benefit of the economy
The country is rich in minerals and occupies a leading world position in the export of various metals and minerals. Canada has the largest deposits of uranium and coal. There are significant water resources, which allows the country to fully supply itself with electricity from hydropower plants (part of the energy is successfully exported).
Thanks to its natural resource base, the mining industry of Canada is developed. Engineers and researchers from this country are constantly improving the technological infrastructure associated with this and other segments of the industry. The state helps with high-quality investments by laying the necessary volumes of financing in the budget. Resource orientation of the economy also determines the main features of the location of industry in Canada.
Banks decide a lot
The law defines three main forms of credit organizations in Canada: “charter”, trust banks and credit associations. In the region’s economy, the role of the Toronto Stock Exchange, as well as a number of other trading floors, is noticeable. Their work is clearly regulated by local provincial administrations (but there is also a federal structure, the Supervision Service, specializing in managing the noted financial structure in Toronto). The movement of capital from the country and back has no legislative restrictions. The national currency of the state is the Canadian dollar, which, by analogy with the American "brother" of 100 cents. It is worth noting that the Central Bank of Canada reports directly to the country's Parliament (in many other capitalist states, institutions with similar status are often independent from the state).