Natural Resources Canada

Natural Resources Canada
Ressources naturelles Canada
Department overview
Formed1994
TypeDepartment responsible for natural resources, energy, minerals and metals, forests, earth sciences, mapping and remote sensing
JurisdictionGovernment of Canada
Employees5,302 (2023)[1]
Annual budgetCA$1.4 billion (2020–21)
Minister responsible
Department executive
Child agencies
Websitewww.nrcan-rncan.gc.ca

Natural Resources Canada (NRCan; French: Ressources naturelles Canada; RNCan)[NB 1] 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 formed in 1994 by amalgamating the Department of Energy, Mines and Resources with the Department of Forestry.

Under the Constitution Act, 1867, primary responsibility for natural resources falls to provincial governments, however, the federal government has jurisdiction over off-shore resources, trade and commerce in natural resources, statistics, international relations, and boundaries. The department administers federal legislation relating to natural resources, including energy, forests, minerals and metals. The department also collaborates with American and Mexican government scientists, along with the Commission for Environmental Cooperation, to produce the North American Environmental Atlas, which is used to depict and track environmental issues for a continental perspective.

The current minister of natural resources is Jonathan Wilkinson. The department is governed by the Resources and Technical Surveys Act and the Department of Natural Resources Act.

  1. ^ "Population of the federal public service by department". www.canada.ca. Retrieved 2024-06-02.


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