Economy of Canada

Economy of Canada
Toronto, the financial centre of Canada, and one of the largest in the world
CurrencyCanadian dollar (CAD, C$)
April 1 – March 31
Trade organizations
OECD, WTO, G-20, G7, USMCA, CPTPP, APEC and others
Country group
Statistics
PopulationIncrease 41,288,599 (Q3, 2024)[5]
GDP
  • Increase $2.215 trillion (nominal; 2024)[6]
  • Increase $2.582 trillion (PPP; 2024)[6]
GDP rank
GDP growth
  • Increase 3.4% (2022)[7]
  • Increase 1.5% (2023f)[7]
  • Increase 1.5% (2024f)[7]
GDP per capita
  • Decrease $53,834 (nominal; 2024)[6]
  • Increase $62,766 (PPP; 2024)[6]
GDP per capita rank
GDP by sector
Positive decrease 1.6% (12 month change – September 2024)[9]
Population below poverty line
Negative increase 9.9% (official, 2022; StatCan)[10]
Positive decrease 0.281 low (2020, StatCan)[11][12]
Labour force
  • Increase 21.34 million (2022)[15]
  • Increase 59.1% employment rate (September 2020)[16]
Unemployment
  • Decrease 6.5% (September 2024)[17]
  • Decrease 13.5% youth unemployment (September 2024; 15 to 24 year-olds)[18]
  • Positive decrease 1.2 million unemployed (December 2021)[16]
Average gross salary
C$6,809 / US$4,975 monthly[19] (2022)
C$5,065 / US$3,700 monthly[20][21] (2022)
Main industries
External
ExportsDecrease US$717.6 billion (2023)[22]
Export goods
motor vehicles and parts, industrial machinery, aircraft, telecommunications equipment; chemicals, plastics, fertilizers; wood pulp, timber, crude petroleum, natural gas, electricity, aluminum
Main export partners
ImportsIncrease US$726.1 billion (2023)[24]
Import goods
machinery and equipment, motor vehicles and parts, crude oil, chemicals, electricity, durable consumer goods
Main import partners
FDI stock
  • Inward: $1.460 trillion (2022)[25]
  • Outward: $2.096 trillion (2022)[25]
Positive decrease $1.4 billion (Q3 2021)[26]
Public finances
−1% (of GDP) (2017 est.)[8]
Revenues649.6 billion (2017 est.)[8]
Expenses665.7 billion (2017 est.)[8]
Economic aiddonor: ODA, US$7.8 billion (2022)[27]
  • AAA
  • Outlook: Stable
  • AAA
  • Outlook: Stable
  • AA+
  • Outlook: Stable
US$122.9 billion (July 2024)[31][32]
All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars.

The economy of Canada is a highly developed mixed economy,[33][34][35] with the world's ninth-largest economy as of 2024, and a nominal GDP of approximately US$2.117 trillion.[6] Canada is one of the world's largest trading nations, with a highly globalized economy.[36] In 2021, Canadian trade in goods and services reached $2.016 trillion.[37] Canada's exports totalled over $637 billion, while its imported goods were worth over $631 billion, of which approximately $391 billion originated from the United States.[37] In 2018, Canada had a trade deficit in goods of $22 billion and a trade deficit in services of $25 billion.[37] The Toronto Stock Exchange is the tenth-largest stock exchange in the world by market capitalization, listing over 1,500 companies with a combined market capitalization of over US$3 trillion.[38]

Canada has a strong cooperative banking sector, with the world's highest per-capita membership in credit unions.[39] It ranks low in the Corruption Perceptions Index (14th in 2023)[40] and "is widely regarded as among the least corrupt countries of the world".[41] It ranks high in the Global Competitiveness Report (14th in 2019)[42] and Global Innovation Indexes (15th in 2022).[43] Canada's economy ranks above most Western nations on The Heritage Foundation's Index of Economic Freedom[44] and experiences a relatively low level of income disparity.[45] The country's average household disposable income per capita is "well above" the OECD average.[46] Canada ranks among the lowest of the most developed countries for housing affordability[47][48] and foreign direct investment.[49][48] Among OECD members, Canada has a highly efficient and strong social security system; social expenditure stood at roughly 23.1% of GDP.[4][50][3]

Since the early 20th century, the growth of Canada's manufacturing, mining, and service sectors has transformed the nation from a largely rural economy to an urbanized, industrial one.[51] Like many other developed countries, the Canadian economy is dominated by the service industry, which employs about three-quarters of the country's workforce.[52] Among developed countries, Canada has an unusually important primary sector, of which the forestry and petroleum industries are the most prominent components.[53] Many towns in northern Canada, where agriculture is difficult, are sustained by nearby mines or sources of timber.[54] Canada spends around 1.70% of GDP on advance research and development across various sectors of the economy.[55][56]

Canada's economic integration with the United States has increased significantly since World War II.[57] The Automotive Products Trade Agreement of 1965 opened Canada's borders to trade in the automobile manufacturing industry.[58] In the 1970s, concerns over energy self-sufficiency and foreign ownership in the manufacturing sectors prompted the federal government to enact the National Energy Program (NEP) and the Foreign Investment Review Agency (FIRA).[59] The government abolished the NEP in the 1980s and changed the name of FIRA to Investment Canada to encourage foreign investment.[60] The Canada – United States Free Trade Agreement (FTA) of 1988 eliminated tariffs between the two countries, while the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) expanded the free-trade zone to include Mexico in 1994 (later replaced by the Canada–United States–Mexico Agreement).[61] As of 2023, Canada is a signatory to 15 free trade agreements with 51 countries.[62]

Canada is one of the few developed nations that are net exporters of energy.[53][63] Atlantic Canada possess vast offshore deposits of natural gas,[64] and Alberta hosts the fourth-largest oil reserves in the world.[65] The vast Athabasca oil sands and other oil reserves give Canada 13 percent of global oil reserves, constituting the world's third or fourth-largest.[66] Canada is additionally one of the world's largest suppliers of agricultural products; the Canadian Prairies are one of the most important global producers of wheat, canola, and other grains.[67] The country is a leading exporter of zinc, uranium, gold, nickel, platinoids, aluminum, steel, iron ore, coking coal, lead, copper, molybdenum, cobalt, and cadmium.[68][69] Canada has a sizeable manufacturing sector centred in southern Ontario and Quebec, with automobiles and aeronautics representing particularly important industries.[70] The fishing industry is also a key contributor to the economy.[71]

  1. ^ "World Economic Outlook Database Groups and Aggregates Information". International Monetary Fund.
  2. ^ "World Band Country and Lending Groups". datahelpdesk.worldbank.org. World Bank. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
  3. ^ a b "Social Expenditure – Aggregated data". OECD.
  4. ^ a b Kenworthy, Lane (1999). "Do Social-Welfare Policies Reduce Poverty? A Cross-National Assessment" (PDF). Social Forces. 77 (3): 1119–1139. doi:10.2307/3005973. JSTOR 3005973. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 10, 2013.
  5. ^ "Population estimates, quarterly". statcan.gc.ca. Statistics Canada. June 19, 2024.
  6. ^ a b c d e "World Economic Outlook Database, October 2024 Edition. (Canada)". International Monetary Fund. October 10, 2024. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
  7. ^ a b c "The outlook is uncertain again amid financial sector turmoil, high inflation, ongoing effects of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and three years of COVID". International Monetary Fund. April 11, 2023.
  8. ^ a b c d "Canada". The World Factbook (2024 ed.). Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved October 8, 2019. (Archived 2019 edition.)
  9. ^ "The Daily — Consumer Price Index, June 2024". Statistics Canada. September 17, 2024. Retrieved August 4, 2024.
  10. ^ Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (April 26, 2024). "Canada's Official Poverty Dashboard of Indicators: Trends, April 2024". www150.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
  11. ^ "Trudeau's Scattershot Spending Sends Child Poverty to New Lows – BNN Bloomberg". March 24, 2022.
  12. ^ "Gini coefficients of adjusted market, total and after-tax income". July 8, 2015.
  13. ^ "Human Development Report 2023/2024" (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. March 13, 2024. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 13, 2024. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
  14. ^ "Inequality-adjusted HDI (IHDI)". hdr.undp.org. UNDP. Retrieved October 8, 2022.
  15. ^ "Labor force, total - Canada". data.worldbank.org.
  16. ^ a b "Labour force characteristics, monthly, seasonally adjusted and trend-cycle, last 5 months". statcan.gc.ca. Statistics Canada. June 27, 2018. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  17. ^ Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (October 11, 2024). "The Daily — Labour Force Survey, September 2024". www150.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
  18. ^ Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (October 11, 2024). "The Daily — Labour Force Survey, September 2024". www150.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
  19. ^ "Home".
  20. ^ "Taxing Wages 2023: Indexation of Labour Taxation and Benefits in OECD Countries | READ online".
  21. ^ "Home".
  22. ^ "Exports of goods and services (BoP, current US$) - Canada". The World Bank. 2023. Retrieved July 27, 2024.
  23. ^ a b "Canada – WTO Statistics Database" (PDF). World Trade Organization. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
  24. ^ "Imports of goods and services (BoP, current US$) - Canada". The World Bank. 2023. Retrieved July 27, 2024.
  25. ^ a b "FDI stocks". OECD. Retrieved February 7, 2024.
  26. ^ "Canada's balance of international payments, third quarter 2021". Statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved January 20, 2021.[permanent dead link‍]
  27. ^ "Official development assistance (ODA)". OECD. January 10, 2023. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  28. ^ "Sovereigns rating list". Standard & Poor's. Retrieved January 14, 2012.
  29. ^ "Moody's Affirms Canada's Aaa Rating; Maintains Stable Outlook". Moody's Investors Service. November 2, 2016. Retrieved September 23, 2017.
  30. ^ "Fitch Downgrades Canada's Ratings to 'AA+'; Outlook Stable". Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  31. ^ "Official International Reserves - July 4, 2024". www.canada.ca. July 4, 2024. Retrieved July 27, 2024.
  32. ^ "International Reserves and Foreign Currency Liquidity – CANADA". www.imf.org.
  33. ^ Hall, Peter A.; Soskice, David (2001). Varieties of Capitalism: The Institutional Foundations of Comparative Advantage. Oxford University Press. p. 570. ISBN 9780191647703.
  34. ^ "Capitalism in Canada". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved April 24, 2022.
  35. ^ Diekmeyer, Peter (June 11, 2020). "Capitalism in Canada". The Canadian Encyclopedia.
  36. ^ "Evolution of the world's 25 top trading nations – Share of global exports of goods (%), 1978–2020". United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
  37. ^ a b c "U.S.-Canada Trade Facts". Canada's State of Trade (20 ed.). Global Affairs Canada. 2021. ISSN 2562-8313. PDF version
  38. ^ "Monthly Reports". World Federation of Exchanges.as of November 2018
  39. ^ Kobrak, Christopher; Martin, Joe (2018). From Wall Street to Bay Street: The Origins and Evolution of American and Canadian Finance. University of Toronto Press. p. 220. ISBN 978-1-4426-1625-7.
  40. ^ "Corruption Perceptions Index (latest)". Transparency International. January 31, 2023. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
  41. ^ Rotberg, Robert I.; Carment, David (2018). Canada's Corruption at Home and Abroad. Taylor & Francis. p. 12. ISBN 978-1-351-57924-7.
  42. ^ "The Global Competitiveness Report 2019" (PDF). Retrieved October 21, 2022.
  43. ^ Dutta, Soumitra; Lanvin, Bruno; Wunsch-Vincent, Sacha; León, Lorena Rivera; World Intellectual Property Organization (2022). Global Innovation Index 2022 (15th ed.). World Intellectual Property Organization. doi:10.34667/tind.46596. ISBN 9789280534320.
  44. ^ "Index of Economic Freedom". The Heritage Foundation. 2020. Archived from the original on April 20, 2021. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
  45. ^ Shorrocks, Anthony; Davies, Jim; Lluberas, Rodrigo (October 2018). "Global Wealth Report". Credit Suisse.
  46. ^ "Canada". OECD Better Life Index. 2021. Retrieved August 5, 2022.
  47. ^ Source: Prices: Analytical house price indicators. "Prices – Housing prices – OECD Data". Data.oecd.org. Retrieved August 14, 2022.
  48. ^ a b "'Worst in the world': Here are all the rankings in which Canada is now last". nationalpost. August 11, 2022. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
  49. ^ Mintz, Jack; Bazel, Philip (2021). "View of 2020 TAX COMPETITIVENESS REPORT: CANADA'S INVESTMENT CHALLENGE". The School of Public Policy Publications. 14 (1). Journalhosting.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/sppp.v14i1.72311. Retrieved August 14, 2022.
  50. ^ Moller, Stephanie; Huber, Evelyne; Stephens, John D.; Bradley, David; Nielsen, François (2003). "Determinants of Relative Poverty in Advanced Capitalist Democracies". American Sociological Review. 68 (1): 22–51. doi:10.2307/3088901. JSTOR 3088901.
  51. ^ Harris, R. Cole; Matthews, Geoffrey J. (1987). Historical Atlas of Canada: Addressing the Twentieth Century, 1891–1961. University of Toronto Press. p. 2. ISBN 978-0-8020-3448-9. Archived from the original on March 20, 2018.
  52. ^ "Employment by Industry". Statistics Canada. January 8, 2009. Archived from the original on May 24, 2011. Retrieved May 23, 2011.
  53. ^ a b Sueyoshi, Toshiyuki; Goto, Mika (2018). Environmental Assessment on Energy and Sustainability by Data Envelopment Analysis. Wiley. p. 496. ISBN 978-1-118-97933-4.
  54. ^ Vodden, K. and Cunsolo, A. (2021): Rural and Remote Communities[permanent dead link‍]; Chapter 3 in Canada in a Changing Climate: National Issues Report, (ed.) F.J. Warren and N. Lulham; Government of Canada
  55. ^ Our World in Data. "Research & development spending as a share of GDP". ourworldindata.org. Retrieved January 10, 2024.
  56. ^ Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. "Gross domestic spending on R&D". data.oecd.org. Archived from the original on January 14, 2017. Retrieved January 10, 2024.
  57. ^ Mosler, David; Catley, Bob (2013). The American Challenge: The World Resists US Liberalism. Ashgate Publishing. p. 38. ISBN 978-1-4094-9852-0.
  58. ^ Kerr, William; Perdikis, Nicholas (2014). The Economics of International Commerce. Edward Elgar Publishing. p. 96. ISBN 978-1-78347-668-8.
  59. ^ Morck, Randall; Tian, Gloria; Yeung, Bernard (2005). "Who owns whom? Economic nationalism and family controlled pyramidal groups in Canada". In Eden, Lorraine; Dobson, Wendy (eds.). Governance, Multinationals, and Growth. Edward Elgar Publishing. p. 50. ISBN 978-1-84376-909-5.
  60. ^ Hale, Geoffrey (October 2008). "The Dog That Hasn't Barked: The Political Economy of Contemporary Debates on Canadian Foreign Investment Policies". Canadian Journal of Political Science. 41 (3): 719–747. doi:10.1017/S0008423908080785. JSTOR 25166298. S2CID 154319169.
  61. ^ Krieger, Joel, ed. (2001). The Oxford Companion to Politics of the World (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 569. ISBN 978-0-19-511739-4.
  62. ^ "Expand globally with Canada's free trade agreements". GAC. December 3, 2020. Retrieved May 14, 2023.
  63. ^ Brown, Charles E (2002). World Energy Resources. Springer. pp. 323, 378–389. ISBN 978-3-540-42634-9.
  64. ^ Government of Canada, Canada Energy Regulator (January 29, 2021). "CER – Market Snapshot: 25 Years of Atlantic Canada Offshore Oil & Natural Gas Production". www.cer-rec.gc.ca.
  65. ^ Monga, Vipal (January 13, 2022). "One of the World's Dirtiest Oil Patches Is Pumping More Than Ever". WSJ. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
  66. ^ Lopez-Vallejo, Marcela (2016). Reconfiguring Global Climate Governance in North America: A Transregional Approach. Routledge. p. 82. ISBN 978-1-317-07042-9.
  67. ^ "Trade Ranking Report: Agriculture" (PDF). FCC. 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 3, 2019. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
  68. ^ "Canada (CAN) Exports, Imports, and Trade Partners - The Observatory of Economic Complexity". OEC - The Observatory of Economic Complexity. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
  69. ^ "The Atlas of Economic Complexity by @HarvardGrwthLab". The Atlas of Economic Complexity. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
  70. ^ "Mapping Canada's Top Manufacturing Industries". Industry Insider. January 22, 2015.
  71. ^ "Fisheries". The Canadian Encyclopedia. March 4, 2015. Retrieved May 19, 2023.