Economy of Canada

http://www.all-laptopfan.com/,http://www.all-keyboard.com/ Canada has the eleventh-largest economy in the world (measured in US dollars at market exchange rates), is one of the world's wealthiest nations, and is a member of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development(OECD) and Group of Eight (G8). As with other developed nations, the Canadian economy is dominated by the service industry, which employs about three quarters of Canadians.^[ ACER Aspire 4743 CPU Fan Canada is unusual among developed countries in the importance of the primary sector, with the logging and oil industries being two of Canada's most important. Canada also has a sizable manufacturing sector, centred in Central Canada, with the automobile industry and aircraft industry especially important. With a long coastal line, Canada has the 8th largest commercial fishing and seafood industry in the world.^[ HP Pavilion dv6-2170us CPU Fan Canada is one of the global leaders of the entertainment software industry. Canada has a private to public (Crown) property ratio of 60:40 and one of the highest levels of economic freedomin the world. Today Canada closely resembles the U.S. in its market-oriented economic system and pattern of production.^[17] Toshiba Satellite L675-S7018 CPU Fan As of February 2013, Canada's national unemployment rate stood at 7.0%,^[18] as the economy continues its recovery from the effects of the 2007-2010 global financial crisis. In May 2010, provincial unemployment rates varied from a low of 5.0% in Saskatchewan to a high of 13.8% in Newfoundland and Labrador.^[19]According to the Forbes Global 2000 list of the world's largest companies in 2008, Canada had 69 companies in the list, ranking 5th next to France.^[20] ASUS F80Q CPU Fan International trade makes up a large part of the Canadian economy, particularly of its natural resources. In 2009, agricultural, energy, forestry and mining exports accounted for about 58% of Canada's total exports.^[21]Machinery, equipment, automotive products and other manufactures accounted for a further 38% of exports in 2009.^[21] In 2009, exports accounted for approximately 30% of Canada's GDP. ACER TravelMate 4200 CPU Fan The United States is by far its largest trading partner, accounting for about 73% of exports and 63% of imports as of 2009.^[22] Canada's combined exports and imports ranked 8th among all nations in 2006.^[23] These primary industries are increasingly becoming less important to the overall economy. Only some 4% of Canadians are employed in these fields, and they account for 6.2% of GDP.^[24] HP 434678-001 CPU Fan They are still paramount in many parts of the country. Many, if not most, towns in northern Canada, where agriculture is difficult, exist because of a nearby mine or source of timber. Canada is a world leader in the production of many natural resources such asgold, nickel, uranium, diamonds and lead. Several of Canada's largest companies are based in natural resource industries, such as EnCana, Cameco, Goldcorp, and Barrick Gold. HP G70-120EA CPU Fan The vast majority of these products are exported, mainly to the United States. There are also many secondary and service industries that are directly linked to primary ones. For instance one of Canada's largest manufacturing industries is the pulp and paper sector, which is directly linked to the logging industry. The reliance on natural resources has several effects on the Canadian economy and Canadian society. Toshiba Satellite A300-034 CPU Fan While manufacturing and service industries are easy to standardize, natural resources vary greatly by region. This ensures that differing economic structures developed in each region of Canada, contributing to Canada's strong regionalism. At the same time the vast majority of these resources are exported, integrating Canada closely into the international economy. HP 606609-001 CPU Fan Howlett and Ramesh argue that the inherent instability of such industries also contributes to greater government intervention in the economy, to reduce the social impact of market changes.^[25] Such industries also raise important questions of sustainability. Despite many decades as a leading producer, there is little risk of depletion. Large discoveries continue to be made, such as the massive nickel find atVoisey's Bay. Compaq Presario CQ60-301sl CPU Fan Moreover the far north remains largely undeveloped as producers await higher prices or new technologies as many operations in this region are not yet cost effective. In recent decades Canadians have become less willing to accept the environmental destruction associated with exploiting natural resources. High wages and Aboriginal land claims have also curbed expansion. TOSHIBA Satellite L300 CPU Fan Instead many Canadian companies have focused their exploration and expansion activities overseas where prices are lower and governments more accommodating. Canadian companies are increasingly playing important roles in Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Africa. The exploitation of renewable resources have raised concerns in recent years. ASUS Eee PC 701 CPU Fan After decades of escalatingoverexploitation the cod fishery all but collapsed in the 1990s, and the Pacific salmon industry also suffered greatly. The logging industry, after many years of activism, has in recent years moved to a more sustainable model. Productivity measures are key indicators of economic performance and a key source of economic growth and competitiveness. Compaq Presario CQ60-305sa CPU Fan The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)^{[notes 1]} The OECD Compendium of Productivity Indicators,^[27] published annually, presents a broad overview of productivity levels and growth in member nations, highlighting key measurement issues. It analyses the role of "productivity as the main driver of economic growth and convergence" and the "contributions of labour, capital and MFP in driving economic growth."^[27] HP 637607-001 CPU Fan According to the definition above “MFP is often interpreted as the contribution to economic growth made by factors such as technical and organisational innovation” (OECD 2008,11). Measures of productivity include Gross Domestic Product (GDP)(OECD 2008,11) and Multifactor Productivity (MFP). The OECD provides data for example comparing labour productivity levels in the total economy of each member nation. HP Pavilion dv7-3067nr CPU Fan In their 2011 report Canada's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was $CDN 1,720,748 million. Another productivity measure, used by the OECD, is the long-term trend in multifactor productivity (MFP) also known as total factor productivity (TFP). This indicator assesses an economy’s "underlying productive capacity (“potential output”), HP Pavilion dv5-1210ez CPU Fan itself an important measure of the growth possibilities of economies and of inflationary pressures." MFP measures the residual growth that cannot be explained by the rate of change in the services of labour, capital and intermediate outputs, and is often interpreted as the contribution to economic growth made by factors such as technical and organisational innovation. (OECD 2008,11) Compaq Presario CQ50-211nr CPU Fan According to the OECD's annual economic survey of Canada in June 2012, Canada has experienced weak growth of multi-factor productivity (MFP) and has been declining further since 2002. One of the ways MFP growth is raised is by boosting innovation and Canada's innovation indicators such as business R&D and patenting rates were poor. Raising MFP growth, is "needed to sustain rising living standards, especially as the population ages." HP G56-114SA CPU Fan The OECD reports the Central Government Debt as percentage of the GDP. In 2000 Canada's was 40.9 percent, in 2007 it was 25.2 percent, in 2008 it was 28.6 percent and by 2010 it was 36.1 percent.^[30] The OECD reports net financial liabilities measure used by the OECD, reports the net number at 25.2%, as of 2008,^[30] making Canada’s total government debt burden as the lowest in the G8. The gross number was 68%.^[31] SONY Vaio VGN-CR21Z/N CPU Fan The CIA World Factbook, updated weekly, measures financial liabilities by using gross general government debt, as opposed to net federal debt used by the OECD and the Canadian federal government. Gross general government debt includes both "intragovernmental debt and the debt of public entities at the sub-national level." For example, the CIA measured Canada's public debt as 84.1% of GDP in 2012 and 87.4% of GDP in 2011 making it 22nd in the world. HP Pavilion dv7-4060eo CPU Fan Household debt, the amount of money that all adults in the household owe financial institutions, includes consumer debt and mortgage loans. Paul Krugman argued that by 2007 household debt in the United States, prior to the financial crisis, had reached 130 percent of household income. Krugman distinguished between the total domestic non-financial debt (public plus private) relative to GDP which is "money we owe to ourselves" and net foreign debt.^[33][34Toshiba Satellite M70-252 CPU Fan ^] Statistics Canada reported in March 2013 that "credit-market debt such as mortgages rose to 165% of disposable income, compared with 164.7% in the prior three-month period."^[35]According to the IMF, "Housing-related debt (mortgages) comprises about 70 percent of gross household debt in advanced economies. The remainder consists mainly of credit card debt and auto loans." Toshiba Satellite A100-455 CPU Fan On 13 June 2013, the Bank of Canada assessed "the health of Canada's financial system" as "relatively sound" <CBCovervaluedhousing13june2013 />but issued one of its starkest warnings that the "main domestic risk to financial stability" was Canada's elevated housing prices combined with high household debt levels. This has improved since December 2012 but the levels are too high.^[37] HP Pavilion dv5-2112br CPU Fan In June 2013 the OECD warned that Canada's housing market was the most overvalued of advanced economies and that housing prices continued to rise. The Bank of Canada warned specifically that Toronto's vulnerable condominium sector where there is a "high level of unsold units in the pre-construction and under construction phases."<CBCovervaluedhousing13june2013>The Canadian Press (13 June 2013). DELL BFB0505HA CPU Fan The service sector in Canada is vast and multifaceted, employing about three quarters of Canadians and accounting for 78% of GDP.^[38] The largest employer is the retail sector, employing almost 12% of Canadians.^[39] The retail industry is mainly concentrated in a small number of chain stores clustered together in shopping malls. In recent years, there has been an increase in the number ofbig-box stores, HP Pavilion dv6-3299en CPU Fan such as Wal-Mart (of the United States) and Future Shop (a subsidiary of the US based Best Buy) and Zellers (since most of their leases have been purchased by Target). This has led to fewer workers in this sector and a migration of retail jobs to the suburbs. The second largest portion of the service sector is the business services, employing only a slightly smaller percentage of the population. SONY Vaio VGN-NW11Z/T CPU Fan This includes the financial services, real estate, and communications industries. This portion of the economy has been rapidly growing in recent years. It is largely concentrated in the major urban centres, especially Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver (see Banking in Canada). The education and health sectors are two of Canada's largest, but both are largely under the purview of the government. Toshiba Satellite L550-20W CPU Fan The health care industry has been quickly growing, and is the third largest in Canada. Its rapid growth has led to problems for governments who must find money to fund it. Canada has an important high tech industry, and also an entertainment industry creating content both for local and international consumption. HP Pavilion dv7-4183sf CPU Fan Tourism is of ever increasing importance, with the vast majority of international visitors coming from the United States. Though the recent strength of the Canadian Dollar has hurt this sector, other nations such as China have increased tourism to Canada. The general pattern of development for wealthy nations was a transition from a primary industry based economy to a manufacturing based one, and then to a service based economy. HP Pavilion dv7-3190ev CPU Fan Canada did not escape this pattern - at its (abnormally high World War II) peak in 1944, manufacturing accounted for 29% of GDP,^[40] declining to 15.6% in 2005. Canada has not suffered as greatly as most other rich, industrialized nations from the pains of the relative decline in the importance of manufacturing since the 1960s.^[41] A 2009 study by Statistics Canada also found that, HP KSB06105HA CPU Fan while manufacturing declined as a relative percentage of GDP from 24.3% in the 1960s to 15.6% in 2005, manufacturing volumes between 1961 and 2005 kept pace with the overall growth in the volume index of GDP.^[42] Manufacturing in Canada was especially hard hit by the 2007-2010 global financial crisis. As of 2010, manufacturing accounts for 13% of Canada's GDP,^[24] a relative decline of more than 2% of GDP since 2005. HP G62-244CA CPU Fan Central Canada is home to branch plants to all the major American and Japanese automobile makers and many parts factories owned by Canadian firms such as Magna International and Linamar Corporation. Central Canada today produces more vehicles each year than the neighbouring U.S. state of Michigan, the heart of the American automobile industry. HP Pavilion dv7-3190ei CPU Fan Manufacturers have been attracted to Canada due to the highly educated population with lower labour costs than the United States. Canada's publicly funded health care system is also an important attraction, as it exempts companies from the high health insurance costs they must pay in the United States. Much of the Canadian manufacturing industry consists of branch plants of United States firms, though there are some important domestic manufacturers, HP G62-244CA CPU Fan such as Bombardier Inc.. This has raised several concerns for Canadians. Branch plants provide mainlyblue collar jobs, with research and executive positions confined to the United States. Canada is one of the few developed nations that is a net exporter of energy - in 2009 net exports of energy products amounted to 2.9% of GDP. ASUS A6000R CPU Fan Most important are the large oil and gas resources centred in Alberta and the Northern Territories, but also present in neighbouringBritish Columbia and Saskatchewan. The vast Athabasca Oil Sands give Canada the world's third largest reserves of oil after Saudi Arabia and Venezuela according to USGS. In British Columbia and Quebec, as well as Ontario, HP Pavilion dv7-6011sg CPU Fan Saskatchewan, Manitoba and the Labrador region, hydroelectric power is an inexpensive and relatively environmentally friendly source of abundant energy. In part because of this, Canada is also one of the world's highest per capita consumers of energy.^[43][44] Cheap energy has enabled the creation of several important industries, such as the large aluminium industries in British Columbia ^[45] and Quebec ^[46] Toshiba Satellite L300D-01P CPU Fan Historically, an important issue in Canadian politics is the interplay between the oil and energy industry in Western Canadaand the industrial heartland of Southern Ontario. Foreign investment in Western oil projects has fueled Canada's rising dollar. This has raised the price of Ontario's manufacturing exports and made them less competitive, a problem similar to the decline of the manufacturing sector in Holland.^[47][48] Compaq Presario CQ60-409CA CPU Fan Also, Ontario has relatively fewer native sources of power. However, it is cheaper for Alberta to ship its oil to the western United States than to eastern Canada. The eastern Canadian ports thus import significant quantities of oil from overseas, and Ontario makes significant use of nuclear power.^{[citation needed]} The National Energy Policy of the early 1980s attempted to force Alberta to sell low priced oil to eastern Canada. HP Mini 110-3010sf CPU Fan This policy proved deeply divisive, and quickly lost its importance as oil prices collapsed in the mid-1980s. One of the most controversial sections of the Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement of 1988 was a promise that Canada would never charge the United States more for energy than fellow Canadians. Petroleum production in Canada is a major industry which is important to the economy of North America. Toshiba Satellite L645D-S4056 CPU Fan Canada is the sixth largest oil producing country in the world. In 2008 it produced an average of 438,000 cubic metres per day (2,750,000 bbl/d) ofcrude oil, bitumen and natural gas condensate. Of that amount, 45% was conventional crude oil, 49.5% was bitumen from oil sands, and 5.5% was condensate from natural gas wells.^[1] Toshiba Satellite M70-142 CPU Fan Most of Canadian petroleum production, approximately 283,000 cubic metres per day (1,780,000 bbl/d), is exported.^[2] Canada is the largest single source of oil imports into the United States. The petroleum industry in Canada is also referred to as the Canadian "Oil Patch"; the term refers especially to upstreamoperations (exploration and production of oil and gas), DELL Inspiron E1505 CPU Fan and to a lesser degree to downstream operations (refining, distribution, and selling of oil and gas products). In 2005, almost 25,000 new oil wells were spudded (drilled) in Canada. Daily, over 100 new wells are spudded in the province of Alberta alone. The Canadian petroleum industry developed in parallel with that one of the United States. HP 532613-001 CPU Fan The first oil well in Canada was dug by hand (rather than drilled) in 1858 by James Miller Williams near his asphalt plant at Oil Springs, Ontario. At a depth of 20 metres (66 ft) he struck oil, one year before "Colonel" Edwin Drake drilled the first oil well in the United States.^[4] Williams later went on to found "The Canadian Oil Company" which qualified as the world’s firstintegrated oil company. HP Envy 14-1080eo CPU Fan Petroleum production in Ontario expanded rapidly, and practically every significant producer became his own refiner. By 1864, 20 refineries were operating in Oil Springs and seven in Petrolia, Ontario. However, Ontario's status as an important oil producer did not last long. By 1880 Canada was a net importer of oil from the United States. ACER TravelMate 5230 CPU Fan Canada's unique geography, geology, resources and patterns of settlement have been key factors in the history of Canada. The development of the petroleum sector helps illustrate how they have helped make the nation quite distinct from the United States. At its recent peak in 1973, over 78 per cent of Canadian oil and gas production was under foreign ownership and over 90 per cent of oil and gas production companies were under foreign control, mostly American. Lenovo 3000 G430 CPU Fan It spurred the National Energy Program under the Trudeau government. The country's three largest integrated refiners are Imperial Oil, Husky Energy, Suncor Energy. While Petro Canada is considered by some as its own entity and fourth key refiner, it's actually owned by Suncor Energy. In 2007 Canada's three biggest oil companies brought in record profits of $11.75 billion, up 10 percent from $10.72 billion in 2006. ASUS EEE PC 1215N CPU Fan Revenues for the Big Three climbed to $80 billion from about $72 billion in 2006. The numbers exclude Shell Canada and ConocoPhillips Canada, two private subsidiaries that produced almost 500,000 barrels per day in 2006. Alberta is the largest producer of conventional crude oil, synthetic crude, natural gas and gas products in Canada. Two of the largest producers of petrochemicals in North America are located in central and north central Alberta. Dell Vostro 3750 CPU Fan In both Red Deer and Edmonton, world class polyethyleneand vinyl manufacturers produce products shipped all over the world, and Edmonton's oil refineries provide the raw materials for a large petrochemical industry to the east of Edmonton. There are hundreds of small companies in Alberta dedicated to providing various services to this industry—from drilling to well maintenance, pipeline maintenance to seismicexploration. Toshiba Satellite L500-018 CPU Fan The Athabasca Oil Sands have estimated oil reserves in excess of that of the rest of the world, estimated to be 1.6 trillion barrels (250×10⁹ m³). With the advancement of extraction methods, bitumen and economical synthetic crude are produced at costs nearing that of conventional crude. This technology grew and developed in Alberta. Many companies employ both conventional strip mining and non-conventional methods to extract the bitumen from the Athabasca deposit. COMPAQ Presario CQ42-116TU CPU Fan With current technology, only 315 billion barrels (50.1×10⁹ m³) are recoverable. Entire towns, like Fort McMurray, have developed because large multinational corporations have taken on the task of oil production. While Edmonton is considered the pipeline junction, manufacturing, chemical processing, research and refining centre of the province, Calgary is known for its senior and junior oil company head offices. HP Pavilion dv6-2115eg CPU Fan Major oil fields are found in southeast Alberta (Brooks, Medicine Hat, Lethbridge), northwest (Grande Prairie, High Level, Rainbow Lake, Zama), central (Caroline, Red Deer), and northeast (Athabasca Oil Sands). The upstream oil sector is also commonly known as the exploration and production (E&P) sector. The upstream sector includes the searching for potential underground or underwater crude oil and natural gas fields, Toshiba Satellite L645D-S4056 CPU Fan drilling of exploratory wells, and subsequently drilling and operating the wells that recover and bring the crude oil and/or raw natural gas to the surface. With the development of methods for extracting methane from coal seams,^[13] there has been a significant shift toward including unconventional gas as a part of the upstream sector, and corresponding developments in liquified natural gas (LNG) processing and transport. HP 646578-001 CPU Fan The upstream sector of the petroleum industry includes Extraction of petroleum, Oil production plant, Oil refinery and Oil well. The midstream sector involves the transportation (by pipeline, rail, barge, or truck), storage, and wholesale marketing of crude or refined petroleum products. SONY VAIO PCG-6L2L CPU Fan Pipelines and other transport systems can be used to move crude oil from production sites to refineries and deliver the various refined products to downstream distributors.Natural gas pipeline networks aggregate gas from natural gas purification plants and deliver it to downstream customers, such as local utilities. The midstream operations are often taken to include some elements of the upstream and downstream sectors. Toshiba Satellite X205-S9349 CPU Fan For example, the midstream sector may include natural gas processing plants which purify the raw natural gas as well as removing and producing elemental sulfur and natural gas liquids (NGL) as finished end-products. Midstream service providers in Canada refer to Barge companies, Railroad companies, Trucking and hauling companies, Pipeline transportcompanies, Logistics and technology companies, HP Pavilion dv7-3020es CPU Fan Transloading companies and Terminal developers and operators. Development of the massive oil sand reserves in Alberta would be facilitated by development of a North American pipeline network which would transport dilbit to refineries or export facilities. Canada's oil sands for example are landlocked and it is crucial to the petroleum industry that transportation of petroleum products keeps pace with production. HP G62-369TX CPU Fan Currently landlocked Canadian oil sands petroleum products suffer huge losses on price differentials. Until Canadian crude oil, Western Canadian Select, accesses international prices like LLS or Maya crude oil by getting to tidewater (south to the US Gulf ports via Keystone XL for example, west to the BC Pacific coast via the proposed Northern Gateway line to ports at Kitimat, HP 13.V1.BJ195.F.GN CPU Fan BC or north via the northern hamlet of Tuktoyaktuk, near the Beaufort Sea.,^[15] the Alberta government (and to some extent, the Canadian government) is losing from $4 – 30 billion ^[16] in tax and royalty revenues as the primary product of the oil sands, Western Canadian Select (WCS), the bitumen crude oil basket, is discounted so heavily against West Texas Intermediate (WTI) while Maya crude oil, a similar product close to tidewater, is reaching peak prices.^[16] Toshiba Satellite L675D-S7016 CPU Fan Calgary-based Canada West Foundation warned in April 2013, that Alberta is "running up against a [pipeline capacity] wall around 2016, when we will have barrels of oil we can’t move."^[15] Frustrated by delays in getting approval for Keystone XL (via the US Gulf of Mexico), the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines (via Kitimat, BC) and the expansion of the existing TransMountain line to Vancouver, HP Pavilion dv7-1451nr CPU Fan British Columbia, Alberta has intensified exploration of two northern projects "to help the province get its oil to tidewater, making it available for export to overseas markets." ^[15] Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, spent $9 million by May, 2012 and $16.5 million by May, 2013 to promote Keystone XL.^[17] In the United States, Democrats are concerned that Keystone XL would simply facilitate getting Alberta oil sands products to tidewater for export to China and other countries via the American Gulf Coast of Mexico.^[17] HP G62-a57SG CPU Fan Port Metro Vancouver has a number of petroleum terminals including: Suncor's Burrard Products Terminal, Imperial Oil Limited'a Ioco in Burrard Inlet East, Kinder Morgan Westridge Kinder Morgan Westridge in Burnaby, Shell Canada's Shellburn, Chevron Canada Ltd.'s Stanovan in Burnaby. The downstream sector commonly refers to the refining of petroleum crude oil and the processing and purifying of raw natural gas,^[10][11][12] SONY Vaio VGN-NR31S/S CPU Fan as well as the marketing and distribution of products derived from crude oil and natural gas. The downstream sector touches consumers through products such as gasoline or petrol, kerosene, jet fuel, diesel oil, heating oil, fuel oils, lubricants, waxes, asphalt, natural gas, and liquified petroleum gas (LPG) as well as hundreds of petrochemicals. Midstream operations are often included in the downstream category and considered to be a part of the downstream sector. IBM 91P9252 CPU Fan Crude oil, for example, Western Canadian Select (WCS) is a mixture of many varieties of hydrocarbons and most usually has many sulfur-containing compounds. The refining process converts most of that sulfur into gaseous hydrogen sulfide. Raw natural gas also may contain gaseous hydrogen sulfide and sulfur-containingmercaptans, Toshiba Satellite M70-122 CPU Fan which are removed in natural gas processing plants before the gas is distributed to consumers. The hydrogen sulfide removed in the refining and processing of crude oil and natural gas is subsequently converted into byproduct elemental sulfur. In fact, the vast majority of the 64,000,000 metric tons of sulfur produced worldwide in 2005 was byproduct sulfur from refineries and natural gas processing plants. SONY UDQFWPH22FQU CPU Fan The jurisdiction over the petroleum industry in Canada, which includes energy policies regulating the petroleum industry, is shared between the federal andprovincial and territorial governments. Provincial governments have jurisdiction over the exploration, development, conservation, and management of non-renewable resources such as petroleum products. HP Pavilion dv6-2150ei CPU Fan Federal jurisdiction in energy is primarily concerned with regulation of inter-provincial and international trade (which included pipelines) and commerce, and the management of non-renewable resources such as petroleum products on federal lands. The petroleum industry is also regulated by the National Energy Board (NEB), an independent federal regulatory agency. HP G42-367TU CPU Fan The NEB regulates inter-provincial and international oil and gas pipelines and power lines; the export and import of natural gas under long-term licenses and short-term orders, oil exports under long-term licenses and short-term orders (no applications for long-term exports have been filed in recent years), and frontier lands and offshore In 1985, the federal government and the provincial governments in Alberta, areas not covered by provincial/federal management agreements. Toshiba Satellite P100-238 CPU Fan British Columbia and Saskatchewan agreed to deregulate the prices of crude oil and natural gas. Offshore oil Atlantic Canada is administered under joint federal and provincial responsibility in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador. There were few regulations in the early years of the petroleum industry. ACER Aspire 5739 CPU Fan