Industry News Markets
Natural resources 15% of GDP

The new figures, generated by Natural Resources Canada using the latest Statistics Canada data, enable a better understanding of this economic impact by taking into account the value of goods and services purchased by the natural resources sector from other industries. This analysis also offers a more comprehensive account of the number of jobs supported by the sector.

Newly estimated numbers demonstrate that, together, the energy, mining and forestry sectors directly account for 15 per cent of Canada’s nominal GDP in 2011. In addition, the sector’s purchases of goods and services in other sectors of the economy represent approximately another 4 per cent of nominal GDP, meaning that the natural resources sector drives almost 20 per cent of economic activity in Canada.

“In addition to the approximately 800,000 Canadians directly employed in the natural resource sector, another 800,000 people across Canada in every province and territory are employed by industries serving the sector,” said Minister Joe Oliver. “Put that together and you have close to 1.6 million jobs that depend on natural resources — about 10 per cent of all the jobs in Canada. This truly demonstrates the expansive impact this sector has on the Canadian economy.”
The analysis shows not only how vital natural resources are to the Canadian economy but also the long-term potential of the sector, which will be one of the key drivers of new jobs over the next decade.

“There are currently over 600 major Canadian resource projects planned over the next 10 years or underway representing approximately $650 billion in investments,” said Minister Oliver. “This is a more accurate picture of resource related investments from a year ago, and represents an unparalleled opportunity for Canada.”