Discover Canada Guide
The Economy
The economy chapter is short and factual, focused on the three-sector structure and Canada's main trading relationship.
Key facts for the test
- •Three sectors: service, manufacturing, and natural resources
- •The United States is Canada's largest trading partner by far
- •Canada is one of the ten largest economies in the world
Three sectors
Discover Canada divides the Canadian economy into three broad types of industries. The service industry (including finance, retail, education, and healthcare) employs the largest share of Canadians. Manufacturing (including automobiles, aerospace, and machinery) remains a major employer, concentrated especially in Ontario and Quebec. Natural resources (including energy, mining, forestry, and fisheries) have historically been, and remain, central to Canada's export economy, particularly oil and gas from Alberta and Saskatchewan, and forestry products from British Columbia.
Trade with the United States
The United States is by a wide margin Canada's largest trading partner, both as a destination for Canadian exports and as a source of imports, reflecting the two countries' shared border, integrated supply chains, and trade agreements, today the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), which replaced NAFTA in 2020.
Canada's place in the world economy
Canada is consistently ranked among the ten largest national economies in the world by GDP, despite having a comparatively small population, reflecting its high productivity, natural resource wealth, and strong trade ties, particularly with the United States.
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