Employment in Canada
Jobs
Employment by industry
• Canada is unusual among developed
countries because “Primary Industries” such
as logging and the oil industries are two of
Canada's most important.
• Canada also has a sizable manufacturing
sector, based in Central Canada, with
the automobile industry and aircraft
industry being especially important.
• http://www.statcan.gc.ca/tables-tableaux/sumsom/l01/cst01/econ40-eng.htm
How can industrial activity be classified?
There are many different types of industry. We can classify
industry into four main categories:
Primary
Secondary
Tertiary
Quaternary
What is a primary industry?
These industries
extract raw materials
directly from the
earth or sea.
The primary sector includes establishments involved in the
exploitation and initial processing of natural resources.
Coal mining includes establishments that break, wash, grade
or otherwise prepare coal for use as a fuel.
Other examples include mining precious and other metals, oil
and gas, and forestry.

Gross Domestic Product: The
total market value for all goods
and services produced in a
country for a given year

For centuries, Canada's primary
industries — agriculture, fishing
and trapping, mining, fuel and
energy, and logging and forestry
— were the foundation of the
economy.
% of Jobs
Primary Industry
Canada exports
food products
worth $24 billion to
180 countries.
Farming is
practised on about
7% of Canada's land
area, primarily in
two main ecozones:


Prairies
Mixedwood Plains
Major products:
 Crops
 Horticulture – Vegetable gardens
 Viticulture - Grapes
 Livestock – Domesticated animals
 Dairy, poultry and eggs
Major agricultural regions:
 fruits and vegetables in B. C. and Ontario
 beef cattle in Alberta
 wheat and canola in Saskatchewan and
Manitoba
 mixed farming and dairy cattle in Ontario and
Quebec
 potato farming in P.E. I. and New Brunswick
Primary Industry



Canada has the second largest continuous forested area on
earth, after Russia.
Forests cover 50% the nation's land mass and constituting
10% of the globe's forest cover.
World's largest exporter of wood pulp, paper, sawn wood
and wood-based panels.
Who owns Canada’s forests?
 94% publicly owned (majority provincial)
www.treecanada.ca
http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca
Making Connections 2014
page 113
Primary Industry
•
•
•
Industrial Minerals
Metallic Minerals
Challenges to mining
o
1.
2.
3.
Naturally occurring, pure, non-living substance
found in rocks
Industrial minerals e.g. sand and gravel
Fossil fuels e.g. coal, oil, natural gas
Metallic minerals e.g. gold, copper
Value $ millions
Gold
Iron Ore
$5,560
$5,318.9
Copper
Nickel
Uranium
$4,478.2
$3,418.0
$1,040
Zinc
Potash
Diamonds
$1,181
$6,981.4
$2,005.2
Cement
Coal
$1,702.5
$6,389.0
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
Nickel
Gold
Platinum
Cobalt
Copper
Silver
Zinc
Sudbury



Canada is world’s largest potash exporter (43% of
world trade)
Exports potash to over 40 countries.
95% of the world’s potash consumption is for fertilizers
Fertilizer: key components are nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P) and
Potassium (K), which comes from potash.
Southern Saskatchewan supplies the world with potash.
Making Connections 2014 page 154
Potash is produced in only 12 countries because highquality, economically mineable deposits are
geographically concentrated.
Canada’s oldest industry
16% of the world's coastline is
Canadian
 Peaked in 1990s ~100,000
Canadians had commercial
licenses
 Today 0.1% of Canadian
economy
 80% of catch is exported to 80
countries ($4.7 billion 2002)



Important recreational activity
www.aquatic.uoguelph.ca/fish/fish.htm
48 lbs. Ling Cod Winter Harbour. B.C.
Cod
Trout
Lobster
Category
Description
Examples
Groundfish
Feed and are caught near the ocean floor
Cod, halibut, haddock
Pelagic fish
Feed and are caught near the surface
Salmon, tuna, herring
Shell fish
Animals without backbones & had protective
shells
Lobster, shrimp, oysters,
scallops
Decline in East Coast fishery since 1990
Newfoundland:
Employed 24,500 people in 1987 (peak)
Only 10,300 people in 2009
Decline due to:
 Overfishing by Canadians
 Improved technology
 Foreign factory ships
 Changes in natural conditions




Sport Fishing
Aquaculture
Seafood Production
Commercial
B. C. Fishing Industry
(millions)
Sport
Fishing $288
Aquaculture
$274
Seafood
Production
$173
Commercial
Fishing $135
Sturgeon, B.C.
Aquaculture:

Fish or shell fish raised under supervision, either on land in tanks or
in cornered-off sections of the ocean
What is a secondary industry?
These industries
process and
manufacture
products from raw
materials.
The manufacturing, sector is made up of primary and secondary
manufacturing establishments.
• Primary manufacturing companies process raw materials to
produce such supplies as iron and steel, pulp and paper,
and petroleum products.
• Secondary manufacturing establishments are those that produce
consumer goods (e.g., clothing) and capital goods (i.e. goods used
to make other goods, for example, machinery, equipment, parts).
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
Nickel
Natural gas
Potash
Gold
Sand
Aluminum
Copper
Iron ore
Uranium
Oil
Zinc
Limestone
A.Electrical wire
B. Glass and ceramics
C.Fertilizer
D. Sun screen
E. Heat in your home
F. Baseball bats
G.Stainless steel knives and forks
H.Plastic CD case
I. Fort Knox
J. Cement
K.Steel
Auto assembly plants, Greater Toronto area
Making Connections 2014 page 175
Steeltown, Hamilton
Making Connections 2014 page 181
Founded in a small warehouse
in Toronto 60 years ago, Canada
Goose has grown into one of
the world's leading makers of
luxury apparel.
What is a tertiary industry?
These industries
provide a
service.
Service industries, sector includes establishments in both the
private and public sectors. These range from food services to
laundries to the Bank of Canada.
These are establishments that do not harvest or make goods,
but provide services to the population (including the sale of
commodities and goods to people).
CP Christmas Train 2015
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_jWaScptQ4
Whistler
Zipline
https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=CZnFTJjd530
White water rafting, Fraser canyon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2Fr2IufciM
KURIOS - Cabinet of Curiosities from Cirque du Soleil
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyCjt6WRw2Y
What is a quaternary industry?
There are also quaternary industries.
These industries incorporate a high
degree of research and technology in
their processes and employ highly
qualified people.
Biotechnology and computer
programming are examples of
quaternary industries.
Canada’s International Trade 2013
Making Connections 2014 page 187
Canada’s
biggest
companies
2014
Making Connections 2014 page 195