The Canadian Economy

The idea that the Canadian economy has largely been a "staples" economy reflects the view that Canadians are generally conservative in terms of economic development and economic change. Canada's was a resource-based economy, and at the time of Confederation some 16 percent of the labor force was working in what could be called very simple fabricating activities, catering largely to local markets and drawing heavily on native raw materials. Secondary industries also were subsistence based, such as the manufacture of agricultural implements, furniture, matches, machinery and tools, woollen goods, along with shipbuilding, flour milling, sugar-refining, salt-works, and brewing and distilling. Canadian industrialization and economic growth in the period after Confederation were limited by three factors: 1) a persistent decline in international prices that reduced the proceeds from Canadian exports; 2) a significant drop in international lending, which aggravated the existing shortage of capital even more; and 3) a low level of investment in most sectors, as business had little incentive to expand capital facilities in view of certain market prospects and unsettled economic conditions.

Canada has a region it considers its heartland, a region with a large share of the nation's population and economic activity. This region, the national core, has served as the central basis for the development of the country. The area is southern Ontario and southern Quebec, and it is an ar

Related Essays

CANADA'S CHANGING ROLE IN THE GLOBAL ECONOMY: 2004 .... Resource-based industries remain as a major sector of the Canadian economy. This fact is especially true with respect to exports. .... (1102 4 )

US Investment in Canada The purpose of this research is to examine American involvement in the Canadian economy. American involvement with the Canadian .... (2760 11 )

Layoffs in the American Economy .... United States Free Trade Agreement has had a relatively neutral impact on the American economy, while it has had a detrimental impact on the Canadian economy. .... (1643 7 )

Canadian Gold Industry .... Mining is a critical component of the Canadian economy, and a $CAN20 billion industry (representing 4.4 percent of the gross domestic product). .... (2536 10 )

Canadian Egg Industry Supply Chain: Application of the Concept .... With respect to the Canadian economy, the term supply management refers to a legislated structure wherein federal product/industry-specific agencies and .... (532 2 )

different ways on people of different social classes and in different regions. Urban middle-class people fared well while the working class suffered from the effects of lowered wages and unemployment. Prime Minister Mackenzie King was conservative and wanted to ride out the Depression. He was surrounded by a conservative cabinet who defended the idea of individualism and who opposed the idea of federal action. King had no new program to offer except a bit of tinkering with the tariff. In 1930, he called an election, a sign of false confidence, for he was defeated in the face of the rhetoric of the new Tory leader, R.B. Bennett. Bennett promised a good deal of federal action to save the country, including a public works program, the federal assumption of the province's old age costs, and a heightened tariff to bargain for reciprocal concessions from other nations. Under Bennett's guidance, the House voted $20 million for emergency relief work. Bennett did not receive political support for his measures, however, and by 1934 he was under heavy fire from his own party and the opposition alike. He was also under attack as a dictator. In 1935 he announced a New Deal for Canada and got many of his ideas passed into law, includi

Category: Economics - T