Industry of Canada. The main features of the location of Canada's industry

One of the fundamental factors for the success of the Canadian economy is the developed industry. It is significantly integrated with the largest US enterprises, characterized by the presence of large amounts of foreign capital. Canada and its economy are embedded in the trends of globalization, the development of the information technology market, relationships in retail and investment. An important role in these processes, despite adherence to capitalist principles, is played by the government of the country.

Geography factor

The main features of the location of Canada's industry are related to its geography. This country is a northern country, large in area, sparsely populated, and its main economic centers are located in the southern, eastern and western parts. They are separated by distances of thousands of kilometers.

About 85% of the employed population work in these territories of the country. At the same time, raw materials for the Canadian industry, as a rule, are mined in the North. Agricultural resources, logically, are concentrated in the South. As such, the production is concentrated mainly in Ontario (in the same place - part of farmland), the province of Quebec, Vancouver. Industry in Canada is very dependent on export markets, mainly American.

Country of natural wealth

The Canadian economy is represented by a variety of industries. In addition to the developed production, the country is the world's largest exporter of wood, one of the leaders in the export of mineral fuels. The reserves of fresh water and forests by many experts are considered inexhaustible.

Canada's oil and gas industry is particularly developed - the country occupies the third position, behind the US and Russia, in gas production, and the 6th in the world rating for producing "black gold." In the northwest of the country diamonds are mined, 90% of which are sold to Europe. Canadians successfully produce uranium (about 18% of world production). Metal deposits (iron, nickel, copper, rare earth elements) are actively developed, which are also in demand in European industries.

The standard of diversification

Industry specialization of the industry of Canada is represented by a variety of segments - the production of cars, aircraft, metalworking, wood processing, paper production, chemical products. The food sector is developing. Undoubtedly, Canada is also strong in high technologies. With regard to innovation, the government supports the business.

It is worth noting that, with all the marked development of various segments, Canada's industry is characterized by a prudent approach to ecology. It is clear that the emission of greenhouse gases is high, but the country that emerged from the Kyoto Protocol in 2011 has set a goal - to reduce by 2020 the volume of CO2 in the atmosphere by 17% compared to 2005.

Military rails

It is worth mentioning that Canada produces many types of military products. The state is a traditional ally of the United States (as it adjoins them) and Great Britain (which, together with that country, is a member of the Commonwealth and, in combination, with NATO). The army of Canada is equipped with advanced military equipment, including national production. About 90 enterprises work in the country's military industrial complex.

In addition to supplies for their armed forces, Canadians export military equipment to the US and play for the US Army not the least. For example, it is the "northern neighbor" of the United States that equips the latter with technologies for the detection of naval targets, radar control panels for systems intended for early detection. It is worth noting that many of the Canadian military firms are fully owned by the Americans.

Space and Aviation

Industry Canada also produces aerospace equipment. This industry is represented by a group of hundreds of companies, and employs about 40 thousand employees. These firms annually produce machinery worth more than 3 billion Canadian dollars, and it is exported to the US, France, Germany and the UK. Among the main products - parts, components, equipment, that is, less finished products in the form of aircraft.

Although Canada has its own aircraft construction, including the production of aircraft engines. The share of military products is very high: among them, the "drones" CL-227, CL-89, parts and components for F-15 and F-18, F-111 bombers. The air-to-air sounding missiles, air-to-ground class, various components of jet engines and power units themselves are produced.

At the Canadian shipyards

Canada - a supplier of modern ships, including a military displacement of up to 5000 tons. Shipyards of this large country produce ships for scientific needs (oceanographical, hydrographic), security services (patrol boats), industry (dry cargo vessels, tankers with a capacity of up to 150 thousand tons). The location of Canada's industry in the shipbuilding sector is distributed among several large cities. Among them - Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Victoria, Halifax, St. Catharines, Sorel, St. John. In Canada, there is a government program to modernize the fleet and build new warships. Demand for ships produced in this country (including by the armies of various states) remains high.

Unsolved problems

Canada's manufacturing industry is a key factor in the competitiveness of the country's economy. At the same time, in this direction of development the country is experiencing difficulties: in order for the industry to issue high-quality products, stable investments in technology and equipment are needed. In the history of Canada there were periods when such investments were in short supply - in large part, due to growing debts in the external arena and subsequent problems with the state budget. In the country there is unemployment characteristic of capitalist economies, the duration of which has a tendency to grow. As a result, investments in the industry are not very active, as a result of which the production base does not always correspond to the current demands of the world market.

Socialism in Capitalism

Despite the fact that Canada's economy is highly dependent on the United States, it is characterized by increased state intervention (which is not very characteristic of developed countries). The government cares, first of all, about the social well-being of citizens. And therefore the administrative factor affects almost all industries of Canada. Some scholars call the economy of this state a "hybrid" between a liberal-oriented type and a social one.

At the same time, experts note that the effectiveness of such a policy is not very high. The state is sometimes forced to experience pressure from business. The facts of "socialist" generosity were noted, when the investments received projects that did not have real commercial prospects. At the same time, the positive side of the increased influence of the state for the Canadian economy is the standardization of certain industries and, as a result, the improvement of product quality.

Raw materials for the benefit of the economy

The country is rich in minerals and holds the world's leading positions in the export of various metals and minerals. In Canada, there are the largest deposits of uranium and coal. There are significant water resources, which allows the country to fully supply itself with electricity due to hydroelectric power (some of the energy is successfully exported).

The mining industry of Canada is developed thanks to the natural resource base. Engineers and researchers from this country are constantly improving the technological infrastructure associated with this and other segments of industry. The state assists with quality investments, pawning necessary volumes of financing in the budget. The resource orientation of the economy also determines the main features of the location of Canada's industry.

A lot of banks decide

The law defines three main forms of credit institutions in Canada: "charter", trust banks and credit unions. In the regional economy, the role of the stock exchange in Toronto, as well as a number of other trading platforms, is noticeable. Their work is clearly regulated by local administrations in the provinces (but there is also a federal structure - the Oversight Service, which specializes in managing the noted financial structure in Toronto). The movement of capital from and to the country has no legislative restrictions. The national currency of the state is the Canadian dollar, which, by analogy with the American "colleague" of 100 cents. It is worth noting that the Central Bank of Canada is accountable directly to the Parliament of the country (in many other capitalist states institutions with this status are often independent of the state).