Economy Overview
Given its abundant natural resources, highly skilled labor force, and modern capital plant, Canada enjoyed solid economic growth from 1993 through 2007. Buffeted by the global economic crisis, the economy dropped into a sharp recession in the final months of 2008, and Ottawa posted its first fiscal deficit in 2009 after 12 years of surplus. Canada's major banks, however, emerged from the financial crisis of 2008-09 among the strongest in the world, owing to the early intervention by the Bank of Canada and the financial sector's tradition of conservative lending practices and strong capitalization. Canada achieved marginal growth in 2010-15, despite the recent drop in oil prices.
Agriculture Products
wheat, barley, oilseed, tobacco, fruits, vegetables; dairy products; fish; forest products
Industries
transportation equipment, chemicals, processed and unprocessed minerals, food products, wood and paper products, fish products, petroleum, natural gas
Industrial Production Growth Rate
-2% (2015 est.)
Labor Force
19.28 million (2015 est.)
Labor Force by Occupation
Agriculture: 2%
Manufacturing: 13%
Construction: 6%
Services: 76%
Other: 3% (2006 est.)
Unemployment Rate
6.9% (2014 est.)
Population Below Poverty Line
9.4%
Household Income or Consumption by Percentage Share
Lowest 10%: 2.6%
Highest 10%: 24.8% (2000)
Distribution of Family Income Gini Index
31.5 (1994)
Budget
Revenues: $599.5 billion
Expenditures: $625.7 billion (2015 est.)
Public Debt
93.2% of GDP (2014 est.)
Central Bank Discount Rate
0.25% (31 December 2009)
Commercial Bank Prime Lending Rate
Stock of Narrow Money
$629.7 billion (31 December 2014 est.)
Stock of Broad Money
$1.47 trillion (31 December 2013 est.)
Stock of Domestic Credit
$2.973 trillion (31 December 2014 est.)
Market Value of Publicly Traded Shares
$2.16 trillion (31 December 2013 est.)
Reserves of Foreign Exchange and Gold
$74.7 billion (31 December 2014 est.)
Debt External
$1.395 trillion (31 December 2013 est.)
Stock of Direct Foreign Investment at Home
$1.01 trillion (31 December 2014 est.)
Stock of Direct Foreign Investment Abroad
$1.176 trillion (31 December 2014 est.)
Exchange Rates
0.9895 (2011 est.)
