Natural Resources in Canada
Canada is rich in natural mineral and energy resources that are spread across various regions of the country. Each province and territory are known for different natural resources, for example, in British Columbia the forestry industry is of great importance, while the oil and gas industry are important in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador.
Mining is the principal industry of Northern Ontario, while fishing has long been central to the character of the Atlantic provinces, though it has recently been in steep decline. Canada has mineral resources of coal, copper, iron ore, and gold.
The Department of Natural Resources (French: Ministère des Ressources naturelles), operating under the FIP applied title Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), is the ministry of the government of Canada responsible for managing resources including: energy, minerals and metals, forests, earth sciences, mapping and remote sensing. It was created in 1995 by amalgamating the now-defunct Departments of Energy, Mines and Resources and Forestry.
NRCan also uses its “expertise in earth sciences to build and maintain an up-to-date knowledge base of our landmass and resources.” To promote internal collaboration, NRCan has implemented a departmental wide wiki based on MediaWiki. NRCan also collaborates with American and Mexican government scientists, along with the Commission for Environmental Cooperation, to produce the North American Environmental Atlas, which is used to depict and track environmental issues for a continental perspective.
The vast Athabasca Oil Sands give Canada the world’s third largest reserves of oil after Saudi Arabia and Venezuela according to USGS.
Under the Canadian constitution, responsibility for natural resources belongs to the provinces, not the federal government. However, the federal government has jurisdiction over off-shore resources, trade and commerce in natural resources, statistics, international relations, and boundaries. The current Minister of Natural Resources is Seamus O’Regan.
The Department of Natural Resources currently has these sectors:
- Canadian Forest Service
- Corporate Management and Services Sector
- Earth Sciences Sector
- Energy Sector
- Innovation and Energy Technology Sector
- Minerals and Metals Sector
- Science and Policy Integration
- Public Affairs and Portfolio Management Sector
- Shared Services Office
- Geographical Names Board of Canada
Facts about Canada Natural Resources:
- Oil is the most abundant resource in Canada.
- Canada is the 4th largest natural gas producer in the world.
- Canada is the worlds largest producer of potash. (Potash is used for soap, batteries, detergents, animal feed, prescriptions and fertilizers)
- Canada is the 3rd largest exporter of metallurgical coal in the world
For further information on Canadian Natural Resources please visit: