● History
● The Canada-US Free Trade Agreement
● Natural Resources
● Agriculture
● Manufacturing Industries
● Service Industries
● Canada's Place in the World Economy

Agriculture

Eighty—eight per cent of the Canadian landmass is unsuitable for farming, and throughout the country, soil is poor, the growing season is short and the climate is harsh. Most farming takes place in a narrow band along the southern border of the country, within 500 kilometres of the United States. And wheat farming, for example, on the Canadian prairies, is made even more difficult because the products are far away from the metropolitan markets, so transportation costs make farm products even more expensive.

Despite the difficulties, agriculture remains important to the Canadian economy. The prairie provinces specialize in wheat and cereals production, feedstock and cattle: farms tend to be very large. This region accounts for

Big Farms in the Prairie Area
Big Fields and Big Operations Mean Enormous Investment in Equipment for Prairie Farmers.

about 51 per cent of Canada's agricultural output. Transportation costs are partially alleviated by a federal government subsidy policy introduced in World War II, which, for example, means that feeds can be shipped to other provinces cheaply. Such policies have allowed regions to specialize in the production of particular farm products.

In 1981, more than three—quarters of Canada's dairy farms and two-thirds of hog farms were located in the eastern provinces of Quebec and Ontario: the animals are fed by prairie grains brought in by train. These farms are much smaller—about one-fifth the size on average—than the sprawling prairie ranches.

New Brunswick and Prince Edward also have large poultry sectors, and also specialize in potato production. Fruits and vegetables can only be grown in areas with comparatively mild climates, and so are very local in nature: British Columbia, for example, has a lot of orchards, and the weather is mild enough to allow for the development of a local wine industry.

Many of the Wineries in this Area are Renown for their Award Winning Wines	British Columbia Wine

In the past, agricultural exports have been very important to the Canadian economy: before World War I, 50 per cent of Canada's exports were agricultural; this fell to 40 per cent after World War II. But in recent years there has been a dramatic drop, and now they comprise less than 10 per cent of Canada's total exports. Furthermore, it has become cheaper in many cases to import foodstuffs rather than to produce such items domestically. For example, it makes more geographical sense for Easterners to buy their vegetables from neighbouring American states rather than shipping similar products from western Canada. The conclusion of the Free Trade Agreement also displaced inefficient Canadian farmers, who used to rely on government subsidies to remain productive.

Previous Page        Next Page