Question

How is Canada dealing with its economy being greater in Ontario (Toronto) than the rest of Canada?

Answer 1

Canada resembles a mixed economy with dominance of service sector that constitutes around 70% of its GDP. In terms of GDP volume, Canada is 10th largest economy of the world. We can demarcate Canadian economy into four parts i.e., Ontario, Quebec, The West and Atlantic Canada.

Each economic zone of Canada is characterized by its own geographical locations,history and demography.

Ontario is the fourth largest province of Canada and known for its geographical locations and industries. It contributes around 40% of the Canada's GDP and continues to be epicenter of Canada economy. Around 40% of Canada population lives in this province. The capital city of Canada i.e., ottawa is located in Ontario. Major industries of Ontario province are Automobiles, Medical equipment, pharmaceuticals, communication and IT. The Tourism, oil and Banking sectors are also well developed in Ontario. provinces than Ontario.

Atlantic Canada consists of four provinces i.e., labrador, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. Major industries of Atlantic Canada are mineral, fishery and hydroelectricity. In comparison to other economic regions of Canada, this region is comparatively less developed. The total contribution of this region to the Canada's GDP is less than 10%.

Quebec is next important province of Canada and total contribution of this region to Canada's GDP is 20%. Major industries of this region are shipping, electrical, agriculture and pharmaceuticals. Montreal, the second busiest and important city after ottawa is located in Quebec.

Western Canada comprises four provinces i.e., Saskatchewan, British Columbia, Alberta and Manitoba and total contribution of this region to Canada's GDP is 35%. Majority of economic development of this region is concentrated on mineral exploration, shipping and real estate sectors. British Columbia is highly developed in natural oil and real estate sectors and offers billions dollars to the exchequer of government of Canada.

Canada's imitates the economic policies of its neighboring country i.e. United States and government of Canada is working towards transforming Canada into market based or capitalist economy. To bridge the economic inequalities of people in its four regions, the federal government focuses on development of local industries of each region. Canada mainly focus development of its automobiles, oil and shipping industries. It also implement a series of regional development programs to remove problems like illiteracy, low income, unemployment and poor infrastructure in the country. Majority of Canada's exports goes to neighborhood i.e., United States and leading exportable items from Canada are Crude oil, automobiles, electrical equipment, woods and computers. According to assessment of Central Bank of Canada, the GDP growth of Canada was around 2.6% in 2017 and energy and manufacturing sectors both shown some signs of recovery and unemployment rate is also expected to drop in the future. However, the negative signs as per the Central Bank's assessment are falling exports and decline in foreign investment in energy and manufacturing sectors.