Ontario’s southern economy remains strong due to several physical advantages. The proximity to the United States has aided in Ontario’s economic development. Its economy is boosted by its ability to trade with neighboring provinces and countries; facilitated by the St-Lawrence Seaway and Welland Canal. Extended growing seasons, ample precipitation and fertile soils, gives southern Ontario the most agriculturally productive lands in Canada. The large urban population of the area provides a stable local market for products within the region.
Even though southern Ontario’s economy is very powerful, unfortunately northern Ontario’s economy is not so hard driven. Due to a sluggish economy and high unemployment rates, northern Ontario’s well being depends entirely on its forest industries and extensive mineral wealth. The Canadian Shield, which consists of most of northern Ontario, does not accommodate agricultural use of the land. The long and cold winters of northern Ontario, make crops vulnerable to frost. Even though the National Railway and the Canadian Pacific Railway connect northern Ontario to national markets, its exports only account for less than 10% of Ontario’s total exports. Unlike in northern Québec, hydroelectric development is not possible due to gentle slopes in the terrain. The majority of the land in this region is no good and reserves and settlements often hinter in further development of the land.
Québec
As mentioned earlier, and similar to Ontario, Québec is divided in a northern resource hinterland and a southern industrial core. Southern Québec, which is home to 90% of the province’s population, is also home to Québec’s manufacturing firms specializing in clothing design and manufacturing, furniture manufacturing, metal refinishing, printing, textiles and transportation equipment. Montréal is also a center for high-tech manufacturing companies of components for aerospace, biotechnology, fiber optics and computers. Québec has a growing high-tech industry and strong service center, and like Ontario, the FTA has forced manufactures to become more efficient and more conscious of quality control to gain access to the North American markets. Québec, like Ontario, is part of the manufacturing belt because of its proximity to the United States. Even though the manufacturing industry is a big part of Québec’s economy, Québec’s biggest advantage over any other region is its hydroelectricity. Its elevated terrain results in more precipitation for hydroelectricity, as where Ontario has better climate for agriculture.
Most of Québec’s agricultural production is consumed by the St-Lawrence Lowlands which has the best agricultural lands. This area works as Québec’s core because of its large markets and its proximity to transportation networks which aid in trade. Livestock farm products from cattle, hog and sheep, poultry products and specialized crops of fruits and vegetables are all sold to local markets within the major urban centers of Québec. The processing of agricultural products is an added benefit to the economy, but since its agricultural sector has to compete with rules under NAFTA, for Québec’s economy to grow, they will have to rely on their manufacturing sector and their hydroelectricity. Québec has a strong manufacturing industry (pharmaceuticals, aviation, multimedia, etc.) and resource industry that compete with many North American and global economies. Québec has an industrial structure that resembles that of Ontario, but Québec’s unemployment rate is a third higher than Ontario’s.
Atlantic Canada
In comparison, Atlantic Canada’s economy is much weaker to those of Ontario and Québec. These province’s economies depend on subsidies and equalization payments granted by Ottawa. The Atlantic Provinces have to diversify their economy by putting emphasis on the manufacturing and processing of natural resources and expanding high-tech sectors to compete in global economies. Just like in Ontario and Québec, the Atlantic Provinces have forest industries and mining industries boosting their economies, but this region mainly relies on the fishing industry as their main source of economical structure. Due to physical characteristics and climate, work is very seasonal for some industries, therefore making employment insurance a key factor in the economy’s well being. Since jobs of the primary sector are being replaced by more efficient machinery, people are leaving the area, thus rebuilding the economy is much harder. Atlantic Canada has the lowest GDP and highest unemployment rates in the country due to high transportation costs for companies, a limited resource base, small internal markets and because of being so far from Canada’s major markets and centers. In the past four decades, Ottawa has granted $6 billion to Atlantic businesses, and the Department of Regional Economic Expansion was created to attract businesses to the Atlantic coast. Internal and external provincial barriers also hinter economic growth, as well as a lack of transportation infrastructures to compete in a North American economic system. The area is trying to turn around with highly specialized manufacturing firms for oil and gas developing in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, and high-tech firms developing in major cities. Many major cities in Atlantic Canada are home to telephone call centers for firms such as, Air Canada, AT&T Canada, Canadian Pacific Railways, IBM, Northern Telecom, Purolator Couriers, Royal Bank and UPS. Yet, the worst act to affect the Atlantic economy was the announcement of the moratorium on cod fishing (which will be discussed further). Although a bright note for the Atlantic Provinces is the upcoming wealth of Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, due to oil and natural gas deposits which should help boost the economy.
Key Topics
Ontario’s Automobile Industry
The automobile industry is a key aspect in Ontario’s economic and financial structure. Its economy is driven by the automobile industry, in fact, one in seven Canadian manufacturing jobs depend on this industry. This industry accounts for one quarter of Canada’s merchandise exports: in 1999, exports of automobile products was $95.5 billion (Bone, 2002). Most automobile assembly plants are contracted in southern Ontario due to advantages to transportation links and shorter driving distances to major markets, especially the United States. In 2000, approximately 80% of vehicles manufactured in Ontario were sold to the United States. General Motors, Ford and Daimler Chrysler account for 90% of vehicles produced, 41% of parts produced and 50% of employment within the industry. This creates a ripple affect within the industry for the province’s economy. This means, motor vehicle production and exportation raises demand for such products as steel, rubber, plastics, aluminum and glass products, thus creating more employment opportunities.
Québec’s Hydro-Electricity
Unlike Ontario, Québec’s economic strong point is its hydroelectricity. Hydro-Québec is Canada’s largest electric utility. This company has transformed and reshaped Québec’s economy into a modern industrial economy and built a strong French-speaking business community. Hydro-Québec became the first utility in the world to transmit electricity at very high voltages, reducing the amount of electrical energy lost in the transmission process. With the creation of the James Bay project, the biggest in the world, Québec can sell massive amounts of electricity to the United States. This enormous amount of energy attracted new manufactures to the region because of low electrical costs, thus creating more employment opportunities within the province. Québec also established very high-tech engineering firms for the construction of massive hydroelectric projects such as, the Manic-Outardes hydroelectric complex. The only down side to Québec great hydro-electric success is the toll taken on the surrounding areas of the hydro projects. The natural environment, fish stocks, and prime wildlife suffered when the land was altered and excavated to redirect and change the seasonal flow of rivers to create huge reservoirs.
Atlantic Canada’s Fishing Industry
The fishing industry is, to no one’s surprise, what drives the Atlantic Provinces economy. The Atlantic coast has ideal conditions for fish reproduction and an excellent physical environment for fishing. With its continental shelf extending outwards to 400m, Maritimers find cod, grey sole, flounder, redfish and shellfish, such as crab and lobster. The Atlantic Cod is the major natural resource and is often referred to as, “Newfoundland’s currency”. Atlantic Canada has also been negatively affected by its fishing industry. With investment made by fishing companies into modern and more efficient equipment, Newfoundland and Nova Scotia were able to increase income from fishing, but also left several Maritimers unemployed and caused over fishing. Therefore, a moratorium was put on Cod fishing to let the species recover from over fishing, a process which could take up to a decade. Georges Bank is now under Canadian government control also to reduce over fishing. The ban on Cod fishing greatly affected the Newfoundland economy. Not only is fishing the basis of the Atlantic province’s economy, but it’s also a way of life.
Mining Industry
All three regions use mining as a source of income. Ontario and Québec need mining for a source of survival of their northern regions, as where the Atlantic Provinces use mining as a source of economical survival. Most of Ontario’s mineral production takes place in northern Ontario, where they mine gold, uranium and nickel. Both the copper-nickel deposits in Sudbury and silver deposits in Cobalt were discovered during the construction of railway systems. Its forest products and minerals are shipped to national and international markets. The down side; minerals are a non-renewable natural resource which gives mining towns a short lifespan, but these cities are all strong contributors to Ontario’s northern economy. In comparison, Québec’s northern region also depends on mining for survival. Québec only contributes 8% of the country’s total mining production output. The iron mining industry in northern Québec accounts for much of what is produced in North America. They are also the second largest producers of high-quality iron pellets. Unlike Ontario and Québec, the Atlantic Provinces have more variety in minerals, such as, iron, potash, oil, natural gas, coal, zinc and lead. The average annual income is about $3.2 billion of which the oil deposit at Hibernia contributed about $1 billion. Nova Scotia’ revenue also increases due to the natural gas production from the offshore Sable Island deposit. Mining producers are the largest employers in Labrador and a large employer in New Brunswick. Mining is undoubtedly a very dangerous line of works, but in most cases, because of location, people aren’t left with very many other options. If plants start closing down, the government fears the drastic depression of several regions’ economies within these provinces.
Forest Industry
The forest industry also plays a big role in these same three regions: northern Ontario, northern Québec and Atlantic Canada. In northern Ontario, the boreal forest is the largest natural vegetation zone in the province. Being a renewable natural resource, logging provided a stable economy for northern Ontario and a long existence for local dependent communities. This region’s logging accounts for 25% of natural production. A similar scenario is present in Québec’s northern region. With 22% of Canada’s productive forest land, the forest industry greatly contributes to Québec’s economy by production and employment. 80% of Québec’s forest products are exported mainly to the United States which makes-up 21% of Québec’s total exports. As for Atlantic Canada, with 22.9 million ha of forest land, the forest industry plays an important role in its economy, especially for New Brunswick. Bringing in $3 billion in income each year for the region’s economy, most products received from logging are sold to local pulp mills. The majority of forest land is privately owned and the Crown Land is leased to the Irving Forest Corporation.
In conclusion, the above has pointed out that even though these regions share many similarities in manufacturing and industrial sectors, they all serve a different purpose to their relative regions. Ontario, being an economical powerhouse, has a very strong economy, and the same goes for Québec, but the Atlantic provinces not being at a very far distance has economical struggles. The question we must ask ourselves is: If Ontario and Québec, being economically strong, weren’t in such a close proximity to Atlantic Canada; would they survive on their own?
Outline
1. Introduction
2. Main ideas
- Describe the physical location of each area and its physical surroundings
- Describe its situation in Canada
- Describe each regions economy
- Include statistics
- Compare and contrast each area
- Describe its situation in Canada
- For Ontario, describe its automobile industry
- For Québec, describe its hydro-electric industry
- For Atlantic Provinces, describe its fishing industry
- Compare and contrast each area mining industry
- How does it affect each region’s economy
- Why and who is it important to...
- Compare and contrast each area mining industry
- How does it affect each region’s economy
- Why and who is it important to...
3. Conclusion
Bibliography
Bone, Robert M. The Regional Geography of Canada. 2nd ed. Toronto: Oxford Press, 2002, pages 226-325, 432-482.
Riendeau, Roger. A Brief History of Canada. Toronto: Fitzhenry and Whiteside, 2000.
