Avijit Bajpai
The diverse and matured Canadian economy is one among the top nine largest economies of the world. The Canadian economy has moved from agriculture and is currently based on its advanced service sector, which now accounts for almost 67.9% of GDP. The economy is largely benefited from its valuable natural resources, free trade agreements and sound management.
With a nominal Gross Domestic Product of $1.274 trillion and a high growth rate of nearly 2.7 percent the Canadian economy has today become an integral part of the G8 and other ‘rich clubs’ of the world.
Certain other important factors in the development of the Canadian economy are its free trade agreement with the US that was signed in 1989 and the NAFTA treaty of 1994. These treaties and agreements associated the economy with various other key economies including Mexico, Chile, Israel and Costa Rica. In the year 2008, Canadian economy also agreed to a Canadian-European free trade association that further assisted in developing this dynamic economy.
Oil and lumber and pulp and paper are the two vital industries and exports of the Canadian economy. Canada also has world’s second-largest oil reserves. In addition to this Canada is also known for its mines that is one of the leading producers of nickel, uranium, gold, diamonds and lead. This diverse economy is also the largest exporter of soft commodities like grains and wheat.
The United States is the largest trading partner of Canada that accounts almost 76 percent of exports and around 65 percent of imports (2007).
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