Western Canada Economy Essay

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Introduction:

Western Canada is a region within Canada containing three provinces: Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. This region is plays significant role in the economy of Canada, with its vast natural resource deposits to its rich soils and strong agriculture industry. Western Canada comprises roughly 18% of the country’s total population, with the majority of its inhabitants living in major urban centers. Provinces within the region face unique issues today and will continue to in the future and related to its industries and economy. The purpose of this paper is to identify the key economic activities within Western Canada, examine the population, its core and periphery areas, while identifying the major issues facing the region and …show more content…

For natural resources, Western Canada attains its wealth from the oil sands, natural gas, uranium, potash and various areas of manufacturing that revolve around those resources—most of which comes from the oil sands (Bone, 2014b). Alberta continues to be the dominant province in Western Canada due to its massive reserve of petroleum; ultimately making the energy sector the largest portion of its gross domestic product (GDP), investments and exports (Government of Alberta, 2016). Moreover, The Government of Alberta maintains that the province holds the third largest crude oil reserve in the world (2016). For the agriculture industry, the major products produced depend on the markets. Canola farming is considered an important cash crop for farmers, while wheat is used as a rotational crop to maintain yields, as canola cannot be continually planted (Bone, 2014b). Western Canada is located on fertile soil and farming activity depends on the type of material underlying a region. Bone states that the region is comprised of three primary agricultural regions: the fertile belt, the dry belt and the agricultural fringe (Bone, 2014b). Another important facet linked to the agriculture industry is the livestock industry. According to Statistics Canada, beef cattle farms are the most numerous farm type in Alberta and Manitoba, and remain second in Saskatchewan (Statistics Canada, 2006). It is important to note that in the past, agriculture was the primary economic driver for Western Canada; however, the energy sectors have taken over with the region’s

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