Economy of Canada Currency Canadian dollar (CAD, C$)April 1 – March 31 Trade organizations
OECD , WTO , G-20 , G7 , USMCA , CPTPP , APEC and othersCountry group
Population 41,012,563 (Q2, 2024)[ 5] GDP
$2.118 trillion (nominal; 2023)[ 6]
$2.379 trillion (PPP ; 2023)[ 6]
GDP rank GDP growth
3.4% (2022)[ 7]
1.5% (2023f) [ 7]
1.5% (2024f) [ 7]
GDP per capita
$53,247 (nominal; 2023)[ 6]
$59,813 (PPP; 2023)[ 6]
GDP per capita rank
GDP by sector
2.7% (12 month change – June 2024)[ 9] 6.4% (official, 2020; StatCan )[ 10] 0.281 low (2020, StatCan)[ 11] [ 12] Labour force
21.34 million (2022)[ 15]
59.1% employment rate (September 2020)[ 16]
Unemployment
5.7% (October 2023)[ 17]
10.7% youth unemployment (May 2022; 15 to 24 year-olds)[ 18]
1.2 million unemployed (December 2021)[ 16]
Average gross salary
C$6,809 / US$4,975 monthly [ 19] (2022)C$5,065 / US$3,700 monthly [ 20] [ 21] (2022)Main industries
Exports US$717.6 billion (2023)[ 22] Export goods
motor vehicles and parts, industrial machinery, aircraft , telecommunications equipment; chemicals , plastics , fertilizers ; wood pulp , timber , crude petroleum , natural gas, electricity, aluminumMain export partners
Imports US$726.1 billion (2023)[ 24] Import goods
machinery and equipment, motor vehicles and parts, crude oil , chemicals, electricity , durable consumer goods Main import partners
Inward: $1.460 trillion (2022)[ 25]
Outward: $2.096 trillion (2022)[ 26]
$1.4 billion (Q3 2021)[ 27] −1% (of GDP) (2017 est.)[ 8] Revenues 649.6 billion (2017 est.)[ 8] Expenses 665.7 billion (2017 est.)[ 8] Economic aid donor : ODA , US$7.8 billion (2022)[ 28] US$122.9 billion (July 2024)[ 32] [ 33] All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars .
The economy of Canada is a highly developed mixed economy ,[ 34] [ 35] [ 36] with the world's tenth-largest economy as of 2023[update] , and a nominal GDP of approximately US$ 2.117 trillion .[ 6] Canada is one of the world's largest trading nations , with a highly globalized economy.[ 37] In 2021, Canadian trade in goods and services reached $2.016 trillion.[ 38] Canada's exports totalled over $637 billion, while its imported goods were worth over $631 billion, of which approximately $391 billion originated from the United States.[ 38] In 2018, Canada had a trade deficit in goods of $22 billion and a trade deficit in services of $25 billion.[ 38] The Toronto Stock Exchange is the tenth-largest stock exchange in the world by market capitalization , listing over 1,500 companies with a combined market capitalization of over US$3 trillion .[ 39]
Canada has a strong cooperative banking sector, with the world's highest per-capita membership in credit unions .[ 40] It ranks low in the Corruption Perceptions Index (14th in 2023)[ 41] and "is widely regarded as among the least corrupt countries of the world".[ 42] It ranks high in the Global Competitiveness Report (14th in 2019)[ 43] and Global Innovation Indexes (15th in 2022).[ 44] Canada's economy ranks above most Western nations on The Heritage Foundation 's Index of Economic Freedom [ 45] and experiences a relatively low level of income disparity .[ 46] The country's average household disposable income per capita is "well above" the OECD average.[ 47] Canada ranks among the lowest of the most developed countries for housing affordability [ 48] [ 49] and foreign direct investment .[ 50] [ 49] Among OECD members, Canada has a highly efficient and strong social security system ; social expenditure stood at roughly 23.1% of GDP .[ 4] [ 51] [ 3]
Since the early 20th century, the growth of Canada's manufacturing, mining, and service sectors has transformed the nation from a largely rural economy to an urbanized, industrial one.[ 52] Like many other developed countries, the Canadian economy is dominated by the service industry , which employs about three-quarters of the country's workforce.[ 53] Among developed countries, Canada has an unusually important primary sector , of which the forestry and petroleum industries are the most prominent components.[ 54] Many towns in northern Canada, where agriculture is difficult, are sustained by nearby mines or sources of timber.[ 55] Canada spends around 1.70% of GDP on advance research and development across various sectors of the economy.[ 56] [ 57]
Canada's economic integration with the United States has increased significantly since World War II .[ 58] The Automotive Products Trade Agreement of 1965 opened Canada's borders to trade in the automobile manufacturing industry.[ 59] In the 1970s, concerns over energy self-sufficiency and foreign ownership in the manufacturing sectors prompted the federal government to enact the National Energy Program (NEP) and the Foreign Investment Review Agency (FIRA).[ 60] The government abolished the NEP in the 1980s and changed the name of FIRA to Investment Canada to encourage foreign investment.[ 61] The Canada – United States Free Trade Agreement (FTA) of 1988 eliminated tariffs between the two countries, while the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) expanded the free-trade zone to include Mexico in 1994 (later replaced by the Canada–United States–Mexico Agreement ).[ 62] As of 2023, Canada is a signatory to 15 free trade agreements with 51 countries.[ 63]
Canada is one of the few developed nations that are net exporters of energy.[ 54] [ 64] Atlantic Canada possess vast offshore deposits of natural gas ,[ 65] and Alberta hosts the fourth-largest oil reserves in the world.[ 66] The vast Athabasca oil sands and other oil reserves give Canada 13 percent of global oil reserves, constituting the world's third or fourth-largest .[ 67] Canada is additionally one of the world's largest suppliers of agricultural products ; the Canadian Prairies are one of the most important global producers of wheat, canola , and other grains.[ 68] The country is a leading exporter of zinc, uranium, gold, nickel, platinoids , aluminum, steel, iron ore , coking coal , lead, copper, molybdenum, cobalt, and cadmium.[ 69] [ 70] Canada has a sizeable manufacturing sector centred in southern Ontario and Quebec, with automobiles and aeronautics representing particularly important industries.[ 71] The fishing industry is also a key contributor to the economy.[ 72]
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