What is Canada's number one industry?
5195#1
Canada is unusual among developed countries in the importance of the primary sector, with the logging and oil industries being two of Canada's most important. Canada also has a sizable manufacturing sector, based in Central Canada, with the automobile industry and aircraft industry being especially important. With the world's longest coastline, Canada has the 8th largest commercial fishing and seafood industry in the world. Canada is one of the global leaders of the entertainment software industry. It is a member of the APEC, NAFTA, G7, G20, OECD and WTO.
Economy of Canada
5195#24
The service sector in Canada is vast and multifaceted, employing about three quarters of Canadians and accounting for 70% of GDP. The largest employer is the retail sector, employing almost 12% of Canadians. The retail industry is concentrated mainly in a small number of chain stores clustered together in shopping malls. In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of big-box stores, such as Wal-Mart (of the United States), Real Canadian Superstore, and Best Buy (of the United States). This has led to fewer workers in this sector and a migration of retail jobs to the suburbs.
The second largest portion of the service sector is the business service and hire only a slightly smaller percentage of the population. This includes the financial services, real estate, and communications industries. This portion of the economy has been rapidly growing in recent years. It is largely concentrated in the major urban centres, especially Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver (see Banking in Canada).
Economy of Canada
5195#0
The economy of Canada is a highly developed mixed economy with 10th largest GDP by nominal and 16th largest GDP by PPP in the world. As with other developed nations, the country's economy is dominated by the service industry, which employs about three quarters of Canadians. Canada has the fourth highest total estimated value of natural resources, valued at US$33.2 trillion in 2016. It has the world's third largest proven petroleum reserves and is the fourth largest exporter of petroleum. It is also the fourth largest exporter of natural gas. Canada is considered an "energy superpower" due to its abundant natural resources and small population.
Economy of Canada
5195#6
About 4% of Canadians are directly employed in primary resource fields, and they account for 6.2% of GDP. They are still paramount in many parts of the country. Many, if not most, towns in northern Canada, where agriculture is difficult, exist because of a nearby mine or source of timber. Canada is a world leader in the production of many natural resources such as gold, nickel, uranium, diamonds, lead, and in recent years, crude petroleum, which, with the world's second-largest oil reserves, is taking an increasingly prominent position in natural resources extraction. Several of Canada's largest companies are based in natural resource industries, such as Encana, Cameco, Goldcorp, and Barrick Gold. The vast majority of these products are exported, mainly to the United States. There are also many secondary and service industries that are directly linked to primary ones. For instance one of Canada's largest manufacturing industries is the pulp and paper sector, which is directly linked to the logging business.
Economy of Canada
7104843#11
A great deal of emphasis is placed on the Canadian diamond industry as a welcome alternative to the blood or conflict diamonds mined in Africa. Canada was one of the main supporters of the Kimberly process, a certification initiative created in 2000 to help deter the trade of conflict diamonds. All diamonds mined and cut in the Northwest Territories of Canada are laser inscribed with a unique identification number so that retailers can assure they are conflict-free stones. 
Taking another oppositional cue from Africa and the disastrous impacts their mining programs had on the surrounding ecosystems, all Canadian diamond mines are overseen by the Canada Mining Regulations for the Northwest Territories. This program ensures the preservation of surrounding land and aquatic habitats.
Canadian diamonds
43830954#2
In Canada the home renovation industry is at least $70 billion in size (in USA over $300 billion). Exact numbers for Canada are not certain as some figures suggest that more than 50% of the business is cash based, and hence possibly unreported. As such the industry in Canada is almost as big as the finance and insurance one.
Myreno411
5195#29
Canada is one of the few developed nations that is a net exporter of energy—in 2009 net exports of energy products amounted to 2.9% of GDP. Most important are the large oil and gas resources centred in Alberta and the Northern Territories, but also present in neighbouring British Columbia and Saskatchewan. The vast Athabasca oil sands give Canada the world's third largest reserves of oil after Saudi Arabia and Venezuela according to USGS. In British Columbia and Quebec, as well as Ontario, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and the Labrador region, hydroelectric power is an inexpensive and relatively environmentally friendly source of abundant energy. In part because of this, Canada is also one of the world's highest per capita consumers of energy. Cheap energy has enabled the creation of several important industries, such as the large aluminum industries in British Columbia and Quebec.
Economy of Canada
5192#35
The fisheries industry has historically been one of Canada's strongest. Unmatched cod stocks on the Grand Banks off Newfoundland launched this industry in the 16th century. Today these stocks are nearly depleted, and their conservation has become a preoccupation of the Atlantic Provinces. On the West Coast, tuna stocks are now restricted. The less depleted (but still greatly diminished) salmon population continues to drive a strong fisheries industry. Canada claims of territorial sea, a contiguous zone of , an exclusive economic zone of and a continental shelf of or to the edge of the continental margin.
Geography of Canada
53276123#0
Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) is the national industry association representing Canada’s private home, auto and business insurers. It was established in 1964. Its member companies represent 90% of the Canadian property and casualty (P&C) insurance market. IBC works on a number of fronts to increase public understanding of home, auto and business insurance. Public understanding is also fostered through IBC’s five regional consumer centres, where trained personnel with years of industry and government relations experience answer tens of thousands of consumer inquiries each year.
Insurance Bureau of Canada
372478#43
Canada has the third largest video game industry in terms of employment numbers. The video game industry has also been booming in Montreal since 1997, coinciding with the opening of Ubisoft Montreal. Recently, the city has attracted world leading game developers and publishers studios such as Ubisoft, EA, Eidos Interactive, Artificial Mind and Movement, BioWare, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and Strategy First, mainly because video games jobs have been heavily subsidized by the provincial government. Every year, this industry generates billions of dollars and thousands of jobs in the Montreal area. Vancouver has also developed a particularly large cluster of video game developers, the largest of which, Electronic Arts, employs over two thousand people. The "Assassin's Creed" series, along with the "Tom Clancy" series have all been produced in Canada and have achieved worldwide success. For consumers, the largest video games convention in Canada is the Enthusiast Gaming Live Expo (EGLX).
Video game industry
31756912#0
Canada has the third largest video game industry in terms of employment numbers following those in the US and in Japan, with 20,400 employees, 472 companies, and a direct annual economic impact of nearly $3 billion added to Canada's GDP in 2015. Video game development is beginning to rival the film and television production industry as a major contributor to the economy.
Video gaming in Canada