Health and welfare

All levels of government share the responsibility for social welfare in Canada. The federal government administers comprehensive income-maintenance measures, such as the Canada Pension Plan, Canada Assistance Plan, old-age security pensions, family allowances, youth allowances, and unemployment insurance, in which nationwide coordination is necessary. The federal government gives aid to the provinces in meeting the costs of public assistance; it also provides services for special groups, such as Native Americans, veterans, and immigrants. Administration of welfare services is mainly the responsibility of the provinces, but local authorities, generally with financial aid from the province, often assume the provision of services. Provincial governments have the major responsibility for education and health services in Canada, with municipalities also assuming authority over matters delegated to them by provincial legislation. Health and Welfare Canada is the chief federal agency in health matters.

The Medical Care Act, passed in 1966, has permitted the federal government to contribute about half the cost of the Medical Care Insurance Program (Medicare), with the respective province contributing the remainder. The program establishes the following minimum criteria: (1) comprehensive coverage to cover all medically required services rendered by physicians and surgeons; (2) universal availability to all residents; (3) portability, to cover temporary or permanent change in residence to another province; and (4) nonprofit basis.

Defense

The Canadian armed forces are integrated and are headed by the chief of the defense staff, who reports to the civilian minister of national defense. Under the defense staff are five major commands, organized according to function: maritime command, land force command, air command, communication command, and headquarters northern area command. Canada is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and until 1994 allocated air and land forces to support NATO in Europe. Canada participates jointly with the United States in the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). It also contributes troops to United Nations peacekeeping operations. In the early 1990s the Canadian armed forces included about 78,100 people.

Economy

Until the early 20th century, Canada was primarily an agricultural nation. Since then it has become one of the most highly industrialized countries in the world. To a large extent the manufacturing industries are supplied with raw materials produced by the agricultural, mining, forestry, and fishing sectors of the Canadian economy.

Between 1973 and 1993 Canada's output of goods and services, or gross domestic product (GDP), increased in real terms by about three-quarters to C (Canadian) $704.8 billion (U.S.$546.3 billion). Federal government annual expenditures for the same year were C$167.5 billion, which exceeded the year's revenues, leaving a deficit of C$40.5 billion.

Agriculture

The Canadian economy depends heavily on agriculture, which employs about 4 percent of the labor force. In the early 1990s Canada had some 280,000 farms, which averaged 242 hectares (598 acres) in size. The annual value of farm output amounted to C$24.2 billion in 1993. Because of its abundant production and relatively small population, Canada is a leading exporter of food products. Farms in Canada are about equally divided between crop raising and livestock production. Wheat is the most important single crop, and the Prairie Provinces of Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan form one of the greatest wheat-growing areas of the world, with an average annual production of more than one-fifth of the world's supply. One-half of Canada's wheat is grown in Saskatchewan. The Prairie Provinces also grow a large percentage of the coarse grains and oilseeds produced in Canada. After wheat, the major cash receipts from field crops are obtained from sales of canola, vegetables, barley, maize, potatoes, fruits, tobacco, and soybeans. Annual output totals in the early 1990s included (in metric tons) wheat - 29.9 million; barley - 10.9 million; maize - 5.6 million; canola - 3.7 million; potatoes - 2.9 million; and oats - 3.0 million.

Livestock and livestock products account for about 50 percent of yearly farm cash receipts. Ranching prevails in the west, and the raising of livestock is a general enterprise, except in parts of Alberta and Saskatchewan, where beef cattle form a specialized industry. Ontario and Quebec rank highest in production of dairy products, with about 71 percent of the national output; in poultry farming, with 64 percent; and in egg production, with 54 percent. Quebec produces 82 percent of the maple products, and Ontario produces 89 percent of the nation's tobacco crop.

In early 1990s the livestock population of Canada included about 14.7 million cattle and calves, of which approximately 1.2 million were milk cows; 10.7 million hogs; and 949,000 sheep and lambs. Fruit farming is done in Ontario, British Columbia, and Quebec, with apples contributing about 40 percent of the total value. Berries, peaches, grapes, and cherries are other important crops. Tomatoes, onions, carrots, turnips, peas, and beans are major vegetable crops; Ontario produces about one-half of the total vegetable crops, followed by Quebec and British Columbia.

Forestry and Fishing

Forestry is a major source of Canada's wealth, and forest products annually account for nearly 14 percent of Canadian exports. Forests cover some 4.2 million sq km (some 1.6 million sq mi) of the country. Canada has more than 150 varieties of native trees; about 80 percent of them are softwoods, such as spruce, Douglas fir, hemlock, cedar, pine, and balsam.

The fishing resources of the country are harvested from the northwestern Atlantic and northeastern Pacific oceans and from the most extensive bodies of fresh water in the world. The catch includes herring, redfish, scallops, salmon, flatfish, lobsters, and crab.

Furs

Fur trapping had an important role in Canada's early economic development, and the practice continues today. Farming operations consist mainly of raising mink, which contributes more than 90 percent of the annual value of pelts from fur farms, with fox accounting for virtually all the remainder. The fur farms are mainly concentrated in Ontario, Nova Scotia, Quebec, and British Columbia. In the early 1990s, 1.9 million pelts of all types were harvested annually. Trapping is carried on primarily in northern Canada; Ontario, Quebec, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba are the main producers of wildlife pelts.

Mining

The mining industry in Canada has a long history of exploration. The most significant period of growth, however, has been since World War II ended in 1945, with mineral discoveries in almost every region of the country. Mining is an important source of national wealth; in 1992 annual mineral production was valued at about C$36 billion. The Canadian mining industry is strongly oriented toward exports, and Canada is one of the world's leading mineral exporters. The United States, the European Union, and Japan are the leading purchasers of Canadian minerals.

The growth of the mining industry is due in part to petroleum and natural gas discoveries in western Canada; development of huge iron-ore deposits in Labrador and Quebec; the discovery and development of large deposits of nickel in Ontario and Manitoba, uranium in Ontario and Saskatchewan, and potash in Saskatchewan; extraction of sulfur from natural gas in the western provinces; development of copper, lead, and zinc deposits; and the production of gold in Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia, and Northwest Territories. Other minerals in which the country is among the leading producers are cobalt, copper, gold, gypsum, iron ore, lead, molybdenum, natural gas, platinum-group metals, silver, sulfur, and titanium concentrates.

Manufacturing

The Canadian economy is largely dependent on manufacturing and industry In the early 1990s the leading manufactures, measured by value of output, were transportation equipment, food products, paper and allied products, chemicals and chemical products, primary metals, refined petroleum and coal products, electrical and electronic products, fabricated metal products, wood, and printed materials. The most important manufacturing provinces are Ontario, which now accounts for more than one-half the manufacturing production of Canada, and Quebec, which accounts for nearly one-fourth. The chief manufacturing cities include Toronto, MonteКal, Hamilton, Vancouver, Windsor, Winnipeg, and Kitchener.

Energy

Endowed with many fast-flowing rivers, Canada is the world's leading producer of hydroelectricity. More than 85 percent of the country's hydroelectric output is generated in the provinces of Quebec, Ontario, Newfoundland, and British Columbia. Since the early 1950s, Canada has sought to use its abundant resources of natural uranium to generate electricity. The first nuclear power plant, a demonstration station at Rolphton, Ontario, was completed in 1962. A huge nuclear plant was opened at Pickering, Ontario in the early 1970s. In addition, a great complex of nuclear facilities on the Bruce Peninsula, in Ontario, owned and operated by Ontario Hydro, was completed in the early 1990s. No new nuclear facilities are under construction or in the design stages.

Tourism

The natural variety of seasons and scenic wonders of Canada draw large numbers of tourists. In the spring, blossom festivals flourish across Canada, especially in the Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia and the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia. Noteworthy is the Ottawa Festival of Spring (Tulip Festival) in May. Alberta's Calgary Exhibition and Stampede in July is world-famous. The Niagara Grape and Wine Festival and autumn-color tours in central Ontario and the Laurentian Mountains of Quebec are among the other attractions. In the winter the abundant snowfall has been exploited; skiing centers are expanding. Tourism has become one of the leading industries of Canada. In the early 1990s some 36.8 million tourists visited the country annually. Expenditures were about C$25 billion a year, with U.S. residents spending some 46 percent of the total.

Foreign Trade

From the 16th to the 18th century, the leading Canadian items of export were fish and furs. During the 19th century, the exploitation of the white-pine forests of the Laurentian region was initiated, and timber became the staple item of export. With the improvement of railroad lines early in the 20th century, the western prairie regions were opened, and wheat became the chief item of export. The mining industry began to grow at about the same time; valuable mineral deposits were discovered in the Laurentian region (previously mining had been confined largely to iron and coal in Nova Scotia, and gold, silver, and copper in British Columbia), and exploitation of the spruce timber of northern Ontario and Quebec began. Manufacturing industries developed to supply and process the goods of the three primary industries, agriculture, forestry, and mining. The advance of hydroelectric and thermoelectric technology contributed immensely to the economic expansion in northern Canada.

Most of Canada's foreign trade is with the United States, which typically takes about four-fifths of Canada's exports and supplies more than two-thirds of its imports. The value of the Canada-United States merchandise trade is greater than between any other two countries in the world. Components of Canadian exports are increasingly manufactured items; while resource exports such as minerals, timber, and grains are still important, their share of total export volume is decreasing. Leading export items to the United States are motor vehicles and motor-vehicle parts, an exchange, which began in the mid-1960s under an agreement providing for free trade in transportation equipment. In the early 1990s principal trading partners (in addition to the United States) for exports were Japan, Great Britain, Germany, China, the Netherlands, South Korea, and France. Chief sources for imports were Japan, Great Britain, Germany, Mexico, France, Taiwan, and China.

The leading products Canada sells abroad include automobiles, trucks, motor-vehicle parts, crude petroleum, lumber, newsprint, wood pulp, wheat, industrial machinery, natural gas, office machines, and aluminum. Principal imports are motor-vehicle parts, automobiles, general purpose and specialized machinery, chemicals, computers, crude petroleum, telecommunications equipment, and fruit and vegetables.

Communications

The publicly owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) owned and operated 65 originating radio stations, including AM, FM, and short-wave, and 29 originating television stations in the early 1990s. Broadcasts are in English, French, and a variety of Native American languages. A total of 695 private originating radio stations (362 AM, 333 FM) and 116 private television stations were operating. Of the 10.1 million households in Canada in the early 1990s, 99 percent had radios and televisions; about 88 percent had access to cable television systems.

In the early 1990s more than 15.9 million telephone lines were in service in Canada. Most domestic telephone service is provided by the Stentor Alliance, a consortium of regional networks that includes nine telephone companies. Seven of the firms are privately owned; the other two are owned and operated by the provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Teleglobe Canada provides international telephone service.

In the early 1990s Canada had 106 daily newspapers, with an aggregate daily circulation of 5.8 million copies. Widely read newspapers include the Calgary Herald and Edmonton Journal, in Alberta; The Province and Vancouver Sun, both in Vancouver, British Columbia; Winnipeg Free Press, in Manitoba; Chronicle-Herald, in Halifax, Nova Scotia; The Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, and Toronto Sun, all in Toronto, Ontario; and The Gazette, Le Journal Mantreal, and La Presse, all in Montreal, Quebec. The Globe and Mail receives national distribution. Many other publications, including MacLean’s, a weekly news magazine; Chatelaine, a women’s journal published in English and French; and Canadian Geographic also served the country. The government-controlled Canada Post provides mail delivery throughout the country.