Canada is one of the most economically prosperous countries in the world. As per a recent report, Canada has a GDP of $ 1.6 trillion making it among the top 10 nominal GDP nations in the world. If you aspire to study in Canada, then here is a brief description of how affluent is the country. This blog is especially helpful for students who wish to work in Canada at some point of their career and settle down eventually.
Canadian economy is dominated primarily by two sectors – services and natural resources. Service sector is the largest employment generator (almost 70%) for the residents of Canada. Not only this, when it comes to natural reserves, as per Wikipedia, Canada has the third highest estimated value of natural resources in the world valued at USD $31 trillion in 2019. It is the fourth largest exporter of petroleum and natural gas. Due to such abundance of natural resources, it is often referred as the energy superpower of the world.
Service sector in Canada
- Travel and Tourism – Canada is one of the top tourist destinations in the world. What this also means is that during the pre-Covid era, Travel and Tourism was an affluent industry in Canada contributing billions to the GDP and creating millions of direct and indirect employment. There are basically five sectors in this – Travel related transportation, accommodation (hotels and motels), food and beverage (restaurants), travel agencies and recreational activities. Due to Covid travel restrictions, this industry now is facing a temporary pause (just like every other country in the world) but as late as 2019, it generated revenue of around $ 100 billion for Canada.
- Banking and Financial services – Banking and Financial services is one of the largest private sector industries in Canada with Toronto being the Business and financial capital of Canada like we have Mumbai as the financial capital in India. Toronto is also one of the top 10 financial hubs in the world. Some of the prominent industries within this sector are – Banking, insurance, wealth management, accounting and taxation and brokerage or advisory firms. Bank of Canada is the banker’s bank in Canada like we have RBI in India. World over, the Canadian banking system is known for its resilience and transparent management which has resulted in it being called “envy of the world” by its counterparts. Canadian banking system did not suffer much during the 2008 worldwide subprime crisis and the credit for this is often given to the strict policies and management of the banking sector in Canada. This sector employs people from a wide variety of backgrounds namely analytics, technology, IT, science, communications and commerce.
- Real estate – This sector is linked closely to the economic activity of a country. If the economy is doing well, healthy growth in population (both of original residents and immigrants), more career and job opportunities are being created for residents and if there is a consistent growth in take home income, then people tend to spend more on housing and that gives a boost to the real estate segment. For Canada, the commercial real estate sector contributes more to the GDP than its residential counterpart. As per a recent report by Mordor Intelligence, this industry is dominated by 4 to 5 players namely BC Housing Management, Concert Properties, Aquilini Development, Bosa Properties and Century 21 Canada. This sector mainly employs engineers, architects, designers and technical graduates. However, the embracing of technology with property, also known as proptech has led to the increasing demand of data scientists, analysts and students from AI background in this sector. Today’s generation don’t just want homes to reside, they want homes that are smarter, more secure and more technologically advanced.
- Ecommerce – This sector was one of the rising sectors until Covid hit. With social distancing, home quarantine and isolation becoming the new norm, one of the biggest beneficiaries has been ecommerce. This pandemic led to the sudden and predictably permanent move of shopping habits online. As per a report by Statista, revenue from retail e-commerce sector in Canada stood at USD 25.4 billion in 2019. Some of the top names in this segment include Amazon, Walmart, Costco and Apple. This industry again employs people from almost every background due to the very nature of this sector namely engineers, data scientists, marketers, customer service people, supply management experts, people from logistics background etc.
Natural resources sector in Canada
Canada has an abundance of natural resources which makes this sector as one of the most promising and highly affluent sectors in Canada. Natural resources industry in Canada includes agriculture, mining, fishing, forestry and energy sources. Among all of them, energy and mining sectors make the largest contribution to GDP. As per a Canadian government report, this sector contributed to 16% of GDP in 2016 and employing over 1.7 million Canadians directly or indirectly.
That was about some of the most popular economic sectors in Canada. One of the biggest strengths of Canada is its low population. That makes availability of every resource in abundant quantities for its residents. Canadians are also very mindful of the fact to use the resources and opportunities in a feasible manner and contribute to sustaining the environment. The Government of Canada is also very focused in its drive to remain one of the leading countries in economic and human development. They were one of the first few countries to legalize cannabis for recreational purposes and use of cryptocurrencies for general public usage. Such moves are not only beneficial for economic development and prosperity but they also showcase the futuristic approach of the governments.
After reading so much about the prosperity of Canada, it is little wonder that it is one of the most sought after places for overseas education for international students. Do you want to study and work in Canada? You are not alone. There are many trying to fulfil this dream. With GoCan, the best study visa consultants in Ludhiana, you too can make this wish a reality.