Canada

A land of vast distances and rich natural resources, Canada became a self-governing dominion in 1867 while retaining ties to the British crown. Economically and technologically the nation has developed in parallel with the US, its neighbor to the south across an unfortified border. Canada faces the political challenges of meeting public demands for quality improvements in health care and education services, as well as responding to separatist concerns in predominantly francophone Quebec. Canada also aims to develop its diverse energy resources while maintaining its commitment to the environment.

Main Airports

Calgary (YYC), Montréal (YUL), Ottawa (YOW)

U.S. Embassy

490 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, Ontario
tel. 613-238-5335

Statistics

GDP: purchasing power parity:

$1.114 trillion (2005 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:

2.9% (2005 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity:

34,000 (2005 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):

2.2% (2005 est.)

Labor force:

16.3 million (December 2005)

Exports:

$364.8 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

Exports - partners:

US 84.2%, Japan 2.1%, UK 1.8% (2005)

Imports:

$317.7 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

Imports - partners:

US 56.7%, China 7.8%, Mexico 3.8% (2005)

Population:

33,098,932 (July 2006 est.)

Population growth rate:

0.88% (2006 est.)

Population Below Poverty Line:

15.9%; note - this figure is the Low Income Cut-Off (LICO), a calculation that results in higher figures than found in many comparable economies; Canada does not have an official poverty line (2003)

Major Industries:

transportation equipment, chemicals, processed and unprocessed minerals, food products, wood and paper products, fish products, petroleum and natural gas

Employing Workers: 13*

Registering Property: 22*

Enforcing Contracts: 16*

Closing a Business: 5*

*2006 World Bank rank out of 175 countries

Starting a Business

The table below shows the number of steps and the amount of time needed to start a business, on average

Indicator	Canada	Region
Procedures (number)	2
Time (days)	3

Canada Risk Assessment

Country Rating

Rating: A1

The political and economic situation is very good. A quality business environment has a positive influence on corporate payment behaviour. Corporate default probability is very low on average.

Risk Assessment

In 2007, the Canadian economy essentially averted the slowdown developing in the United States. Wage and job growth provided solid support for household consumption. Both residential and non-residential construction continued to trend up, representing 25 per cent of GDP growth. The Canadian dollar appreciation undercut, however, the increase in export revenues associated with the soaring prices for raw materials — oil, coking coal, electricity, grain, and metals — and also undermined the prices and the volumes of traditional exports to the United States, which absorbs the highest proportion of them by far.

The economy should remain relatively firm in 2008. Consumption will benefit again from a bright job picture, especially in the public sector, and from further reductions of direct and indirect taxes facilitated by the public sector financial surplus and continued debt reduction. Taking advantage of new, generally more favourable amortisation rules, companies will increase their investments in commercial and office premises. Public institutions will maintain a high level of spending on infrastructure, health, and education. A tightening of credit will undermine residential construction (40 per cent of building and public works activity. Export volumes, meanwhile, will remain sluggish due notably to the slump prevailing in the United States and the still-high level of the Canadian dollar.

Corporate financial health is still generally good as evidenced by the good Coface payment-incident index for Canada and the continued decline of bankruptcies. Beyond this general economic assessment differences emerge between regions and sectors. A dichotomy will notably persist between the western provinces underpinned by raw materials and the central provinces (Quebec, Ontario) very dependent on a manufacturing industry suffering from both unfavourable exchange rates and competition from emerging countries. While the aviation industry and facilities for energy production, mine operation, construction, and agriculture have outperformed, other sectors have fared less well. Car industry parts manufacturers, who do 90 per cent of their business with the three major North American car makers have suffered from the decline in local production and the reduction in the number of Canadian parts contained in vehicles. Tourism has suffered from the decline in the number of visitors from the United States. Retailers located near the southern border have felt the effects of cross-border purchasing by Canadians. The wood industry has been contending with the weaker demand for construction in the United States. The paper industry has to continue restructuring due to the decline in newsprint consumption, continuing competitive pressures, and rising costs.

• Agriculture
• Apparel
• Arts & Crafts
• Automobile
• Bags, Cases & Boxes
• Chemicals
• Computer Hardware & Software
• Construction & Real Estate
• Consumer Electronics
• Electrical & Electronics
• Energy & Environment
• Food & Beverage
• Furniture & Furnishing
• Health & Medicine
• Home Supplies
• Industrial Supplies
• Lights & Lighting
• Machinery
• Mineral & Materials
• Office Supplies
• Security & Protection
• Service
• Sports & Entertainment
• Telecommunications
• Textile
• Toys
• Transportation