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| Subject: Why is Canada a rich country |
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I wonder why is Canada a rich country,
population is just 33 million people
Low production and consumption
That too majority of stuff here is imported from other countries
Only few traditional industries like wood/lumber, fishing, mining etc are prosperous
80% of population lives close to US border (within like 200 - 300 miles), rest of the country is empty
I still wonder why is Canada still one of the richest country and dollar value is high,
(No stupid answers please)
[09-02-2008,15:47]
[**.233.86.231]
Anon |
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(in reply to: Why is Canada a rich country)
- Low population allows for good per capita income. Just look at Luxemburg.
- Canada has not suffered from wars on thier territory since 1814.
- Good natural resources and farming.
- No civil wars.
- Overall, very stable throughout history.
- No radicals ever in power.
- Empty parts of Canada do not cost anything to maintain anyway. And given the climate there and the oceans, Canada does not have to protect those regions.
Those factors, over 2 centuries, will produce a stable and rich country.
[09-02-2008,16:24]
[**.149.246.114]
Nikolai |
(in reply to: Why is Canada a rich country)
Good question.
Canada´s incredible natural resources highly in demand throughout the rest of the world. Minerals, oil, gas, precious metals. As you mentioned, lumber from vast forests as well.
The newly industrialized countries of China, India, Brazil, Asia, and emerging markets are hungry for these resources. The Canadian dollar is very strong as a result.
[09-02-2008,16:28]
[**.53.224.249]
Richard |
(in reply to: Why is Canada a rich country)
Canada has a fairly good administration of resources, a very strong political constitution.
Canada is one of the few developed nations that are net exporters of energy.[2] Atlantic Canada has vast offshore deposits of natural gas and large oil and gas resources are centred in Alberta. The vast Athabasca Tar Sands give Canada the world´s second largest reserves of oil behind Saudi Arabia.[52] In Quebec, British Columbia, Newfoundland & Labrador, Ontario and Manitoba, hydroelectric power is a cheap and clean source of renewable energy.
Canada is one of the world´s most important suppliers of agricultural products, with the Canadian Prairies one of the most important suppliers of wheat, canola and other grains.[53] Canada is the world´s largest producer of zinc and uranium and a world leader in many other natural resources such as gold, nickel, aluminum, and lead; many, if not most, towns in the northern part of the country, where agriculture is difficult, exist because of a nearby mine or source of timber. Canada also has a sizeable manufacturing sector centred in southern Ontario and Quebec, with automobiles and aeronautics representing particularly important industries.
Canada is highly dependent on international trade, especially trade with the United States. The 1989 Canada-US Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) (which included Mexico) touched off a dramatic increase in trade and economic integration with the US. Since 2001, Canada has successfully avoided economic recession and has maintained the best overall economic performance in the G8. Since the mid-1990s, Canada´s federal government has posted annual budgetary surpluses and has steadily paid down the national debt.
Canada is one of the few developed nations that are net exporters of energy.[2] Atlantic Canada has vast offshore deposits of natural gas and large oil and gas resources are centred in Alberta. The vast Athabasca Tar Sands give Canada the world´s second largest reserves of oil behind Saudi Arabia.[52] In Quebec, British Columbia, Newfoundland & Labrador, Ontario and Manitoba, hydroelectric power is a cheap and clean source of renewable energy.
Canada is one of the world´s most important suppliers of agricultural products, with the Canadian Prairies one of the most important suppliers of wheat, canola and other grains.[53] Canada is the world´s largest producer of zinc and uranium and a world leader in many other natural resources such as gold, nickel, aluminum, and lead;[54] many, if not most, towns in the northern part of the country, where agriculture is difficult, exist because of a nearby mine or source of timber. Canada also has a sizeable manufacturing sector centred in southern Ontario and Quebec, with automobiles and aeronautics representing particularly important industries.
Canada is highly dependent on international trade, especially trade with the United States. The 1989 Canada-US Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) (which included Mexico) touched off a dramatic increase in trade and economic integration with the US. Since 2001, Canada has successfully avoided economic recession and has maintained the best overall economic performance in the G8.[55] Since the mid-1990s, Canada´s federal government has posted annual budgetary surpluses and has steadily paid down the national debt.
As of October 2007, Canada´s national unemployment rate of 5.9% is its lowest in 33 years.
Cheers
Bill
Psd.Information taken from Wikipedia.
[09-02-2008,16:52]
[**.70.95.206]
Bill |
(in reply to: Why is Canada a rich country)
...and because we don´t like to argue with people our military consists of 2 canoes, 8 soldiers and 1 broken airplane. JOKING but only just a little.
Our military budget is next to nothing and it allows us to run a much stronger social services and medical program as well as surplus budgets.
[09-02-2008,17:13]
[**.155.160.37]
Sharon |
(in reply to: Why is Canada a rich country)
And, preferably, it should remain small... Last thing we want is to follow our Southern neighbour into bankrupcy (which is guaranteed if McCain wins in November).
War is a very expensive buisness, especially if one wants to keep causalties low. And it does not win too much gratitude among people bombed...
Just build up economy, keep people happy and do not do stupid things. That would ensure success of any nation in the long term.
[09-02-2008,19:18]
[**.149.246.114]
Nikolai |
(in reply to: Why is Canada a rich country)
when you are a mouse living next door to an elephant why would you even attempt to have a military of any size or strength. If Canada was attacked it would be in the US´s best interest to come to our rescue anyway and which Canadian in their right mind would start a war with the US. Besides, all we need to do is turn off the water and the electricity!!
Little historical footnote: The last time US picked a fight with Canada, we won. I even think we managed to burn down the White House.
Our little military is just fine for natural disasters and the peace keeping jobs we are asked to do. Saves a whack load of dough.
[09-02-2008,19:36]
[**.155.160.37]
Sharon |
(in reply to: Why is Canada a rich country)
We (or my former we) called it the War of 1812. But in school and textbooks, they never mention the Americans starting it. It´s taught that the nasty British Canadians decided to sweep down and sack our capital. Funny how nationalism plays into a favored particular view of history.
Good point, earlier. I´d rather my country spend money on social services than on foreign wars, invasions, and trying to police the world.
[09-02-2008,20:02]
[**.53.224.249]
Richard |
(in reply to: Why is Canada a rich country)
now that you say it, without spending a half hour on google, who started the fight may be in question. I just remember we did something nasty to the White House. :)
[09-02-2008,20:30]
[**.155.160.37]
Sharon |
(in reply to: Why is Canada a rich country)
LOL, God bless wikipedia! of course, this was not our last war. Canada entered the second world war far in advance of the US... but again, history has a way of rewriting itself.
OK, here is our 1812 info
The war started badly for the Americans as an attempt to invade Canada in August 1812 was repulsed by Major-General Isaac Brock, commanding a small force composed of some 300 regular British troops supported by local militias and American Indian allies, and led to the British capture of Detroit. A second invasion attempt on the Niagara peninsula was defeated on 13 October at the Battle of Queenston Heights[4] at which Brock was killed. The American strategy relied in part on use of militias, but they either resisted service or were incompetently led. Financial and logistical problems also plagued the American war effort. Military and civilian leadership was lacking and remained a critical American weakness until 1814. Importantly, New England opposed the war and refused to provide troops or financing.[citation needed]
Britain possessed excellent finance and logistics, but the ongoing war with France had a higher priority, so in 1812-1813, it adopted a defensive strategy. After the final defeat of Napoleon in 1814, the British were able to send veteran armies to invade the U.S., but by then the Americans had learned how to mobilize and fight as well.[citation needed]
At sea, the powerful Royal Navy blockaded much of the American coastline (though allowing substantial exports from New England, which was trading with Britain and Canada in defiance of American laws). The blockade devastated American agricultural exports, but helped stimulate local factories that replaced goods previously imported.
The American strategy of using small gunboats to defend ports was a fiasco, as the British raided the coast at will. The most famous episode was a series of British raids on the shores of Chesapeake Bay, including an attack on Washington D.C. itself that resulted in the burning of the White House, the Capitol, the navy yard and other public buildings, later called the "Burning of Washington". The Americans were more successful sending out several hundred privateers to attack British merchant ships; British commercial interests were damaged, especially in the West Indies. Although few in number compared to the Royal Navy, the American Navy´s more powerful frigates prevailed in several one-on-one naval battles against British ships.
The decisive use of naval power came on the Great Lakes and depended on a contest of building ships. In 1813, the Americans won control of Lake Erie and thus cut off the British and native forces to the west from their supplies. The British ultimately held Lake Ontario, preventing any major American invasion. The Americans controlled Lake Champlain, and a naval victory there forced a large invading British army to turn back in 1814.
The Americans destroyed the power of the native peoples of the northwest and southeast, thus securing a major war goal. The trade restrictions and impressment by the British ended with the defeat of France, removing another root cause of the war. Both nations eventually agreed to a peace that left the prewar boundaries intact.
In January 1815 after the Treaty of Ghent was signed but before the US Congress had received a copy to ratify, the Americans succeeded in defending New Orleans, and the British captured Fort Bowyer before news of the treaty reached the combatants on the south coast.
The war had the effect of both uniting Canadians and also uniting Americans far more closely than either population had been prior to the war. Canadians remember the war as a victory by avoiding conquest, while Americans celebrated victory personified in the hero of New Orleans, Andrew Jackson, who went on to become the 7th President of the United States in 1829.
[09-02-2008,20:35]
[**.155.160.37]
Sharon |
(in reply to: Why is Canada a rich country)
Good detailed description from Google. Yes, Detroit was the initial location of the American incursion repulsed by the Canadians. Sacking Washington was a result of British Canada having enough of this "manifest destiny" philosophy of the Americans. This stuff was never really taught in depth and from that perspective in my grade school history.
Anyone interested in quirky Canada/American history, check out the background of the Minnesota Angle. It´s that few square miles of Minnesota that extends above the 49th parallel that is the continental U.S./Canadian border. A few Americans live in the Angle, but have no way of reaching the U.S. by land.
Bill´s energetic background on why the relative wealth was also quite good. I suspect it helps to know these things when working within the energy industry in prime energy extraction territory.
[09-02-2008,21:05]
[**.53.224.249]
Richard |
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