Read any newspaper, switch on BNN or just listen to anyone talking about the Canadian economy and you are sure to come away with the idea that Canada relies on the Mining & Energy sectors. The numbers, as always, tell a different story. The monthly GDP figures released by StatCan show that we spend a disproportionate amount of time talking about the resource sector, when in fact, it is not the 1st or even 2nd component of our economy. It is actually, #3 on the list.
The largest component of our GDP is actually...Real Estate!
Real Estate and it's associated activities (leasing, agents, renting etc) makes up 12.6% of our GDP. The resource sector doesn't even touch the 10% mark. Even Manufacturing, the oft discounted as a lost sector, is bigger than resources (and thus it's decline should be a cause for concern).
Source: Statistics Canada. Table 379-0031 - Gross domestic product (GDP) at basic prices, by North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), monthly (dollars), CANSIM (database). (accessed: 2014-08-31)
And that's not even including construction! Add that to the total and you can start to understand how much trouble we would be in if the sector went sour.
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