January Questions and Answers

Joel Emes

Q: Which province contributes the most to the dollar value of the mining sector in Canada?

A: Alberta contributes the most by a large margin. Table 1 lists the dollar value of mineral production by province for 1995. Fuel production in Alberta accounted for 46.4 percent of the total value of mineral production in Canada in 1995; fuel from Alberta was responsible for 78.2 percent of the total value of fuels produced. Ontario produced 36.3 percent of the value of metals and Saskatchewan produced 43.7 percent of the value of non-metals. Copper, gold, and nickel, accounted for 23.2 percent, 21.0 percent, and 16.7 percent, respectively, of the value of metals produced in 1995. Potash accounted for 49.0 percent of the total value of non-metals produced in 1995, while salt, asbestos, elemental sulphur, and peat accounted for 9.3 percent, 8.1 percent, 6.5 percent, and 4.8 percent, respectively. The fuels category includes coal, natural gas (and by-products) and was dominated by crude oil and crude oil equivalents which accounted for 59.5 percent of the value of this group in 1995. Structural materials include clay products, cement, lime, sand and gravel, and stone.

Click Here to View Table 1

Q: How has the dollar value of production changed over the last two decades?

A: This month's graph depicts the dollar value of mineral production in Canada and the percentage share of the mining sector in Canada's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from 1977 to 1995. Table 2 shows that Alberta has had a large share of the total value of production every year from 1977; the lowest share was 40.8 percent in 1988 and the highest was 62.5 percent in 1983.

Click Here to View Table 2

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Last Modified: Wednesday, October 20, 1999.