Forestry, Mining, Nuclear, Oil & Gas

CHARTS: A timely reminder of what natural resources do for Canada

With humanity demanding products like masks, hand sanitizer, toilet paper, reliable 24/7 fuels and medical products based on plastic and metal, there's no getting away from it: the world needs Canada's resources. And herein lies the solution for troubled times.

Myths of natural resources

A commonly heard myth is that you can’t have a resource-based economy without irreparably harming the Earth. In fact, Canada’s natural resource industries are living proof that in a country with some of the strictest regulations and climate commitments anywhere in the world, the primary sectors continue to contribute heavily to a healthy way of life for all Canadians.

Here is a sampling of charts from our numbers-savvy executive director, Stewart Muir, who comments: “End of dependence on resources? The opposite is true, and we can see it in the data.”

“This is the best evidence we have that Canada should stick with its approach to securing a sustainable future, one that embraces change and seeks to always improve environmental efficiency. A healthy resource sector is consistent with these goals, and also represents the most realistic option we have to stabilize and ultimately grow the economy in the face of COVID-19 losses.”