The Mining Association of Canada | The Canadian Mining Story: Economic Impacts and Drivers for the Global Energy Transition 2023 10 Spending on exploration, deposit appraisal and mine complex development tends to follow current patterns of mine production. The top five producing provinces are also the top provinces for mineral development expenditure. Of the $17.5 billion invested in mineral development in Canada, combined spending across these five provinces exceeded $14.8 billion, or 85% of the total, as shown in Figure 6. NORTHERN DEVELOPMENT As the largest economic driver in Canada’s North there is no question that the mining sector’s presence in the Territories is significant with mining industry GDP contributions for 2021 for the Northwest Territories, Nunavut and the Yukon at 31% and 38% and 15% respectively, totalling $3 billion. The mines operating in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut are the largest private sector contributors to each territory’s economy. Proportionally, the industry is the largest private sector employer of Indigenous peoples in the country and the territories host the highest per capita demographic of Indigenous peoples of any sub-national jurisdiction in Canada. Mining is also the largest private sector business partner of Indigenous-owned enterprises in the North, responsible for helping to develop and grow many successful Indigenous businesses, some that have grown and now serve customers beyond the mining sector. INDIRECT ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF CANADA’S MINING SECTOR Resource wealth has built communities and infrastructure across the country. Mines create jobs and make direct payments to government through taxes and royalties. But the mining industry’s economic impact far surpasses its direct contribution to the GDP. For example, mining accounts for approximately half of Canada’s rail-freight revenues and tonnage annually, typically exceeding $6 billion in expenditures. Organizations such as CN Rail, CP Rail, and the Ports of Montreal, Quebec and Vancouver rely on a vibrant mining industry. Specialist firms, including those in the legal, environmental, taxation, engineering and other fields, support the industry’s many requirements to locate, develop, construct, operate and reclaim a mine. These supply relationships are mutually beneficial. Clusters of expertise, like those in finance, geology and exploration noted above, create opportunities for other companies outside the mining sector. InfoMine, a mining database, reported in 2019 that more than 3,700 firms provide technical, legal, financial, accounting, environmental and other expertise to the Canadian mining industry. Most of these suppliers are located in Ontario and British Columbia, followed by Alberta, Quebec, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, and generate significant local benefits for Canada. The mines operating in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut are the largest private sector contributors to each territory’s economy.
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