Natural resource indicators, first quarter 2024
Released: 2024-06-24
Natural resources' real gross domestic product falls in the first quarter
Real gross domestic product (GDP) of the natural resources sector decreased 0.7% in the first quarter of 2024, after an increase of 1.4% in the fourth quarter of 2023. In comparison, economy-wide real GDP rose 0.4% in the first quarter of 2024, benefitting from increased household spending, after remaining flat (0.0%) in the previous quarter.
Chart 1
Natural resources' real gross domestic product
The decrease in real GDP in the first quarter was driven by the forestry (-2.5%) and minerals and mining (-1.1%) subsectors. The energy subsector (-0.4%) also fell slightly in the first quarter, after increasing 1.0% in the previous quarter. The decline in forestry was driven by primary sawmill and wood products (-2.5%). In the minerals and mining subsector, increased real GDP of metallic minerals extraction (+1.8%) was largely offset by a decline in primary manufacturing (-2.8%).
Quarterly import and export volumes increase
Despite decreases in real GDP, natural resources' export volumes increased 1.6% in the first quarter, with increases in minerals and mining (+5.3%) and forestry (+2.7%) offsetting the decrease in energy (-1.1%). Primary metallic mineral products contributed the most to the quarterly growth in export volumes, largely due to shipments of unwrought gold.
Import volumes of the natural resources sector (+1.5%) were up in the first quarter, partially recovering from a decrease of 6.5% in the fourth quarter of 2023. Higher import volumes in the first quarter of 2024 in the energy subsector (+8.9%) were driven by rising imports of refined petroleum products (+6.8%) and crude oil (+4.7%). Import volumes further increased in the first quarter for the forestry (+3.8%) and hunting, fishing and water (+1.2%) subsectors; these gains were enough to offset the decrease in the minerals and mining subsector (-5.3%).
Natural resources' prices down slightly, continuing the trend from the previous quarter
Prices for natural resources (-0.4%) fell slightly in the first quarter, following the decline of 2.5% in the previous quarter. Prices continued to decrease from the previous quarter for forestry (-1.6%) and energy (-1.3%), with refined petroleum products (-5.0%) contributing the most to the decrease. Prices in the minerals and mining subsector rose 1.7%, with non-metallic mineral products (+2.7%) and metallic minerals (+2.1%) contributing to the increase.
Chart 2
Natural resources' prices
Natural resources' nominal gross domestic product drops
In the first quarter, decreases in natural resources' prices combined with lower real GDP resulted in a 1.1% decline in natural resources' nominal GDP. Expressed at an annual rate, natural resources' nominal GDP was $334 billion in the first quarter, representing 12.1% of the Canadian economy.
Natural resources jobs show slight decrease
The number of jobs in the natural resources sector dropped slightly in the first quarter, decreasing by 0.1%. Decreases in the forestry (-0.7%) and energy (-0.4%) subsectors were the main contributors. These declines were partly offset by increases in hunting, fishing and water (+1.9%) and minerals and mining (+0.3%).
Chart 3
Changes in jobs, first quarter of 2024
Downstream activities
For analytical purposes, secondary and tertiary processing for the forestry and minerals and mining subsectors are identified separately. The nominal GDP of downstream activities was $10.8 billion in the first quarter, representing a 0.8% decrease. Prices were flat in the first quarter, following a 0.5% decrease in the fourth quarter of 2023.
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Note to readers
Data on natural resources for the first quarter of 2024 have been released along with revised data from the first quarter of 2023.
The Natural Resource Indicators provide quarterly indicators for the main aggregates in the Natural Resources Satellite Account (NRSA), namely gross domestic product, output, exports, imports and employment. The estimates from this account are directly comparable with the estimates in the Canadian System of Macroeconomic Accounts.
Core natural resources: The NRSA defines natural resource activities as those that result in goods and services originating from naturally occurring assets used in economic activity, as well as their initial processing (primary manufacturing).
Downstream activities: Although not part of the core account, natural resources have important downstream effects on other sectors. In general, this production uses a large portion of primary manufactured products as inputs.
Jobs estimates reported in this release align with the noted definitions of natural resource subsectors. Consequently, these estimates may differ from those released by the labour productivity program.
Next release
Data on natural resource indicators for the second quarter of 2024 will be released on September 24.
Products
For more information on energy in Canada, including production, consumption, international trade and much more, please visit the Canadian Centre for Energy Information website and follow #energynews on social media.
The Economic accounts statistics portal, accessible from the Subjects module of the Statistics Canada website, features an up-to-date portrait of national and provincial economies and their structures.
Additional information can be found in the articles "The Natural Resources Satellite Account: Feasibility study" and "The Natural Resources Satellite Account – Sources and methods," which are part of the Income and Expenditure Accounts Technical Series (13-604-M).
The Latest Developments in the Canadian Economic Accounts (13-605-X) is available.
The User Guide: Canadian System of Macroeconomic Accounts (13-606-G) is available.
The Methodological Guide: Canadian System of Macroeconomic Accounts (13-607-X) is available.
Contact information
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