Natural resource indicators, fourth quarter 2025
Released: 2026-04-02
Real gross domestic product of natural resources dips in the fourth quarter
Real gross domestic product (GDP) of the natural resources sector declined slightly (-0.2%) in the fourth quarter of 2025, after recording modest growth (+0.9%) in the third quarter. In comparison, economy-wide real GDP declined 0.2% in the fourth quarter, after rising 0.6% in the third quarter.
Chart 1
Natural resources' real gross domestic product
Real GDP declined in the forestry subsector (-3.2%) in the fourth quarter, and this was partially offset by a gain in the hunting, fishing and water subsector (+0.5%). Meanwhile, real GDP was essentially flat in the energy and minerals and mining subsectors.
Volume of exports up for second consecutive quarter while imports fall
Despite the slight downturn in real GDP in the sector, natural resources' export volumes increased 3.0% in the fourth quarter, following a rise of 1.9% in the previous quarter. The increase in the fourth quarter was mainly attributable to the energy (+4.6%) and minerals and mining (+3.2%) subsectors and was partially offset by decreases in the hunting, fishing and water (-10.3%) and forestry (-5.8%) subsectors.
Import volumes of the natural resources sector decreased 2.0% in the fourth quarter, after declining 9.2% in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, increases in the forestry (+2.2%) and minerals and mining (+0.8%) subsectors partially offset declines in the energy (-6.2%) and hunting, fishing and water (-0.5%) subsectors.
Natural resources' nominal gross domestic product edges higher
In the fourth quarter, the nominal GDP of the natural resources sector experienced a slight increase of 0.4%. Expressed at an annual rate, natural resources' nominal GDP increased to $354 billion in the fourth quarter, representing 11.5% of the Canadian economy.
Natural resource jobs up slightly
The number of jobs in the natural resources sector (+0.2%) increased slightly in the fourth quarter. Increases in the minerals and mining (+0.6%) and energy (+0.2%) subsectors were partially offset by declines in the hunting, fishing and water (-0.2%) and forestry (-0.6%) subsectors.
Chart 2
Changes in jobs, fourth quarter of 2025
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 $9.4 billion in the fourth quarter, representing a decline of 1.2% from the previous quarter.
Annual trends in the natural resources sector by province and territory
This release includes detailed annual tables up to 2024 containing estimates by province and territory. In 2024, real GDP of the natural resources sector increased by 1.9% for Canada. On a regional basis, the largest increases were recorded in Nunavut (+8.2%), Newfoundland and Labrador (+4.9%) and Prince Edward Island (+4.6%). Meanwhile, Yukon (-24.4%), the Northwest Territories (-9.6%) and New Brunswick (-5.2%) recorded the largest declines.
Note to readers
Data on natural resources for the fourth quarter of 2025 have been released along with revised data starting from the first quarter of 2022.
This release incorporates new benchmark values from the supply and use tables (SUTs) for the 2022 reference year. Due to a change in the product classification in the 2022 SUTs, breaks are expected in the series related to oil and gas extraction.
Due to a change introduced with reference year 2022 in the imputation method for head office services in the SUTs, all series related to services in the natural resources sector are subject to a break.
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.
Data on provincial and territorial natural resources for 2024 have been released along with revised data back to 2022. Estimates of the number of jobs in the hunting, fishing and water subsector have been revised back to 2018. Total number of jobs in the natural resources sector has been updated to reflect the revision.
Data on the environmental perspective (direct energy use [terajoules] and direct greenhouse gas emissions [kilotonnes]) associated with the natural resources and the downstream natural resources sectors have also been released for the year 2022. Those estimates are available in table 38-10-0140-01 Natural resources satellite account, environmental perspective.
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 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 first quarter of 2026 will be released on June 29.
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 article "The Natural Resources Satellite Account – Sources and methods," which is part of the Income and Expenditure Accounts Technical Series (13-604-M).
As a complement to this release, you can also consult the data visualization product, "Energy use and greenhouse gas emissions associated with various aspects of the Canadian economy," an interactive tool which is part of Statistics Canada – Data Visualization Products (71-607-X).
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
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).
- Date modified: