A large part of Canada’s recent trade growth has come from the service industry, according to a Conference Board of Canada report. Services now account for 44% of Canada's exports – including supply chain contributions – and 43% of foreign affiliate sales.
Three out of five of the fastest-growing Canadian exports over the last decade were service exports, and service-producing industries account for 70% of Canada's GDP, according to the report.
Jacqueline Palladini, a senior economist for The Conference Board of Canada said we’ve shed our image as a resource-based economy over the past decade.
“Canada definitely has a few strengths when it comes to the service industry in terms of finance and insurance,” she said.
“However, there’s also management services which would entail consultants, and also computer information and technology that stands out and is quite interesting. So things like video game production.”
The report said four out of every five Canadians are employed in the service sector.
Palladini said we’ve positioned ourselves as a new service powerhouse due to a highly educated population operating efficiently during tough economic times.
“During the global economic downturn Canada’s financial sector came out a lot better off than a lot of our foreign counterparts, which allowed them to buy up or invest in a lot of companies.
“But then you also have a company like Manulife that has been operating in China for a while now and has a longstanding relationship with them.”
