Natural Resources: Still One of Quebec’s Economic Assets

Even though Quebec is constantly trying to diversify, the fact remains that natural resources continue to be a mainstay of its economy. They play a major role not only in Gross Domestic Product (GDP), employment and investment, but also the export of goods to other countries. You may think that the rollout of new technologies will cause natural resources’ share of the Quebec economy to shrink. But this isn’t as obvious as you may believe, as what defines a natural resource becomes increasingly inclusive. Furthermore, other parameters could help us look beyond their commercial exploitation and value them differently. Finally, electrifying transit systems could boost both the metal and the energy sectors. So, can we continue to link natural resources and their processing to backward-looking, low-tech activities? It appears that, they, too, will be part of the future.