Canada’s economy is one of the soundest in the world .Fully integrated into the global system , Canada is the eighth largest trading nation in the world , with relatively low levels of inflation , Canada ranks among the 10 leading manufacturing nations in the world . Canada is experiencing rapid growth in its high technology industry and has an international reputation in such sectors as telecommunications , transportation , and engineering ; specifically, aerospace , urban transport , microelectronics , medical devices , advanced software , hydro electric and nuclear power, lasers and opto –electronics , biotechnology , food and beverage processing , geomatics and ocean and environmental industries . Among the G-7 countries - the richest economies in the world - Canada's per capita purchasing power is second only to the United States. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) expects Canada to lead the industrialised nations in near-term economic growth. Inflation now stands below two percent and is expected to remain low.

Canada is a trading nation. About 29.3 per cent of the country's total output of good and services (GDP) is exported -- mostly to the United States, which is by far the country's biggest market. Trade in goods and services between the two countries supports more than 1.5 million jobs in Canada and directly generates 25 percent of Canada's gross domestic product. The United States purchases eighty percent of Canada's exports.

It is estimated that for every $1 billion of exports, 11,000 Canadian jobs are created or sustained. Canada's trade surplus reached the record level of $34 billion in 1996. This represents a 20 per cent increase over 1995.

Evolution of the Canadian Economy:

Although Canada is known world-wide as a rich source of raw materials and primary products such as wheat, oil, lumber and minerals In recent years the structure of the Canadian economy has changed.

As in many other industrial countries, there has been a shift in employment toward service industries (including community, business and personal), which now employs about two-thirds of the Canadian work force. At the same time, the growing role of knowledge-based activity, either within existing industry or as self-sustaining business, has put pressure on industry and governments to strengthen job training and to promote the acquisition of skills adapted to technological requirements.

Investment:
Canada is an attractive place to invest. It offers access to a stable business environment, a skilled workforce and superior technology.

In a period of world-wide deregulation when most domestic financial markets have become more open to foreign capital, large pools of international funds have been attracted by the conditions offered in the Canadian financial market.

Research and Development (R & D) tax credits are flexible and generous. On average, each dollar spent toward R & D in Canada costs only $0.44, substantially lower than in the United States.

Canada not only offers the best treatment of R & D, but also the lowest corporate tax rates of all G-7 countries (the Group of Seven leading industrialised countries) is comprised of Canada, France, Italy, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Over the years 1970 to 1990, Canada has had the fastest rate of job creation in the G-7 economies, while its inflation is currently at less than two per cent annually, the lowest of the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries.

Canada's skilled labour force, accessible education system, innovative training systems, high levels of literacy, and healthy population are seen as strengths by companies doing business in the country.

Due to the NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement), investors in Canada have preferential and secure access to both the United States and Mexico. Besides providing an infusion of funds into the economy, investment in Canada is bringing with it new technology, new capacities in research, new kinds of jobs, and new technical and managerial abilities.