p Separated by thousands of kilometres Canada, in the northern hemisphere and the Commonwealth of Australia in the southern hemisphere, have much in common as regards their history, economy and culture.

p Formerly, both Canada and Australia were British colonies which had been peopled and developed by settlers from Europe. Today both countries are members of the British Commonwealth of Nations, a political association comprising the United Kingdom and former British possessions.

p Formally British dominions, that is self-governing states with the Queen of England as their nominal head, Canada and the Commonwealth of Australia have long since been independent in their internal and foreign affairs. Both states have a highly developed capitalist economy.

p Canada occupies seventh place among capitalist countries for volume of industrial production. For the degree of concentration of production and centralisation of capital, level of science and technology and volume of production of key industries and agricultural commodities, Canada is approaching the major western powers.

p At the same time she is greatly dependent on them, particularly on the United States. Suffice it to say that the USA owns 80 per cent of the foreign capital investments (an estimated $30,000 million) in Canada.

p Thanks to her vast territory, which is equal to the whole of Europe, and an abundance of useful minerals, Canada has favourable conditions for economic development. A considerable part of the Canadian territory which lies in the zone of the tundra is economically difficult of access. But the south of the country has favourable physical and climatic conditions.

p The leading place in Canada’s industrial-agrarian complex is occupied by the heavy industry which uses local raw materials. Canada’s highly productive agriculture constitutes an important part of the economy and has enabled her to become one of the greatest wheat producing capitalist countries.

p Canada has an advanced extractive industry. Among the capitalist countries she is second to Sweden in the extraction of iron ore and surpasses many of them in the extraction of ores of non-ferrous and rare metals. In the capitalist world Canada is the biggest producer of nickel and zinc and ranks second in the production of uranium, cobalt and molybdenum.

p Metalliferous ores are enriched at local factories and also exported. Canada annually produces over 10 million tons of steel, more than 900,000 tons of aluminium, approximately 500,000 tons of copper, about 400,000 tons of zinc, almost 200,000 tons of lead, and large quantities of nickel and other strategic metals. Oil production has reached 60 million tons and natural gas 63,900 million cu. m.

p Canada generates about 180,000 million kwh of electricity, slightly less than the FRG. About 80 per cent of electric power is generated at hydroelectric stations. In recent years the tendency in the power industry is to increase the role of thermal power stations. Possessing rich uranium 136 deposits Canada is building up her own atomic power engineering. A large atomic power station is in operation in Douglas Point and a still more powerful station is under construction in the area of Toronto.

p Engineering, one of the most developed branches of the manufacturing industry, specialises in the production of motor vehicles, diesel-electric locomotives and aircraft. Canadian shipyards build merchant and naval ships. There are also electrical engineering, electronics and other branches of the engineering industry.

p The annual capacity of Canadian oil refineries has exceeded 65 million tons, and the chemical and petrochemical industries are increasing the production of polymers and mineral fertiliser.

p The timber, woodworking and pulp and paper industries occupy a key position in Canada’s industrial structure. Annually over 114 million cu. m. of timber are felled and a total of 18.5 million tons of paper and cardboard are manufactured. Paper, cardboard and other wood products are exported in large quantities.

p Agricultural products are also key export items. Wheat, whose annual harvest is over 18 million tons (in 1968), is the chief export crop of Canadian agriculture. Stock- breeding yields more than 50 per cent of the agricultural output.

p Industry and agriculture are most developed in the southern part of Canada bordering on the USA.

p The central economic region, which is contiguous with the industrial East of the USA, spreads along the shores of the Great Lakes and further east. Two-thirds of the country’s population and industrial potential are concentrated in the southern parts of the Ontario and Quebec provinces. About a third of the total volume of manufactured output is produced in Montreal and Toronto. Other important industrial towns are Windsor, the principal seat of the automobile industry, and Blind River, which is the centre of the atomic industry.

The southern part of Canada’s great plains extending west of Lake Superior is under wheat. The south of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta provinces is the country’s chief granary, a large stock-breeding area and the principal source of agricultural products cultivated for export.