Hi everyone! I am Liam! I love seeing how big ideas become huge businesses in Canada!Hello! I am Maya! I am here to help you understand the incredible natural wealth we have right here in our own country!Hi there! My name is Chloe, and I am going to show you how people and machines work together to build our economy!And I am Noah! Today we are looking at economic inputs! These are the ingredients that Canada uses to create everything from the cars we drive to the energy we use. Let us dive in.To understand Canada’s economy, we have to start with the four factors of production. These are the inputs that make everything possible. The first is Land. In economics, land does not just mean dirt; it means every natural resource that comes from the earth. Think about Canada’s oil and gas in Alberta, the gold and potash in Saskatchewan, or the timber in British Columbia. These are our primary resources, and they are the foundation of our wealth. The second input is Labour. This is the physical and mental effort of people. Whether it is an engineer designing a bridge, a nurse in a hospital, or an electrician on a construction site, labour is the human engine of the economy. Have you ever thought about which factor of production you will contribute to one day? Will you be part of the labour force, or maybe the fourth input, entrepreneurship? Entrepreneurship is the spark! It is the person who takes the land, labour, and capital and organizes them into a business. It involves taking risks and innovating. Without entrepreneurs, the other resources would just sit there!That is right, Liam! And we cannot forget the third input, which is Capital. Capital is not just money; it refers to the physical tools, buildings, and machinery used to produce things. A giant truck in the oil sands, a laptop in a software office, and the factory itself are all capital. In Canada, our natural resource wealth is staggering. In the year twenty twenty four, our resource wealth was valued at over one trillion three hundred billion dollars! Energy resources like crude bitumen and natural gas make up sixty one percent of that wealth. We also lead the world in minerals. Did you know Canada is the global leader in potash production? We also rank in the top five globally for gold, diamonds, and uranium. Our uranium is used all over the world to power clean energy. When you think about Canada’s place in the world, think of us as a resource superpower. How does it make you feel to know that our country provides so many of the essential materials the rest of the world needs to function?Now, let us talk about a resource many of us take for granted: Water. Canada is home to twenty percent of the world’s surface fresh water. However, there is a big misconception that it is limitless. Only about one third of that water is renewable, meaning it is replaced by rain or snow. More than half of our renewable water flows north, away from where most Canadians live. This makes water a very precious strategic asset. In our economy, water is integral. Electric power generation and distribution use nearly seventy percent of all industrial water in Canada. We use it to turn turbines and cool power plants. Agriculture is another huge user, especially for irrigation in the Prairies. Manufacturing and mining also depend on it. For example, it takes over one hundred and forty thousand litres of water to manufacture just one new vehicle! Without water, our economy would literally stop. Have you ever considered how much water goes into the things you buy every day?Chloe here! When we combine all these inputs—the land, the skilled labour, the high-tech capital, and the entrepreneurial spirit—we get outputs. Outputs are the goods and services we produce. Goods are physical things, like a barrel of oil, a bag of wheat, or a car manufactured in Ontario. Services are things people do for us, like banking, education, and healthcare. Today, more than seventy five percent of working Canadians have jobs in the services sector. Our economy has evolved from mainly extracting resources to being a leader in knowledge-intensive work like telecommunications and software design. But even our high-tech services depend on our natural resources. For instance, the electricity used to run our massive data centres comes from the water in our rivers! This connection between inputs and outputs is what makes Canada’s economy unique. It is a complex web where every resource plays a part. What kind of output interests you more: creating a physical product or providing a specialized service?Let us compare Canada’s resources to the rest of the world. We have the fourth largest proven oil reserves on the planet. We are also a global leader in clean energy technology, with wind and solar being our fastest growing sources of electricity. While other countries might struggle with a lack of resources, Canada’s challenge is managing our abundance sustainably. We are at the forefront of green technologies, trying to reduce emissions in the oil sands and mining sectors. This is where the input of “Knowledge” becomes so important. We are not just selling raw materials; we are selling the innovation behind how they are produced. This makes our economy resilient. Why is this useful for your life? Because as the world shifts toward green energy, Canada’s resources like lithium, nickel, and copper—which are essential for electric car batteries—will create thousands of new jobs. You are entering a market where Canada’s land is becoming even more valuable.But remember, the economy is always in transition. We face challenges like climate change, which affects our water supply and our forests. Droughts and floods are predicted to cause significant losses to our G D P over the next few decades. This is why our economic inputs must be used efficiently. We use water recycling in mining and oil extraction to save as much as possible. As a student, understanding these inputs helps you see where the future opportunities lie. Are you interested in the environmental science behind our water? Or the engineering behind our minerals? Every sector needs young people with the skills to use these resources responsibly. Your education is actually a form of “human capital” that you are building right now. How are you investing in your own skills today to be ready for the economy of tomorrow?So, let us recap. Our economic inputs are land, labour, capital, and entrepreneurship. Canada is a global leader in natural resources, from potash and gold to oil and uranium. Water is our secret weapon, powering our homes and industries. When we combine these, we get the goods and services that define our standard of living. By understanding these fundamentals, you are not just a spectator; you are an informed participant in Canada’s economic story. This video gave you the highlights, but you will learn even more in detail by reading the lesson. Think about the resources in your own province. How do they contribute to the national map? We are proud to be part of this economic engine with you! Keep your curiosity high and your math sharp. We will see you in the next video where we look at how Canada trades these resources with the rest of the world!Great work today, everyone! You now know the ingredients that make Canada run. From the water in our taps to the minerals in our mountains, we are a nation built on incredible inputs. In our next session, we will see how these inputs turn into the major exports that we sell to other countries, and how that global trade affects your personal financial planning. Stay motivated and keep exploring how your own strengths fit into this massive Canadian puzzle. You have the potential to lead this economy into the next generation. See you soon!
