Value of Canada's natural resources sees steep decline
Total resource value was down 73 per cent in one year
The value of Canada's natural resources saw a steep decline in 2015, largely due to lower crude bitumen prices, according to Statistics Canada.
Statistics show the value of natural resource assets in Canada was $287 billion in 2015, down 73 per cent from 2014.
Oil prices saw a steep decline in 2015, with the value of coal, crude bitumen, crude oil and natural gas at $56 billion, a 93 per cent decrease from 2014.
Both drops followed large increases the year before, with oil and gas reserves seeing a 49 per cent increase from 2013 to 2014. Total natural resources, including timber and minerals, saw a 28 per cent increase in that time period.
The stats on the sharp decrease for 2015 come out on the heels of a federal government announcement that it had approved the Trans Mountain and Line 3 pipelines, which are expected to pump nearly one million more barrels of oil out of Alberta's oilsands per day.
While low oil prices due to an oversaturated market led to huge losses for the industry, some experts are optimistic the price of oil will rise in 2017.
- Oil prices could rebound to $67 by 2020, but record $10B losses expected this year
- Canadian dollar above 76 cents US as oil surges to 1½-year high
Stats Canada also said mineral assets saw a decline, dropping 24 per cent in 2014 and 38 per cent in 2015, to a total value of $74 billion.
Timber resources saw a small decline as well, dropping one per cent in 2015 following a nine per cent increase in 2014.
