B. People and Environments · Political and Physical Regions of Canada

Natural Resources and Industries Across Canada

B1 B3About 40 minutes

Learning goals

I can explain the difference between renewable and non-renewable resources.
I can sort jobs into primary, secondary and tertiary industries.
I can connect each region's natural resources to its industries.
I can explain how Canada's regions depend on each other.

Words to know

natural resource
Something from nature that people use.

renewable resource
A resource nature can replace, if used carefully.

non-renewable resource
A resource that takes millions of years to form and can be used up.

industry
A group of businesses that do the same kind of work.

primary industry
Work that takes resources from nature.

secondary industry
Work that makes products from resources.

tertiary industry
Work that provides services to people.

trade
Buying, selling or exchanging goods.

Remember from Grade 3

In Grade 3 you learned that natural resources are things from nature that people use, like trees, water, soil and minerals, and that jobs in Ontario depend on them. This year you will see how every region of Canada has its own resources, and how the industries that use them connect the whole country.

Renewable or non-renewable?

Renewable resources can be replaced by nature if we use them carefully: trees, fish, water, soil, wind and sunlight.
Non-renewable resources take millions of years to form, so once they are used up, they are gone: minerals like nickel and gold, and fossil fuels like oil, natural gas and coal.

Even renewable resources can run out if we take too much too fast. If people catch fish faster than new fish are born, the fish can disappear.

Sorting natural resources. Renewable ones can be replaced by nature if we use them carefully. Non-renewable ones, like minerals and fossil fuels, take millions of years to form.

Three kinds of industries

An industry is a group of businesses that do the same kind of work.

Primary industries take resources from nature: farming, fishing, forestry (cutting trees), mining, and oil and gas.
Secondary industries make things from those resources in factories and mills: a sawmill turns logs into lumber, a factory turns steel into cars, a mill turns wheat into flour.
Tertiary (or service) industries provide services to people: teachers, nurses, store clerks, truck drivers, bankers, hotel workers and tour guides.

Stacks of freshly cut lumber boards next to piles of round logs, with a forested mountain behind. — Logs come from forestry, a primary industry. A sawmill, a secondary industry, turns them into lumber for building. AI-generated image

A simplified diagram of how one resource moves through all three kinds of industry: trees are cut (primary), made into lumber (secondary), and sold at a store (tertiary).

Physical region	Main natural resources	Main primary industries
Cordillera	Forests, minerals, fish (salmon), fast rivers	Forestry, mining, fishing, hydroelectricity
Interior Plains	Fertile soil, grassland, oil, natural gas, potash	Farming, ranching, oil and gas, mining
Canadian Shield	Minerals, forests, rivers and lakes	Mining, forestry, hydroelectricity
Hudson Bay Lowlands	Wildlife, fish, wetlands, some minerals	Hunting, fishing, trapping, mining exploration
Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Lowlands	Fertile soil, fresh water, maple trees	Farming (fruit, vegetables, dairy, maple syrup)
Appalachian Region	Ocean fish and seafood, forests, fertile valleys	Fishing, forestry, farming
Arctic Lowlands and Innuitian Mountains	Wildlife, sea animals, minerals	Hunting, fishing, some mining

Each region's land and water give it different resources and industries. Tourism (a service industry) is important in every region.

Regions need each other

No region makes everything it needs. Canada's regions trade with each other and with other countries:

Wheat from the Plains becomes bread in Ontario.
Cars made in Ontario are driven in Alberta.
Lobster from the Atlantic provinces is eaten in Manitoba and around the world.
Electricity from Quebec's rivers lights homes in other places.

Trains, trucks, ships, planes and pipelines carry resources and products across the country.

Just for fun

What did the log say when it arrived at the sawmill?

"I'm feeling a little board." (Don't worry: the sawmill is a secondary industry, so the log is about to become something useful!)

First Nations, Métis and Inuit in today's economy

First Nations, Métis and Inuit are part of every industry. Many communities run their own businesses and make decisions about resources on their lands. For example, the Osoyoos Indian Band in British Columbia runs a winery, a resort and other businesses. Many First Nations, Métis and Inuit organizations are partners in wind, solar and hydroelectric projects. Nations often bring a strong focus on caring for the land for future generations.

Worked example

Let's sort jobs into industries

Sort these workers: a miner in Sudbury, a baker who makes bread in a factory, a nurse in Halifax, a farmer in Saskatchewan, a bus driver in Winnipeg.

Primary = taking from nature: the miner and the farmer.
Secondary = making things: the baker in a bread factory.
Tertiary = services for people: the nurse and the bus driver.

Primary: miner, farmer. Secondary: factory baker. Tertiary: nurse, bus driver.

Worked example

Let's follow a resource

Follow wheat from the Prairies to your lunch box.

A farmer in Saskatchewan grows and harvests wheat (primary).
A train carries the wheat east (tertiary: transportation is a service).
A mill grinds it into flour, and a bakery makes bread (secondary).
A grocery store sells the bread to your family (tertiary).

Wheat → flour → bread → your sandwich. All three kinds of industry helped.

Hands-on activity

Resource detective at home

You need: paper, a pencil, and a grown-up.

Choose five things in your home: for example, a wooden chair, a glass jar, a metal spoon, a cotton T-shirt and a carton of milk.
For each one, ask: What natural resource did it come from? (wood → trees; glass → sand; metal → minerals from rock; cotton → a plant; milk → cows that eat grass and grain).
Write R if the resource is renewable and N if it is non-renewable.
Guess which region of Canada could supply that resource. (Not everything comes from Canada: cotton, for example, is grown in warmer countries.)
Draw a chain like the one in the diagram for one object: nature → factory → store → home.

What to look for: Your child traces each object back to a resource, sorts renewable and non-renewable correctly, and names a sensible region.

Your turn

What is a natural resource?

Is oil renewable or non-renewable?

Are trees renewable or non-renewable?

What do primary industries do?

Is a sawmill primary, secondary or tertiary?

Which region is known for oil, natural gas and wheat?

Is a teacher in the primary, secondary or tertiary industry?

More practice: warm-up

Name two renewable resources.

Name two non-renewable resources.

Is a fisher primary, secondary or tertiary?

Which region has lots of mining of nickel and gold?

Is a car factory primary, secondary or tertiary?

More practice: on your own

How can a renewable resource like fish still run out?

Why is there very little farming in the Arctic Lowlands?

Explain how a tour guide in Banff depends on the natural environment.

Give an example of two regions that depend on each other.

Sort: lobster fisher, flour mill, hotel clerk.

Challenge

Why do you think many factories (secondary industries) are in the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Lowlands and not in the Arctic?

A town's only big employer is a mine. What could happen to the town when the minerals run out? What could the town do to prepare?

Choose one product you use every day. Describe its journey through primary, secondary and tertiary industries.

Check your understanding

Quiz

Which resource is non-renewable?

A miner works in a...

Which is a secondary industry?

Which region is best known for mining, forestry and hydroelectricity?

Why do regions trade with each other?

A nurse works in which kind of industry?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: Each physical region has natural resources that shape its industries. Primary industries take resources from nature, secondary industries make products, and tertiary (service) industries serve people. Regions depend on each other through trade. Resources can be renewable or non-renewable, and even renewable ones need careful use.

How to help at home:

Play "Where did it come from?" with objects at home and food at the grocery store.
Talk about the jobs of family members and friends. Which kind of industry are they in?
Notice trucks, trains and ships carrying goods. What might they be carrying, and where to?

Common difficulties:

Thinking renewable means "never runs out." Renewable resources still need careful use.
Sorting transport jobs. Truck drivers, pilots and train crews provide a service, so they are tertiary.
Secondary vs primary in farming. Growing wheat is primary; making flour or bread is secondary.