Canada has an advanced economy, and the majority of its citizens enjoy a high quality of life by world standards. Historically, much of this wealth has been generated through the extraction and processing of natural resources, particularly fish, furs, timber, minerals, and farm produce. Increasingly, manufacturing and service activities have been added, and Canada now has one of the most complex economies in the world. Canada is also highly integrated into the global economy through trade, with 33.6 % of its GDP dedicated to exports.

During the 20th century, manufacturing and service industries became increasingly valuable. By the end of the 1980s agriculture and mining accounted for less than one-tenth of Canada's labour force, while manufacturing stood at one-fifth and the service industry, including transportation, trade, finance, and other service industries, at about two-thirds. Canada promoted its manufacturing industries through protective tariffs on the import of manufactured goods. Another cornerstone of Canada's economic policy was the promotement of economic development in slow-growth regions of the nation by grants and subsidies. In the 1980s Canada began moving away from these two basic policies. Compliance with international rules on trade and the signing of a free-trade agreement with the United States (1988) reduced protection for the manufacturing industry. Funding for regional economic development programs was also scaled down.