Natural Resources Canada

Renewable energy refers to several energy sources that all produce electrical, thermal, or mechanical energy without unnecessarily depleting resources. The renewable energy sources are generally classified as water, biomass, wind, solar, earth and energy from wastes. Renewable energy case studies...

Irrigation is the provision of water to crops beyond what is provided by local rainfall. Irrigation is a vital part of agriculture in certain areas of Canada like the southern Prairies and the interior of British Columbia. The amount of water that needs to be withdrawn for irrigation varies...

Irrigation is the provision of water to crops beyond what is provided by local rainfall. Irrigation is a vital part of agriculture in certain areas of Canada like the southern Prairies and the interior of British Columbia. The amount of water that needs to be withdrawn for irrigation varies...

Commercial consumers are businesses, and institutional users such as government agencies, schools, and hospitals. Apartment buildings are also included in this section since these are normally operated by businesses. Next to residential uses, commercial and institutional consumption makes up the...

The map shows total municipal needs by province and territory. Domestic water consumption includes the quantity of water used for household purposes such as washing, food preparation, and bathing. Across Canada, nearly all of the water used by municipal water systems comes from lakes and rivers...

Hydroelectric generation is the predominant form of electric generation in Canada. A major part of the economic history of Canada consisted of the development of sites with large hydroelectric potential such as Niagara and Shawinigan. Hydro developments have had a substantial effect on rivers and...

The industrial sector represents 16% of total freshwater consumption. The amount used reflects population distribution to some degree, but the high values in some watersheds far from the largest cities reflects the occurrence of resource-processing, a heavy user of water. In most cases, these...

Kimberlites are rock formation where diamonds can be found. Diamonds form at a depth greater than 150 kilometres within the earth. After their formation, diamonds are carried to the surface of the earth by strong volcanic activity. This mixture of magma, transported rock and diamonds forms pipes...

In the 1960s, several mining companies started systematically exploring for diamonds in Canada. Today, in addition to the Ekati mine, other diamond projects could reach production within few years. This map shows the location of the main Canadian diamond exploration areas to the year 1997.

Minerals associated with diamond source rocks found in glacial sediments indicate presence of a kimberlite. To a certain extent it also gives an evaluation of the potential presence of diamonds. Regional ice advance and retreat pattern knowledge, combined with geophysical analysis, help to find...

In the 1960s, several mining companies started systematically exploring for diamonds in Canada. Today, in addition to the Ekati mine, other diamond projects could reach production within few years. This map shows the location of the main Canadian diamond exploration areas to the year 1997.

This map shows the 815 generating stations with a capacity of 500 kilowatts or greater classed by the principal fuel used. Two fuels are dominant: water power (hydro-electricity) and petroleum products. The pattern of hydro plants across Canada is partly explained by Canada's geology: areas that...

This map shows the 815 generating stations with a capacity of 500 kilowatts or greater, classed by the type of company operating them. Most plants are operated by utilities, but nearly one-quarter of all plants are operated by other industries. All three industries identified in the map legend...

This map depicts the 77 electrical generating plants operated by forest-based industries. These industries are defined using the North American Industrial Classification. These plants are scattered throughout Canada, and are about equally divided between being hydro or thermal plants.

This map shows the 53 generating stations that were operated by companies of the mining or energy industries. The stations are often relatively large - the largest has a capacity of 912 000 kilowatts.

The 54 plants are operated by a wide variety of industries. Plants run by these industries tend to be fairly small (the largest is 38 000 kilowatts). They also tend to be found in cities. By type, these plants are a mix of hydro and thermal stations. The hydro plants tend to be older...

This map shows the 630 generating stations operated by utilities, with the stations being classed by their capacity (in kilowatts). They have an enormous size range: many are under 10 000 kilowatts, whereas a small number exceed 1 000 000 kilowatts in size.

This map shows the 630 generating stations operated by utilities, with the stations being classed by their operating technology. The seven technologies shown represent water-power (hydro-electric and tidal), conventional thermal (internal combustion, combustion turbine, and steam), nuclear, and...

Canada has about 1% of the world’s coal resources. Ninety-seven per cent of Canada’s coal is found in the Western Provinces, although it is also found in Ontario, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. There are coal resources in Northern Canada, but they are not well explored. Coal is used to generate...

Canada has significant proven reserves of crude oil (178 billion barrels), second only to those of Saudi Arabia. Canadian natural gas reserves were 58 trillion cubic feet as of year-end 2006. These resources are found in the country’s seven major sedimentary basins. The primary...