Service sector
The
Toronto-Dominion Centre in Toronto
The service sector in Canada is vast and multifaceted, employing about three quarters of Canadians and accounting for 78% of GDP.
[42] The largest employer is the
retail sector, employing almost 12% of Canadians.
[43] The retail industry is mainly concentrated in a small number of chain stores clustered together in
shopping malls. In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of
big-box stores, such as
Wal-Mart (of the United States) and
Future Shop (a subsidiary of the US based
Best Buy) and Zellers (most of their leases have since been purchased by
Target). This has led to fewer workers in this sector and a migration of retail jobs to the suburbs.
The second largest portion of the service sector is the business service and hire only a slightly smaller percentage of the population. This includes the
financial services,
real estate, and communications industries. This portion of the economy has been rapidly growing in recent years. It is largely concentrated in the major urban centres, especially
Toronto,
Montreal and
Vancouver (see
Banking in Canada).
The education and health sectors are two of Canada's largest, but both are largely under the influence of the government. The health care industry has been quickly growing, and is the third largest in Canada. Its rapid growth has led to problems for governments who must find money to fund it.
Canada has an important
high tech industry, and a burgeoning film, television, and entertainment industry creating content for local and international consumption (see
Media in Canada).
[44] Tourism is of ever increasing importance, with the vast majority of international visitors coming from the United States. Though the recent strength of the Canadian Dollar has hurt this sector, other nations such as China have increased tourism to Canada. Casino gaming is currently the fastest-growing component of the Canadian tourism industry, contributing $5 billion in profits for Canadian governments and employing 41,000 Canadians as of 2001.
[45]