Transport

"We haul the heaviest loads over the most difficult terrain over the longest distances of any country in the world," David Collenette, a former transport minister, once remarked. Transportation has helped knit Canada and Canadians together, with steel ribbons of railroad, asphalt bands of highways and a tapestry of canals. In 2002, the entire transportation sector generated $45 billion in value-added, almost 5% of Canada's GDP.

The transportation sector faced a dynamic environment during the 1990s and earlier, with policy initiatives directed at economic deregulation, divestiture and commercialization of infrastructure, and subsidy reduction. At the same time, the Canadian economy was growing rapidly and the demands of technology, such as just-in-time delivery, were changing inter-modal competitiveness. Measures of multi-factor productivity, although not completely up-to-date, show that the transportation industries innovated more quickly than the economy as a whole and achieved significantly higher gains in total productivity.

Transportation industries will continue to innovate. They will continue to respond to the current issues of continentalism, globalization and urbanization, as well as to the emerging issues of environmentalism, congestion and security. Transportation activities account for about 25% of total greenhouse gas emissions in Canada. Transportation industries are expected to contribute 22 mega tonnes to the total 180 mega tonne reduction that has been committed as part of the Kyoto Accord. A major challenge will be the development of technology and processes that will allow the secure free flow of people and goods into the United States and other countries, following the events of September 11, 2001 and continuing terrorist threats.