You asked us to check out how Canada ranks as a world power.
So here we are.
How powerful is Canada?
Well, for starters, Canada is the second largest country in world, after Russia.
However, most of their land is uninhabited Arctic tundra.
As a result, the entire country has a lower population than California.
A smaller population means a smaller GDP, ranking Canada’s economy as 14th in the
world as of 2013.
But despite their comparatively smaller status, Canada has some pretty enormous friends.
Canada’s biggest trading partner and geopolitical ally is the United States, which buys more
Canadian exports than any other country, and accounts for a third of American oil usage.
In fact, they are the fifth largest oil producer in the world with the third largest oil reserves.
But the recent debate about the Keystone XL pipeline has shined a light on Canada’s
controversial practice of fracking to extract crude oil.
Now that oil prices have fallen, so have the government’s hopes to use fracking as a
means of reigning in the national debt.
Oil instability has also dropped the value of the Canadian dollar 20% from where it was
two years ago.
This may be good for exporters, but bad for everybody else.
Still, the Canadian economy has seen healthy growth during the past few years from it’s
car and aerospace manufacturing industries.
Canada spends about 1% of its GDP on defense; about half of what NATO suggests for member
countries.
By comparison, the United States spends about 4%.
But Canada’s investment in their military has kept them supplied with a small, well
paid, and technologically competent military, ranked 14th in the world.
Despite having a small army, they are well protected by NATO, NORAD, and the United States’
nuclear umbrella.
Canada is also quite a popular global trade partner, with free trade and investment agreements
with nearly every part of the world.
Despite participating in well-known conflicts, like the fight against ISIS, Canada is ranked
as one of the world’s most peaceful nations.
Between Canada’s enormous landmass, friendly relationship with the United States, and high-ranking
GDP, military, and export economy, Canada is one of the more powerful countries in the
world.
However, Canada is a relatively new nation.
Luckily, their most powerful asset is their mutually beneficial allied status with much
of the world, and that doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon.
We’ve made a whole bunch of these “how powerful” videos including India, China,
Russia & more.
You can watch the full playlist right here *point over your shoulder!*.
If you want to check out something completely different, check out this awesome video from
Seeker about how Nicaragua may be on the verge of another people’s revolution.