Economic Activities and Industries
Resources
Sudbury is home to two main resources which are lumber and nickel. Since Sudbury is located on the Canadian Shield it is home to many minerals. However, the most mined mineral in Sudbury is Nickel thus giving it the nickname The Big Nickel. Sudbury is one of the worlds lead nickel producers. Similarly, Greater Sudbury also has a fairly large lumber industry because it is located in large boreal forest region. Both these resources helped build the history of the town.
Jobs
Present
Sudbury has a total labour force of 81,760 people. There biggest industries are in retail trade with a work force of about 10, 825 people. Sudbury also has a large labour force in health care and social assistance 9,940 people. The city has an education based work force of about 7,050 people. It has a large mining and oil extraction industry of 5,725 people and a construction industry of 5,160 people. Lastly Sudbury has a public administrative work force of 6,220 people. Sudbury's economy is mostly fed by its large tertiary industry. It also has a large primary resource and mining industry. However, there mining industry is slowly declining because the government realizes it isn't sustainable.
Past
In the past most of the Jobs in Sudbury were resource based due to Sudbury's booming nickel industry. In fact, the discovery of nickel in Sudbury gave birth to the two major mining companies Inco and Falconbridge which employed over 25% of the population in the city. These two industries made Sudbury one of the to nickel mining city's in the world. The mining industry fueled Sudbury's economy throughout the 20th century. Sudbury also had a large lumber industry which also fed the economy.
Sustainability
Sudbury's retail based economy is sustainable for society, the economy, or environment. Since the city's economy is mostly based on its trade and retail industry. However, Sudbury's trade economy, will fluctuate with some downs and some ups due to an always changing markets with different demands. On the other hand, Sudbury also has a large mining based industry which isn't sustainable. The mining of a non-renewable isn't sustainable. Similarly, The excessive mining of one resource isn't good for the environment. Also, to mine mineral resources part of the forest must be cleared which isn't environmentally sustainable. Similarly, a big part of the economy is based on nickel and once the nickel ore deposit in Sudbury is mined out completely the economy will crash which will have a big affect on society because many people will lose their jobs in the mining industry. Many mining companies will also go bankrupt and the city will become poor. This will deal a huge blow to Sudbury's economy. In conclusion, Sudbury has a sustainable retail industry but not a sustainable mining industry.
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Improvements
To improve the sustainability of Sudbury's economy the city must expand and grow in other industries. For example, they could expand their quaternary and tertiary industry and not have to worry about a non-renewable resource. On the other hand Sudbury could still expand in the primary industry. However, they could expand in the forestry industry because lumber is a renewable resource that can last forever if managed properly unlike nickel which cannot be renewed.