Scotia are the chief mining provinces.
Important mineral deposits are found also
in Ontario and Quebec. Extensive coal
areas have been found in western Canada,
and new railways are continually opening
additional territory.
In 1912 Canada's total mineral production was valued at $135,048,296. The value of the coal was about $36,019,044; gold $12,648,794; and silver $19,440,165.
The Vancouver Island (British Columbia) mines produce a coal of excellent quality. The coal deposits of Nova Scotia underlie an area of about 635 square miles. The chief workings are in the Sydney, Pictou and Cumberland fields. The Nova Scotia mines are the largest producers in Canada.
At Lethbridge, a town of 8,000 people, a mine has been opened on a large seam of bituminous coal, the output of which has been traced for many miles. The Estevan mines (in the Souris fields) and the Lethbridge mines supply the provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan. The coal-beds extend far down the Saskatchewan and northward into the valley of Peace River. It is no uncommon thing in this district to see the agricultural settler driving up to the pit's mouth for his household supply of coal, easily obtained at prices ranging from $1.00 to $2.00 per ton.
In Nova Scotia iron is found near the coal, thus permitting economical smelting. Large areas of iron-ore have been found north of Lake Superior in Ontario, in eastern Ontario, in Quebec and in Ungava. Large steel-works have been established at Sydney and Terrona, Nova Scotia, and at Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. There are iron smelters at Rawdon (Quebec) and at Deseronto, Hamilton and Midland (Ontario). Nickel ores are of great and growing importance, particularly as there are only two producing localities of consequence in the world—the Sudbury district in Ontario and the French colony of New Caledonia. The Ontario mines contain enough ore to supply the needs of the world for all time. Most of the copper output of Ontario is produced as a by-product of nickel. In 1902 British Columbia produced about 30,000,000 pounds of copper, most of which was mined in the west of the Kootenay district.
Practically all of the first-quality asbestos that is marketed in the world is produced at the Thedford, Black Lake and Danville mines in southeastern Quebec. Large quantities of mica are mined in Quebec and Ontario. The Yukon placer goldmines are producing more gold than any other placer mines in the world, and since the wonderful Klondike rush in 1897, when 60,000 people sought this far-away northern country, gold to the value of $100,000,000 has been taken out. One of the richest silver camps in the world is at Cobalt, Ontario. See Yukon and Cobalt.
Fisheries. Canada has become the fishing ground of North America. On the Atlantic and Pacific are extensive fisheries, while countless lakes, with their tributary streams, teem with fish of the greatest value as food.
Hundreds of foreign vessels, including many from the United States, come to the Canadian waters to share in these treasures. It is estimated that 78,000 Canadian fishermen thus find employment. Their boats, nets and gear are valued at $11,500,000 and their annual catch at $29,629,000. There are, moreover, extensive waters yet unfished, which in the near future will add to the value of the catch.
The vast salmon industries on the Pacific coast are in some respects the most remarkable in the world. In the season when fish are running up stream, the flow of water actually is impeded in shallow places by their numbers. Standing on the bank, one sees the whole river red with the gleam of their sides. Canning factories are built on these streams, and each year 9,000,000 to 10,000,000 fish are canned.
Hudson Bay and the coast waters from the Ungava to Mackenzie River are the richest whaling grounds in the world. The walrus and many valuable fish, such as sea-trout, salmon and cod, are found in these waters.
The Department of Marine and Fisheries carries on fish-culture, introducing fish into new waters and preventing the exhaustion of the present supply. There are sixteen government-hatcheries which, in some years, distribute over 400,000,000 fry.
Railways. With the exception of the Intercolonial (1,463 miles) and the Prince Edward Island Railway (279 miles) all railways in Canada are owned by private companies.
The Canadian Pacific extends to Montreal and then crosses Canada, passing through the world's granary to Vancouver on the Pacific. Cities, towns and over 400 stations are passed en route. It also runs from Quebec to Montreal and on to Toronto. The system has a mileage of 11,507 miles, the only transcontinental railway in America under one management. Its steamers ply between England and Canada, and between Canada and China and Japan.
The Grand Trunk runs from Portland (Maine), on the Atlantic, westward to Montreal, through Ontario to Sarnia, and thence to Chicago. It passes under St. Clair River—the outlet of Lake Huron—by the famous St. Clair tunnel. With a mileage of 3,104 it reaches practically all Ontario. It has several famous bridges, the Victoria Jubilee at Montreal (over the St. Lawrence); the Niagara, the largest steel-arch railway-bridge in the world, just below the Falls; and also the International near Buffalo.
(See, also, Canadian Northern Railway and Grand Trunk Pacific Railway, both to be transcontinental lines).
