Crown Land: Indicators and Statistics - Ministry of Forests

Discussion
In recent years, the energy (oil and gas) sector has
been the largest driver of economic activity on both
Land Act Crown land and on all provincial Crown land.
In 2006, the energy sector generated 69% of the
economic activity occurring on Land Act Crown land,
followed by utilities and pipelines at 14%, mining
at 8%, tourism and accommodation at 4%, and
agriculture and related activities (such as aquaculture,
fishing, hunting and trapping) at 3%. The energy
sector generated 33% of GDP on provincial Crown
land, followed by mining at 22%, forestry at 18%,
utilities and pipelines at 13%, public service at 9%,
tourism and accommodation at 3%, and agriculture
and related activities at 1%. This indicates a significant
economic shift in BC, as prior to 2003, forestry
produced the most GDP in the province.
Overall, the four sectors of energy, utilities, mining
and forestry accounted for 92% of GDP produced on
Land Act Crown land and 86% of GDP on all Crown
land.
The contribution of the various sectors to provincial
GDP generated on Crown land depends both
on their overall sector size and their dependence
on Crown land (as discussed in Section 3.5). The
following discussion provides detail on individual
sectors’ contributions to GDP.
Energy sector (oil and gas extraction)
The total energy sector contribution to provincial
GDP in 2006 was $6.3 billion. As noted in Section
3.5, Sector Dependence on Crown Land, the
proportion of oil and gas extraction facilities on
Crown land varies from 70% to 98%, depending on
the type of facility. Since most of the production and
employment occurs at well sites (approximately 80%
of which are on Crown land), it is estimated that 82%
of GDP is produced on provincial Land Act Crown
land and all Crown land. 42 In 2006, this amounted to
a contribution of $5.2 billion to GDP.
42 Source: 2009 data from the Oil and Gas Commission (see
Additional Information for details); and GeoBC.
Crown Land:
Indicators and
48 Statistics Report
The Crown land GDP generated from the energy
sector has fluctuated considerably between 2002 and
2006, and has also been the main source of growth in
the overall GDP estimated to be produced on Crown
land. The fluctuations have been principally due to
fluctuations in energy prices rather than fluctuations
in production levels.
Mining sector
The total mining sector contribution to provincial
GDP in 2006 was $3.8 billion. The mining sector
consists of three sub-sectors: coal mining, accounting
for 40% to 60% of mining GDP; metal ore mining,
accounting for 35% to 55%; and, non-metallic
mineral mining and quarrying, accounting for 5%.
Almost all mines in BC are on Crown land. Overall,
it is estimated that 18% of mining GDP is produced
on Land Act Crown land, and 89% of mining GDP is
produced on all Crown land. In 2006, this amounted
to GDP contributions of $0.7 billion and $3.4 billion,
respectively.
Mining sector GDP increased significantly between
2002 and 2006, mainly due to increasing prices of
coal and most minerals. There was little change in
the sector’s dependence on Crown land.
Forestry sector
The total forestry sector contribution to provincial
GDP in 2006 was $3.1 billion. Forestry sector GDP has
two components: forestry and logging contributed
85% of forestry GDP in 2006 ($2.6 billion); and,
support services for forestry and logging contributed
15% ($0.5 billion) of forestry GDP. 43
Approximately 96% of forestry and logging GDP is
produced on Crown land; thus, in 2006, forestry and
logging on Crown land contributed $2.5 billion to
the provincial GDP. It is estimated that 17% of the
43 Support services for forestry and logging consist primarily of
activities like reforestation and other silviculture activities, fire
and pest control, timber hauling (other than that included
in logging contracts), and log storage and handling prior to
delivery to mills.