ABSTRACT
The dislocation experienced in raw materials markets in the early 1970s has revived old concerns about the finiteness of natural resource supplies being the ultimate constraint to long-term economic growth. This development has, in turn, produced a renewed interest in policies designed to minimize the disruptive economic impact of any future resource shortages. The economies of the western provinces have always been intricately linked with the production and export of raw materials products to more industrialized areas. From the fur trade era through early timber and mineral production in British Columbia and grain exports from the Prairies to the current reliance on agricultural products, timber, oil and gas, and metallic and non-metallic minerals, the four western Canadian provinces have consistently been classical staple economies. Saskatchewan provides an extreme example of a staple economy, with nearly total dependence on agricultural exports for its well-being.
