Canada’s North has an abundance of natural resources. Until recently these resources have been largely untouched. As resources are being used up in the south, oil and gas, mining, and forestry industries are moving northward. Resource industries bring needed jobs to people in the North, but they also have environmental consequences. As more areas of the North are opened up for resource extraction, more roads are needed for transportation. Roads disturb the land and wildlife habitats and also act as a barrier to migrating animals.

Natural resource: A substance that is naturally occurring and has economic value; for example, trees, fish, oil, and coal. Renewable resource: A natural resource that has the ability to renew itself once extracted; for example, trees and fish. Non-renewable resource: A natural resource that is limited to the amount that currently exists on earth and will not renew itself; for example, oil, coal and gold.

• Oil and Gas – Oil and gas resources have been discovered throughout the North. Exploration for these resources and their extraction disrupts the land. Pipelines have to be built to transport the oil to refineries. Sometimes pipelines are thousands of kilometres long. Pipelines disrupt migrating animals such as the caribou. There is also the possibility for oil and gas extraction in the Arctic Ocean. This would lead to a disruption of the marine environment and the possibility of oil spills.
• Mining - Metallic ores including iron, copper, lead, zinc, gold and silver are mined in the Arctic; as well as limestone, diamonds and uranium. Mining disrupts the land and pollutes the water with lead and mercury. Mines also use a lot of energy.
• Forestry – In the southern part of the Arctic, forestry takes place in the Boreal forest. Trees are cut down to create pulp, paper and wood products. Once Boreal forests are cut down it takes a long time for them to regenerate because of the harsh growing conditions.
• Tourism – Tourism is a growing industry in the North. Many people travel there each year to enjoy nature. This is a non-extractive use of natural resources. However, tourism creates some environmental challenges as well. Buildings, roads and vehicles are needed to accommodate tourists, and more people create more garbage. The presence of humans in vehicles and boats can also disrupt wildlife.