EDITORIAL & OPINION — COMMENTARY — Canada’s mining metropolis

People who live and work in mining communities across Canada are acutely aware of the impact mining has on their daily lives. They know that mining brings new citizens, knowledge and prosperity to their regions, and that all members of the community benefit as a result.

While there is widespread recognition of the benefits mining brings to hundreds of small communities across Canada, few Canadians realize that the industry also has a major impact on Canada’s largest city.

It is a little-known fact, but Toronto is Canada’s largest mining town. The Greater Toronto Area is home to more than 400 mining and exploration companies, and more than 30 of these are headquartered in the city. Toronto is also the world’s centre for mining finance. More than 300 international mining companies are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, and half of the mining analysts in the world work in the city.

In Toronto, as in Rouyn-Noranda, Sudbury and Kimberley, mining has created thousands of jobs and attracted millions of dollars of investment. Thanks to mining, many Torontonians have the opportunity of working in intellectually challenging and financially rewarding mining-related careers.

But the benefits to Toronto extend even farther. To service the growing needs of Toronto’s mining community, an unparalleled concentration of research, finance, engineering, legal and accounting support services has developed in the city. These specialized support services offer Torontonians a variety of well-paying, highly skilled jobs. In addition, these service sectors have developed technologies and methods that are helping people to work faster, safer and easier in a multitude of other industries across Canada.

When most Canadians think about Toronto, mining doesn’t immediately come to mind. However, without the mining industry, Toronto would be less economically prosperous and not as socially vibrant

— The author is president of Noranda. He wrote this article at the request of Mining Works for Canada, an organization designed to increase awareness of the importance of mining in this country.