Canada’s chemical and fertilizer industry is a subsector of Canada’s heavy industry sector and includes the production of chemicals and products through chemical processes. The sector provides critical inputs to other economic sectors such as manufacturing, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and energy.

Canada’s chemical and fertilizer sector presents significant opportunities for
decarbonization, driven by its substantial emissions and export exposure. As the
industry works to improve its sustainability performance, there is growing demand
for clean technologies that support emissions reductions, energy efficiency, waste
recovery, and feedstock diversification. For technology providers, this presents a
clear opportunity to support an established sector in its transition toward more
sustainable production.

Chemicals and fertilizers represent:

- Chemicals and fertilizers account for 30% of emissions from Canada’s heavy industry sector, making it the largest source of emissions within heavy industries.

• The chemical industry generates a total of 23 million tonnes of direct greenhouse gas emissions annually.
• A Majority of emissions footprint is in Alberta (65% of emissions) and Ontario (20%).

- Significant contributor to Canada’s economy: $22.9 billion annually in GDP (1% of Canada’s GDP), shipments totaling $74.8 billion, exports of $48 billion, and imports of $83.8 billion.