products, and stores in Canada are accumulating rapidly. Exports in December, 1918, were the smallest in three years. There was also in that month an expansion of imports, so that Canada's favorable trade balance was reduced for the month to $34,000,000, against $86,000,000 in 1917, $62,000,000 in 1916, and $46,000,000 in 1915. Exports of domestic produce and imports entered for consumption for the full twelve months of each of the past seven years, with the balance for or against Canada, are given in the following table: A report of the Dominion Bureau of Statistics gives the following tabular analysis of the character and value of the exports from Canada during the The source and distribution and the values of Canadian imports and exports for the years 1918 and 1917 are shown in the following tables: Australia 11,169,474 8,145,426 British East Indies 2,814,378 4,131,651 British Guiana 2,216,001 2,070,809 British South Africa 9,704,215 4,881,526 British West Indies 8,352,253 6,319,644 A comparison of Canadian imports from and exports to the United States in the last three years follows: Imports Exports. 1918 1917 1916 $738,142,064 $828,886,594 $592,088,039 433,232,149 401,479,287 260,924,864 Excess of Imports $304,909,915 $427,407,307 $331,163,175 Despite the efforts made by Canada to curtail buying from the United States during 1918 in the hope of reducing or eliminating the premium on American dollars in Canada, due to Canada's heavy purchases here and her inability to offset an unfavorable balance with the United States with favorable balances elsewhere, there was little change proportionately. Of every $100 worth of goods imported by Canada during the year, about $81 worth came from the United States, against $82 in 1917 and $77 in 1916. On the other hand the proportion of Canadian exports to the United States to total exports rose to 35 per cent. against 26 per cent. in 1917, the expansion taking place in lines such as pulp, paper, asbestos products, nickel, etc. SHIPBUILDING Canada is very proud of her war record in shipbuilding and the policy now being carried out will not only absorb many hundreds of munition workers and soldiers from Europe, but will also be of great assistance to the export business of the country. In 1914 shipbuilding in Canada was of no importance, the production for the year being only 43,346 tons. With the outbreak of the war the industry was rejuvenated and no less than 381 vessels of various types were constructed during the war. The fourteen yards of the country were kept busy at first with contracts made by the Imperial Munitions Board; later on the Department of Marine and Fisheries arranged a program of building for the Dominion Government. This provides for the construction of forty-three steel ships of a tonnage of 211,300 deadweight and forty-six wooden ships of 128,800 tons deadweight, the former costing $40,000,000 and the latter almost $25,000,000. Since the signing of the armistice the abandonment of the wooden ship part of the program has been under discussion. Contracts have also been made for ships for the account of Norway and France. The first vessel for Canadian Government account was launched early in December, 1918. It is hoped that before June 1 fifteen ships will have been launched and that before the end of the year 1919 at least thirty will be in the water. HYDRO-ELECTRIC POWER Because Canada has had to import so much coal to maintain her railroads and industries, attention has been more and more directed during the war years to the possibility of developing electrical energy through utilization of water power. A table prepared recently by A. M. Beale, Administration Engineer and Dominion Land Surveyor, shows the available water power of the Dominion to be 18,803,000 horsepower. There has been developed so far only 1,735,598 horse-power, which he figures is the equivalent under average conditions to an annual coal consumption of 53,213,000 short tons. This is nearly twice as great as the annual coal consumption of the Dominion. The Dominion Bureau of Statistics recently completed a survey of central electric power stations, that is, stations developing electrical power for sale. The capital invested in power stations totals $356,004,168, of which 79.5 per cent is invested in |