Alaska Division of Trade and Development

Canada Business Trade

Alaska Exports to Canada

Alaska exported $165 million (USD) worth of commodities in 2000, about 7 percent of Alaska’s total exports.
Although Alaska exports to Canada declined in 2000 from the 1999 total of $203 million, last year’s exports to Canada were about average on an annual basis for the past decade.

Leading export: minerals and ore – more than one-third of the export total.
Seafood and forestry products ranked second and third. While overall exports were down in 2000, wood product exports increased significantly over 1999.

Alaska Imports from Canada

Alaska imported $120.9 million (USD) of Canadian goods in 1999. Canadian exports to Alaska dropped dramatically in 1999 from the 1998's total of $282 million. Canadian goods delivered to Alaska in the years 1995-1997 ranged from $123 million to $151 million (USD).

Import commodities: Refined petroleum products, construction and mining machinery, sawmill products, prefabricated buildings, aircraft and parts, communication and electronic equipment

Mining

Canadian firms are heavily involved in the billion-dollar Alaska mining industry in investment, exploration, development and production, accounting for about 80 % of Alaska 1999 exploration expenditures.
Cominco Alaska, subsidiary of Canada’s Cominco, operates Red Dog Mine near Kotzebue in northwest Alaska. Red Dog is the world's largest lead-zinc mine. Cominco won the Alaska Governor's Exporter of Year Award in 1999 for Red Dog, its second award in past decade. Cominco is expanding Red Dog operations and production.
Kinross Gold Corp. of Toronto operates Fort Knox Mine near Fairbanks and is Alaska’s largest gold producer. This is one of three Kinross flagship mines, along with mines in Ontario and in Magadan, Russian Far East, which relies in part, on logistics support from Alaska.
Teck, in partnership with Sumitomo Metal, is developing Pogo Mine near Fairbanks.
Canadian mining companies have used Alaska for logistics and staging for Russian Far East exploration and development to take advantage of Alaska-RFE flights, proximity and availability of supplies and personnel, and Alaska's close relations with RFE regions.

Canadian mining companies have used Southeast Alaska towns and ports for logistics and staging for mine operations in the Yukon Territory and British Columbia. But a downturn in mining in the Yukon has had a negative impact on Skagway, Alaska and the operations of the White Pass Railway.

Construction

Western Canada has been active in arctic housing and construction projects, and the Northwest Territories Housing Corp. has been playing a role in rural Alaska, working on projects with regional governments, housing authorities, AHFC and HUD. Canadian construction companies also compete with Alaska companies in the Russian Far East. Canadian firms and government housing agencies are active in prefab/modular construction, arctic design and arctic utility development.

Other Business

In addition to the significant involvement of the Canadian mining industry in Alaska, other kinds of businesses have crossed the Alaska-Canadian borders, in both directions, to develop business opportunities. Increasingly, the focus is on anticipated development of natural gas resources, but Alaska and Canadian companies have been active in many other areas as well, as illustrated by the trade data.

Agrium, Inc., based in Calgary, purchased the world class Unocal fertilizer plant in Nikiski, Alaska for $325 million (USD) in 2000. The plant produces ammonia and urea for agricultural and industrial customers in the Pacific Rim region, and Agrium anticipates a growing Asian market. Agrium now has 11 fertilizer plants in North America, five in Canada and six in the U.S.