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The IMD World Competitiveness Rankings 2019 named Canada the 13th most competitive country out of 67 nations, the lowest ranking for the “Great White North” since the annual survey began in 1997.

Canada dropped from 10th in 2018 to 13th this year, being outperformed by Ireland and Qatar which jumped from 12th to 7th and 14th to 10th, respectively.

Luxembourg fell from 11th to 12th, but still performed better than Canada on the latest edition of the world’s most competitive economies 2019 survey.

Here’s the top 15 countries along with the gain or drop in rankings versus the previous year:

It’s hard to fathom just how much a lost investment of $196 billion is. But thanks to a newly released policy brief by Canadian think tank SecondStreet.org, it’s much easier to put that figure into context.

Unfortunately the circumstances under which the report uses comparisons to help us grasp just how much $196 billion is is alarming to say the least. Alarming for all Canadians that is.

After scanning government websites, industry reports and media stories, SecondStreet.org calculated that Canada’s oil and gas and mining sectors lost about $196 billion in investment between March 2014 and March 2019.

That’s in addition to tens of billions in foregone tax revenues and the loss of tens of thousands of jobs across the country.

Our Twitter accounts are an excellent way to keep up-to-date on the overall message we deliver to the public domain.

We believe it's critical to educate Canadians about the social and economic benefits given to us all by the natural resource sector and the industry's commitment to world-class environmental stewardship.

If you don't have an account and want to stay in the loop, we've compiled our best tweets from Canada Action's Twitter account below for the month of May 2019. Also see:

• Canada Action @Twitter
• Oil Sands Action @Twitter

Did you know that Ontario is a hotbed for mining activity in Canada? The industry is active in all parts of the province in a diverse set of communities including Sudbury, Windsor, Midland, Timmins, Perth, Marathon, North Bay and Attawapiskat to name a few.

The further north you get in Ontario, the more important mining becomes to local economies. In the far north of the province, mineral resource development is especially critical to business and employment opportunities.

As Canada's largest private sector employer of First Nations, the contribution of the mining industry to the well-being and development of remote communities across the country is significant. But secluded municipalities aren't the only ones that benefit from the sector.

Oil, natural gas, minerals, softwood lumber, water... you name it, chances are Canada has it. After all, it is the second largest country in the world with an incredibly diverse array of landscapes and geology from coast-to-coast.

In Canada, natural resources such as oil, potash, uranium and wood are extracted to some of the highest environmental and labour standards in the world. Such operations also bring massive benefits to governments of all levels in all provinces in the form of taxes and royalties.

So, what are the natural resources that Canada has in abundance? Here's a breakdown...

Sometimes it’s almost as if we live on another planet devoid of facts, logic and common sense.

The unbalanced and relentless attack on Alberta’s energy sector which has labelled the oil sands as the harbinger of the apocalypse is a prime example of where some logical thinking and common sense could be of great use.

Environmental groups claim that further development and production from Alberta’s oil sands will send the entire world into oblivion. Meanwhile…

Any Canadian who’s remotely familiar with nuclear technology has probably heard of uranium. A little factoid: it's an essential part of nuclear reactors across the country and around the world, with about 15% of Canada's total production used to support CANDU reactors in Ontario and New Brunswick.

But did you know that Canada happens to be the second largest uranium producing nation? This metal is found in abundance within the country, and uranium mining in Canada - Saskatchewan in particular - is nothing new.

Canada's a nation that's rich in natural resources. From minerals to petroleum to lumber, the natural resource sector is the backbone of prosperity in Canada, contributing about 20% to the nation's gross domestic product (GDP) every year.

More specifically, the forest industry plays an important role in Canada’s economy on both a provincial and federal level. To give you an idea of just how important it is, we’ve compiled numbers showing how it contributes to economies across the nation.

Also see:

• The Oil and Gas Industry is Active Across Canada
• Canada's Petroleum Industry: By the Numbers
• 10 Reasons Why the Oil & Gas Sector is Important for Canada

There’s a smear campaign being run against ONLY the Canadian energy sector by "environmental activist" groups who receive a large part of their funding from non-Canadian sources. These groups do not savagely oppose any other energy sector in any other nation of the world.

If you live in Canada, you may of heard of it by now. It’s called the Tar Sands Campaign (here's the link to the campaign's PDF), and according to CorpEthics, it’s been active since 2008. This campaign's true mission statement and goals along with its inception date, all brazenly stated and explained in a bragging tone on CorpEthic’s website.

Or we should say, they were before.

If you follow Canadian politics, there’s a good chance you’ve heard about the controversial Bill C-69. This bill, along with Bill C-48, the Clean Fuel Standards (CFS) and other legislation that’s currently being introduced by the federal government may just sound the death knell for Canada’s natural resource sector if made law.

Like Bill C-48 – the tanker ban legislation which was voted down by the Senate Committee of Transportation – Bill C-69 is so flawed it doesn’t just need amendments, but should be voted down by the Canadian Senate and suffer the same fate as its cousin Bill C-48.

Here’s three major flaws we see with Bill C-69, and why any Canadian who understands how important our our natural resource sector is to our country should be concerned with this dangerous piece of legislation.

• 75+ Quotes & Tweets: Canadians Against Bill C-48 & Bill C-69
• Bill C-48 Ignores Canada’s East Coast + World Tanker Activity [Photos]. Why?