Uploaded on 2020-05-14 by Ian

Pictured here are a series of condominium developments in Toronto's Liberty Village neighbourhood. One of Canada's ten top imports is American steel. These condos are structurally supported by the common combination of steel and concrete, and stretch dozens of storeys into the air. Steel costs have been rising steadily and developers have only recently begun discussing methods of designing wood framed condo buildings. Since forestry and timber are an abundant resource in Canada, this could drastically reduce a major import in the construction industry. You can see that the building at the left of the image is coated floor to ceiling in glass. This has been frowned upon by critics and dubbed "throw away architecture" because of maintenance and insulation costs. Canada imports the majority of this glass from China and the USA, two of the world's primary glass manufacturers, investing large sums into buildings with questionable sustainability. Another example are the two large cranes standing on the site. Canada does not have a large scale equipment manufacturer, which means these cranes, as well much of the other construction equipment on the site, has been imported from other countries. Vehicles, Machinery and Electrical Machinery are Canada's top three imports.