TORONTO, (May 16, 2005) — Canada’s oil and gas related services will be the fastest growing industries in the country, says a report released last week by the BMO Financial Group Economics Department.

The boom in mineral fuels investment is expected to propel oil and gas services to the top of the industry growth rankings in Canada during the 2005-2006 period, says the report titled Prospects for Canada’s Industries.

The study — which examines nearly 50 industries and assesses their outlook for growth over the next two years — finds that the fastest-growing industries will be either those benefiting from special factors, such as the high prices for some commodities, or those that typically do well in the mature stage of the business cycle.

“Strong global economic growth — and, in particular, the rapid pace of industrialization in Asia, Russia, and Brazil — has also strengthened the markets for coal, industrial metals, and chemicals, for which demand and production should continue at a brisk pace during the next two years,” noted Earl Sweet, assistant chief economist of BMO Financial Group.

Additionally, strong business investment, combined with buoyant consumer spending and continued robust trade in natural resources, should sustain above-average growth in wholesale trade and transportation services,” added Sweet.

At the other end of the scale, the report identifies several industries which will have particularly slow growth or even actual output declines during the next two years. Among them will be forestry, where activity is expected to be dampened by a projected slowdown in new housing construction, resource limitations and rationalization of sawmill capacity — especially in Eastern Canada.

In agriculture, reduced crop plantings in response to growing global inventories of wheat and oilseeds, softening prices and rising export competition should cap outcomes, following very strong growth during the past couple of years, the report concludes.