The time between 1945 and the 1970s was recognized by Canada's prolonged period of continued economic prosperity, one that was mainly managed by increased industrial activity. Enlarged population in the 1950s, due to immigration and the baby boom, repressed consumer demand following for more than a decade of war and depression, and minimal growth government restriction and regulation policies helped to stimulate economic and industrial growth.
Extraction of resources also boomed, as the United States economy searched for natural resources to supply their gigantic economy: Canada's oil and gas industry, mainly controlled by United States firms, grew enormously after the oil strike at Leduc, Alberta in 1947.
Canadian pulp and paper provided for the huge United States publishing and magazine industry. Foodstuffs and minerals also provided for the American appetite.
At the same time, manufacturing industries grew, including the automotive industry and consumer goods manufacturers producing appliances, and personal products for a growingly buoyant Canadian population.
The service industry also grew significantly, as banks grew lending mortgages for a growing suburban population. Malls, fast food outlets and retail stores gained from low interest rates and government programs that expanded Canadian's purchasing capacity.
Most of this postwar growth was stimulated by American investment, and was raised on an American model of consumption.
