Typical for a developed trade nation, the material footprint of Quebec’s societal needs and wants originates, to a large extent, from outside of the province within its imports. And even though Quebec fully functions on renewable energy it still relies heavily on imported fossil fuels for transport.

The agricultural sector produces unusually large amounts of waste, little of which is currently reused or recycled, and the goods and services the government invests in through public procurement are highly-resource intensive.

These components of the economy are reflected in how resource use is allocated across the province’s needs and wants: Services is the second-highest contributor to the material footprint—on par with Nutrition—while Housing leads the way.

In total, Québec’s population of 8.5 million consume 24 tonnes of materials per capita yearly, earning them the sixth place globally. For metal ores, the province shoots to second place, only trailing behind Australia, with an extraction rate of 12 tonnes per capita.