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You’ve never imagined the Egg Economy like this

We showed you that the impact of the Egg Economy is more than rural–it affects urbanites from coast to coast. Now we invite you to imagine the scale of the Canadian Egg Economy, through imaginative perspectives of it. A line of loonies so long it circles the Earth. Economic growth on an Olympic scale. You’ll see what egg farmers have known for decades–no matter where you live, the Egg Economy affects your life far more than just through the eggs on your table.

1. An all-Canadian brand


“There’s nothing more Canadian than sipping a double-double in Kandahar airfield while you’re watching a hockey game,” retired Canadian Forces General Rick Hillier once said.1 Tim Horton’s is part of the great Canadian cliché, like RCMP uniforms and saying “eh”. No wonder–8 out of every 10 cups of coffee sold in Canada come from Tims and 15% of Canadians visit the chain every day.2 Tim Hortons sells 2 billion cups of coffee every year. Yet picture this–every year Canadian egg farmers produce about 7 billion eggs.3 That’s 3.5 eggs for every cup of Canada’s most famous brand.

2. Olympic scale


Olympic fever is gripping the world. The motto of this year’s Olympics is Um mundo novo–Portuguese for “a new world”–and Vancouver embraced a new world during its time in the Olympic spotlight. The Vancouver Olympics were projected to create $4.1 billion in economic activity across British Columbia, right through to 2015.4 That impact is truly Olympian–and it is almost the same amount of economic activity generated by the Egg Economy every year. That total economic activity is a measure that goes beyond our contribution to GDP, and reflects the total value of the sales and spending we create.

3. An all-Canadian industry


Tim Horton’s is everywhere. You can’t cross from one end of a Canadian community to the other without driving by a Tims. Timmies can be found at 3,500 locations nationwide.5 With 3.5 eggs eaten for every cup of Timmies drunk, you would think egg farms outnumber Tims. Not so–there are just over 1,000 egg farms in Canada.6

4. As big as video games


Some of the world’s most beloved video games have been designed and developed in Canada. Mass Effect 3–a legendary game in a legendary series–was developed in Edmonton.7 Playing Dragon Age: Inquisition led one reviewer to admit, “I don’t know what higher praise I could give”… of a game built right here in Canada.8 The list goes on and on. Canada is home to the world’s largest gaming industry per capita.9 In 2015, more than 17,000 people were employed in this high-energy, high-tech field. If Canada is a hotbed for video games, then it’s also a hotbed for egg farming. The Egg Economy also employs about 17,000 people from coast to coast to coast.

5. Eggs go round the world


Every year the Egg Economy adds $1.28 billion to Canada’s GDP. Let’s picture that another way: imagine converting all that money into loonies. Now line those loonies up, side-by-side, right around the equator. End-to-end, they would stretch more than 33,000 km–nearly the entire circumference of the planet Earth. It’s a great way to visualize the fact that the Canadian Egg Economy is felt far and wide–through philanthropy abroad and at our breakfast tables at home.

These are just a few examples of our industry’s incredible scale. Tell us your favourite fact about the Egg Economy by tweeting us @eggsoeufs or tagging us on Facebook at Get Cracking.