Madam Speaker, being from the Prairies, I spent a few years in Regina and still have family who call Regina home. I am very much sensitive to what happens in Regina. In fact, my brother was the leader of the Saskatchewan Liberal Party for a few years. We had many different types of discussions about how important Saskatchewan and different sectors of the economy are, and we are very much concerned in the government.
The member talks about putting aside COVID. Yes, the pandemic has had a very significant impact on the industry, but about one-third of those employed in the natural resource sectors were able to access the wage subsidy program. Literally hundreds if not thousands of jobs were saved because of some of the programs, but he wants me to shy away from the pandemic. I can respect that.
The member made reference to pipelines and anticipated what I might say, so let me change things around. In the projects he is referencing, pipelines were not actually built to take our resources to the coast. That did not happen under Stephen Harper in his 10 years. That is happening under this administration. It got to a point where we even purchased a pipeline to ensure it was going to happen. There were lots of complications in regard to it, but we have to take into consideration environmental issues, indigenous issues and the different stakeholders.
We need a process in place that enables us to move the industry forward. I believe we have done this in a very responsible fashion. We are not just looking to export to the United States, for example. Everything Harper put down was for getting more oil there. I think 99% was going to the States prior to when Harper became the prime minister, and when he left it was the same percentage.
We need to look at ways to support the industry while respecting the importance of the environment and zero emissions. As I was commenting earlier today, the leadership coming from our energy sector regarding zero emissions is significant. I would argue that we are the best in the world in the ways we are improving upon our energy sector. We are second to no other country.
At the same time, the Canadian steel and aluminum industries are vital to our economy and provide employment in our communities across the country. In 2019, Canadian steel employed over 25,000 workers and contributed $3.8 billion to Canada's economy. In that same year, the Canadian aluminum industry employed approximately 10,000 workers and contributed $3.1 billion to our economy.
We understand these are not just numbers. They represent families and communities that depend on these industries. Our government has, and always will, stand with Canadian workers and protect their interests.