The region’s industries, always on the lookout for new technologies, fully benefit from a network of outstanding educational and research institutions and a dynamic socioeconomic environment. First developed on the basis of its abundant forests, Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean’s economy has been transformed by its immense hydroelectric potential, which has made it possible to operate aluminum smelters, which produce 35% of Canada’s aluminum.

Other sectors contribute to the growth of the region, most notably the agrifood industry, with its dairy and grain production, dairy and meat processing and blueberry growing and processing; the manufacturing sector, with its metal processing, metallurgy and wood processing; and the adventure tourism and ecotourism sector.