The province of Quebec was the first to use salt on roads to help melt snow and ice. Other provinces quickly followed suit, causing a boom in Canada's salt industry in the early 1960s that has been maintained. In Canada, the chemical industry is one of the largest consumers of the resource. These chemicals are used in the production of soap and detergents, pulp and paper, fibres and plastics, glass, petrochemicals, explosives, solvents and other chemicals. The food industry uses salt in many forms.
Meat packers use it for curing hams and bacon.
Salt has always been an important element in the fishing industry and remains so today. It is used in packing fish because it prevents the development of bacteria. For the prevention of heat exhaustion, salt tablets are given to people who work in high-temperature locations and to athletes to restore the body salt lost in perspiration. Salt is also a very important element in animals' diets. It is given to livestock in the form of salt licks or is mixed with their food.