No Questioning the Canada Connection

In Canada, the United States has no greater friend as our two countries share much more than just the world’s longest and most productive border.

We share core values and a commitment to free trade, a level playing field and open markets. And, of course, there are all those cultural ties. (Sure, they play a different style of football – CFL vs. NFL – but there is always hockey. And find me an American who doesn’t like Canadian rock band Rush and their ode to that all-American boy Tom Sawyer.)

A day after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s visit to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, we wanted to take a chance to note the close connection between the two countries.

A good place to start: trade.

“More than $750 billion in goods and services cross over our border annually, making the United States Canada’s largest trading partner. …

“Canada is the top U.S. export market in the world. In addition, our nations’ supply chains and workforces our deeply interwoven and interdependent, particularly in critical sectors like automotive, information technology and energy production.”

By the way, Alberta, Canada, leads the way as an American oil supplier.

From 2014: “Alberta ships 2.5 million barrels of oil a day to the U.S.”

Additionally, “Canada offers us some important lessons in policy and results.”

“From 2001 – 2010, Canada grew faster than any other G-7 country. This growth was the result of a diversified economy, its foundations built upon low corporate taxes, prudent fiscal management and financial regulation; a business climate that rewards innovation and entrepreneurship; and an open economy that welcomes foreign direct investment.”

We can even learn a little from our neighbors to the north when it comes to regulatory reform.

Our neighbor to the north came up with one way to lasso in the Regulatory State. Since 2012, Canadian federal regulators have been operating under a “One-for-One” rule.

Canada is a partner in innovation.

 “Canada and the United States must lead the way in innovation and embrace the opportunity to create the jobs of the future,” Trudeau said Thursday. “This is North America. We don’t fear the future; we invent it. We don’t worry about the new economy, we create it.”

And speaking of North America …

Since 1994, trade with Canada and Mexico has risen nearly fourfold to $1.3 trillion in 2014, and the two countries buy one-third of all U.S. merchandise exports. Trade with Mexico and Canada supports 14 million jobs. Five million of these came from increases in trade because of NAFTA.