B. People and Environments: Canada's Interactions with the Global Community · Canada's Interactions with the Global Community

Trade: Canada's Imports, Exports and Trading Partners

B3.7 B3.6 B2.3About 45 minutes

Learning goals

I can explain the difference between imports and exports, and between goods and services.
I can name some of Canada's main exports and imports.
I can identify countries and regions with which Canada has a significant economic relationship.
I can show trade connections on a map.

Words to know

trade
Buying and selling goods and services.

export
A good or service sold to another country. (Also the verb: to sell to another country.)

import
A good or service bought from another country.

goods
Things you can touch, like cars, wheat or phones.

services
Work done for someone, like tourism, banking or engineering advice.

trading partner
A country that a country buys from and sells to.

natural resource
Something from nature that people use, like oil, trees, minerals, fish or fresh water.

economic relationship
The connection between countries through trade, business and money.

A trip on a truck

Every day, thousands of trucks cross the bridge between Windsor, Ontario and Detroit, Michigan. Some carry car parts made in Ontario to factories in the United States. Others come back with fruit, machines and finished cars.

That busy bridge is a picture of trade: Canada selling and buying with the world.

A line of transport trucks crossing a large suspension bridge over a river. — Bridges like this one carry goods across the border every day. Some trucks carry exports out of Canada and others bring imports in. AI-generated image

Imports and exports

An export goes out: Canada sells it to another country. (Think: exit.)
An import comes in: Canada buys it from another country. (Think: in.)

Countries trade goods (things you can touch) and services (work people do). When tourists from Japan visit Banff and pay for hotels, Canada is exporting a service: tourism!

Some important Canadian exports	Some things Canada imports
Crude oil and natural gas	Cars, trucks and machinery
Cars, trucks and car parts	Phones, computers and electronics
Gold and other minerals, potash, aluminum	Clothing and shoes
Lumber, wood and paper	Fresh fruit and vegetables, especially in winter
Wheat, canola, seafood such as lobster, and maple syrup	Coffee, tea, bananas and other foods that do not grow here

Many Canadian exports come from natural resources. Canada also both exports and imports cars and car parts, because the car industry in Canada, the United States and Mexico is closely linked.

Imports come in, exports go out. Many exports come from natural resources, and cars appear on both sides because the car industry crosses borders.

Canada's trading partners

Canada trades with many countries, but one partner is much bigger than all the rest: the United States.

In 2023, about 77.4% of the value of Canada's goods exports went to the United States, and about 49.5% of Canada's goods imports came from there (Library of Parliament, 2024, using Statistics Canada data).
That means roughly 3 out of every 4 dollars of goods Canada sold to other countries came from sales to the United States.

Why so much with the United States? We are neighbours with a very long shared border, many highways, bridges, railways and ports connect us, we speak a common language (English) and our businesses have worked together for a long time.

Other important trading partners include China, Mexico, Japan, the United Kingdom and countries of the European Union such as Germany. Asia, Europe and Latin America are all important regions for Canadian trade.

In 2023, about three quarters of the value of Canada's goods exports went to the United States. The bar is drawn to scale: the whole bar is 100%.

Why does trade matter to you?

Jobs. Many Canadians work in jobs that make or move exports: farms, mines, factories, ports, trucking.
Choice. Imports let you buy oranges in January and phones made far away.
Connections. Trade links Canada to other regions, so what happens there affects us, and what we do affects them. If another country stops buying a Canadian product, workers here can lose jobs. If Canada buys more of a product, workers in the country that makes it may get more work.

Worked example

Let's map Canada's trade

Make a simple trade map that shows: Canada exports crude oil to the United States; Canada imports bananas from Ecuador; Canada exports canola to Japan.

Step 1: Get a base map. Use a world map with country outlines. Find Canada, the United States, Ecuador (in South America) and Japan (in Asia).
Step 2: Choose symbols and make a legend. For example, an arrow leaving Canada means an export; an arrow coming into Canada means an import. Draw a small picture or write a word on each arrow to show the product.
Step 3: Draw the arrows. Canada → United States (crude oil). Ecuador → Canada (bananas). Canada → Japan (canola).
Step 4: Add a title, a compass rose and a source. Title: "Some of Canada's Trade Connections". Every good map has a title, a legend, a compass rose (or north arrow) and says where the information came from.

Two arrows point out of Canada (exports to the United States and Japan) and one arrow points in (an import from Ecuador). The legend explains what the arrows mean.

Just for fun

What did the export say to the import at the border?

"You're coming in? I'm just heading out!" 🚚

Print and digital maps

You can build a trade map on paper, or use a digital map tool, such as an online globe, where you can drop pins and draw lines. Digital maps can zoom and hold more information; paper maps are easy to share and draw on. Both need a title, legend and north arrow.

Hands-on activity

Grocery trade map

With a grown-up, look at 8 to 10 foods in your kitchen or at the grocery store (stickers on fruit, labels on cans and boxes).

Write down each food and the country it came from.
On a world map (printed, drawn or digital), draw an arrow from each country to Canada. Use one colour of pencil for fruit and vegetables and another for packaged food, and explain your colours in a legend.
Now think of 3 things Canada sells to the world (look at the table above). Draw arrows going out of Canada in a different style.
Add a title and a north arrow.

Which continent sends your family the most food? Does it change between summer and winter?

Your turn

What is the difference between an import and an export?

Is a Japanese family paying for a hotel in Banff a good or a service? Is it an import or export for Canada?

Which country is Canada's biggest trading partner?

In 2023, about what share of Canada's goods exports went to the United States?

Name three of Canada's important exports.

Name two countries other than the United States that trade a lot with Canada.

What three things should every trade map have, besides the arrows?

More practice: warm-up

Bananas from Costa Rica sold in Ottawa: import or export for Canada?

Canadian lobster sold in France: import or export for Canada?

Is a car a good or a service?

What is a natural resource? Give one Canadian example.

Name one reason Canada and the United States trade so much.

More practice: on your own

Why does Canada import more fresh fruit and vegetables in winter?

Canada both exports and imports cars and car parts. How can that make sense?

A factory in Ontario sells most of its products to the United States. What could happen to its workers if the United States bought much less? Explain.

Look at the bar diagram in this lesson. About what share of Canada's goods exports went to all other countries combined in 2023?

Why might a trade map use different arrow styles?

Challenge

Some people think Canada should trade more with countries in Asia, Europe and Latin America. Using what you learned, give one reason this might help Canada.

Many of Canada's exports are natural resources. Give one benefit and one concern about this.

Your friend says, "Imports are bad because the money leaves Canada." Give a balanced answer.

Check your understanding

Quiz

Canadian wheat sold to a bakery in Italy is...

Which country is Canada's largest trading partner?

Which of these is a service?

Why does Canada import fresh strawberries in January?

What does a map legend do?

Which is a natural resource that Canada exports?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: Trade connects Canada to the world. Canada exports many natural resources and manufactured goods, imports many foods and consumer goods, and has by far its biggest economic relationship with the United States (in 2023, about 77.4% of goods exports went there).

How to help at home:

At the grocery store, play "import or Canadian?" with produce stickers.
Make the trade map together; a printed world map or a free online globe both work.
Statistics change every year. If you look up newer numbers, use Statistics Canada or the Library of Parliament and always note the year.

Common difficulties:

Mixing up import and export. Remember: export exits; import comes in.
Thinking only things can be traded. Services like tourism, education and banking are traded too.
Seeing trade as all good or all bad. Encourage balanced thinking: benefits (jobs, choice, lower prices) and challenges (depending on one partner, competition).