List of the largest trading partners of Canada - wikipedia List of the largest trading partners of Canada NAFTA leaders Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Mexican President Peña Nieto, and U.S. President Barack Obama, 2014. This is a list of the largest trading partners of Canada. Canada is considered to be a trading nation as its total trade is worth more than two - thirds of its GDP ( the second highest level in the G7 after Germany ). Historically, the issue of Canada 's largest trade partners, and dependence on particular markets, has been a major political issue. At the time of Confederation in 1867, the United Kingdom was by far Canada 's largest trading partner, reflecting the close historical, cultural, and institutional ties within the British Empire. Over time, more and more of Canada 's trade was proportionally done with the United States. Various governments hoped to strengthen or reverse this trend, by changing tariff policy either to one of Imperial Preference with the British, Reciprocity with the National Policy of internal development. The 1891 and 1911 elections were fought partly over the issue of closer trade relationships with the British. Following the Civil War, the United States emerged as Canada 's largest trading partner. By the time the United Kingdom joined the European Economic Community in 1973, the idea of the UK as an alternative to the USA as Canada 's largest market was no longer viable. Canada and the United States signed the Free Trade Agreement in 1988 ( which was expanded into NAFTA by the addition of Mexico in 1994 ). Since that time the United States has dominated Canadian trade by an overwhelming degree. After the Wars, trade with Asia began to expand, especially China. After the opening of Canada -- People 's Republic of China relations in 1970, trade with China has expanded rapidly. The 20 largest trade partners of Canada The 20 largest trade partners of Canada represent 94.0 % of Canada 's exports, and 91.9 % of Canada 's imports as of December 2016. These figures do not include services or foreign direct investment. The largest partners of Canada with their total trade ( sum of imports and exports ) in millions of Canadian Dollars for calendar year 2016 are as follows : Rank Country Exports Imports Total Trade Trade Balance - World 521,251 547,320 1,068,571 - 26,070 United States 392,260 359,915 752,175 + 32,345 Europe 41,827 52,288 94,115 - 10,461 China 22,359 37,593 59,952 - 15,234 Mexico 8,879 18,901 27,780 - 10,023 United Kingdom 17,957 7,589 25,546 + 10,368 6 Japan 11,004 11,765 22,769 - 761 7 Germany 4,423 14,583 19,006 - 10,160 8 South Korea 4,623 8,952 13,576 - 4,329 9 Italy 2,485 5,635 8,120 - 3,150 10 France 3,513 4,448 7,961 - 935 11 Netherlands 2,916 4,819 7,735 - 1,902 12 India 4,067 2,956 7,023 + 1,111 13 Switzerland 1,365 5,407 6,772 - 4,042 14 Hong Kong 2,377 4,106 6,483 - 1,730 15 Belgium 3,292 3,130 6,423 + 162 16 Brazil 2,114 3,206 5,320 - 1,091 17 Taiwan 1,670 3,039 4,709 - 1,368 18 Spain 1,866 2,129 3,995 - 263 19 Australia 1,934 1,848 3,782 85 20 Norway 1,585 1,632 3,216 - 47 21 Saudi Arabia 1,368 1,723 3,092 - 355 - Remaining Countries 29,194 43,944 73,138 - 14,750 References Jump up ^ http://www.investinontario.com/siteselector/coca_401.asp Jump up ^ http = book_result&ct = result&resnum = 2&ved = 0CBoQ6AEwAQ # v = onepage&q&f = false Jump up ^ http://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=TRADEINDMACRO Jump up ^ http://www.statcan.gc.ca/tables-tableaux/sum-som/l01/cst01/gblec02a-eng.htm Jump up ^ Imports, exports and trade balance of goods on a balance - of - payments basis, by country or country grouping Foreign relations of Canada Multilateral relations International organizations Africa Asia Caribbean Latin America Europe ( European Union, NATO ) United Nations History Soviet Union Cold War Vietnam War Afghanistan War Iraq War Policies, doctrines, concepts Middle power North Atlantic triangle Responsibility to protect Foreign policy of the Harper government Defence diplomacy Africa Algeria Burkina Faso DR Congo Egypt Ethiopia Kenya Madagascar Mali Morocco Mozambique Namibia Senegal South Africa Americas Argentina Barbados Brazil Chile Colombia Cuba Grenada Haiti Jamaica Mexico Panama United States Uruguay Venezuela Asia Afghanistan Armenia Azerbaijan Bangladesh Brunei China Hong Kong India Indonesia Iran Israel Japan Kazakhstan North Korea South Korea Lebanon Malaysia Mongolia Pakistan Philippines Qatar Saudi Arabia Singapore Taiwan Turkey United Arab Emirates Vietnam Europe Albania Austria Belgium Bulgaria Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Finland France Germany Greece Holy See Iceland Ireland Italy Latvia Lithuania Montenegro Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Romania Russia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Ukraine United Kingdom Oceania Australia New Zealand By topic Trade : with the United States Largest trading partners Tariffs Mining in Latin America and the Caribbean Military : NATO NORAD Related Canadian diplomats Diplomatic missions of / in Canada Treaties Department of Global Affairs International trade Terminology Absolute advantage Balance of payments Balance of trade Capital account Comparative advantage Current account Export - oriented industrialization Fair trade Foreign exchange reserves Globalization Import substitution industrialization Net capital outflow Outsourcing Tariff Trade justice Trade war Trading nation Organizations and policies International Monetary Fund ( IMF ) United Nations Conference on Trade and Development World Bank Group World Trade Organization ( WTO ) International Trade Centre Bilateral investment treaty Economic integration Free - trade zone Special economic zone Trade agreement Trade barrier Trade bloc Political economy Free trade ( Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations, Repeal of the Corn Laws ) Mercantilism Protectionism ( Economic nationalism, Autarky ) Regional organizations ACU ASEAN CACM CAN CARICOM CEMAC CUBKR EAC EAU EU GCC Mercosur RCEP SAARC SACU WAEMU Exports by product Aircraft & Spacecraft Aircraft parts Aluminium Cars Car parts Coal Coffee Computers Copper Corn Cotton Diamonds Electricity Engines Gas turbines Gold Integrated circuits Iron ore Natural gas Oil Petrol Pharmaceuticals Ships Steel Telecommunications equipment Telephones Trucks Wheat Wine Commons Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_the_largest_trading_partners_of_Canada&oldid=801227958 '' Categories : International trade of Canada Canada - related lists of superlatives Canada economy - related lists Lists of trading partners Hidden categories : Articles containing potentially dated statements from December 2016 All articles containing potentially dated statements Talk About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 18 September 2017, at 13 : 25. 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Question: why is the us canada's largest trading partner
Answer: Free Trade Agreement