Canada’s economy relies heavily on the United States, primarily due to its significant trade dependence, geographic proximity, and integrated supply chains.
The most striking indicator is trade: in 2024, 75.9% of Canada’s merchandise exports—totaling $412.7 billion USD—went to the U.S., according to data from the U.S. Customs Service and corroborated by Statistics Canada trends.
This makes the U.S. by far Canada’s largest export market.
Comparatively, Canada’s next biggest export destinations, like China (4.1%) and Japan (2.3%), account for far smaller shares.
Imports tell a similar story: in 2024, Canada imported $349.4 billion USD in goods from the U.S., representing roughly 60-65% of its total goods imports, depending on the exact figures for other partners like China (12%) and Mexico (5%).
Beyond goods, services and investment also tie Canada to the U.S. In 2023, the U.S. accounted for 57% of Canada’s service exports (e.g., travel, financial services), and American foreign direct investment in Canada was valued at over $455 billion USD, dwarfing investments from other countries.
Economically, Canada’s GDP—around $2.2 trillion USD in 2024—pales next to the U.S.’s $28 trillion-plus, and its export-driven growth (exports are ~30% of GDP) hinges on U.S. demand. If U.S. imports dropped significantly, models suggest Canada’s GDP could contract by 2-5% in a year, far outpacing impacts on the U.S. from a similar disruption.
In short, Canada’s economy relies heavily on the U.S. for trade, investment, and market access.
@Grok