Commentary
Canada’s trade war with the United States has revived an old temptation in Ottawa: If Washington is no longer a reliable economic partner, perhaps Canada should turn increasingly toward China. The frustration is understandable. But Canada cannot escape economic dependence on Washington by creating a more dangerous dependence on Beijing.
The numbers demonstrate the scale of the challenge. In 2025, approximately 72 percent of Canadian merchandise exports went to the United States, compared with only about 4.4 percent to China. Two-way merchandise trade with China was nevertheless approximately $125 billion, making it an important economic relationship that Canada should expand where doing so serves our interests….