A Trading Nation

Canada has always been a trading nation and commerce remains the engine of economic growth. As Canadians, we could not maintain our standard of living without engaging in trade with other nations.

In 1988, Canada enacted free trade with the United States. Mexico became a partner in 1994 in the broader North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), with over 444 million people and over $1 trillion in merchandise trade in 2008.

Today, Canada has one of the ten largest economies in the world and is part of the G8 group of leading industrialized countries with the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, France, Japan and Russia.