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Is the United States becoming less relevant to Canada?
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Canada Politics
Both Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney had the same message in two different cities Monday: Canada needs to look west, not south.
In Washington, Harper met with U.S. President Barack Obama, and Mexican President Felipe Calderón in Washington, in a meeting dubbed the Three Amigos Summit.
But as the Canadian Press reported, the three men weren't all that chummy.
Harper flatly warned an influential Washington audience the United States is going to have to start competing with Asia — and paying market rates — for Canadian oil.
"We cannot be, as a country, in a situation where really our one and in many cases only energy partner could say no to our energy products," the Prime Minister stated.
"… For us, the United States cannot be our only export market," he emphasized. "That is not in our interest."
Meanwhile, Carney addressed the Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber of Commerce about the need for Canadian exporters to shift focus from the United States to Asia.
Canada's interests lie across the Pacific, he said according to iPolitics. Not just while the United States is recovering, or while the Canadian dollar is high, but for the long term.
The Bank of Canada estimates the American market will remain over $1 trillion smaller in 2015 than it had projected prior to the economic crisis.
Carney contrasted this to the emerging markets in Asia, where a massive new middle class is growing by 70 million people each year.
"This is where Canadian businesses must increasingly look for export growth," he said.
"While the United States will always loom large in Canadian trade, geography need not be destiny. For many firms, the most attractive option is now to expand into emerging markets. Canada's aggressive trade strategy promises to enhance these prospects."
While North America, and the United States in particular, continue to be our biggest export markets, our reliance on them is clearly diminishing.
According to Statistics Canada, North America accounted for 76.1 per cent of Canada's exports in 2010, down from 87.1 per cent in 2001. During the same period, the share of exports going to Europe and Asia nearly doubled.
The share of Canada's exports going to the United States has fallen since 2001 while China's share has tripled during the same period.
The U.S. will always be our 'number one,' but they are no longer our 'only one.'
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