Ottawa courts China as US buyers still dominate Canadian exports
Two Liberal ministers are meeting China’s vice premier in Vancouver, but the U.S. still buys 70 per cent of the goods Canada sells abroad.
Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne and International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu are due to meet Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in Vancouver on November 9 for economic talks with China, days after figures showed U.S. buyers still took 70 cents of every dollar of Canadian goods exports.
The Canada–China Economic and Financial Strategic Dialogue is scheduled to be co-chaired by all three. Beijing announced the November 9 date last week.
Canada’s November 4 advisory said Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem and banking regulator Peter Routledge would also take part in discussions during the November 8–9 visit.
The U.S. took 70.2 per cent of Canadian merchandise exports in September, up from 69.9 per cent in August, according to Statistics Canada’s November 4 release.
Exports to the U.S. rose 0.7 per cent in September, driven mainly by crude oil and gold. Sales to other countries fell 1.1 per cent for a second consecutive month. Total export volumes dropped 4 per cent.
Source: Statistics Canada, Finance Canada and China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Graphic: Rebel News.
The Liberal government did secure a concrete extension with Beijing last week. On November 4, Sidhu announced favourable market access for Canadian canola meal, peas, lobsters and crab would continue through 2028. Canada will also extend remission measures for certain Chinese steel and aluminum products not made domestically.
Global Affairs Canada says exports to China grew 31.4 per cent to $21.5 billion in the first half of 2026. The government wants to increase exports to China by 50 per cent by 2030.
The November 5 federal budget separately reiterates a goal of doubling exports to all non-U.S. markets by the end of 2035. Both figures are targets rather than completed gains.
There has been a longer-term shift. Scotiabank Economics says the American export share averaged 76 per cent in 2024 and 72 per cent in 2025. Exports to other countries were up about 50 per cent from 2024, although much of that growth came from gold.
Rebel News reported in September that Novelis terminated 10 salaried jobs and temporarily laid off about 70 hourly workers at its Kingston aluminum plant, citing U.S. tariffs.
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