Canada’s trade deficit widened to an eye-popping $7.1 billion in April — the largest on record — as American tariffs took a serious bite out of exports heading south of the border, according to new data released Thursday by Statistics Canada.
The main driver was a sharp 15.7% drop in exports to the United States, marking the third straight monthly decline.
According to Statistics Canada, exports to the US have now fallen more than 26% since peaking in January.
The plunge in trade comes in the wake of sweeping tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump on Canadian goods — part of a broader economic standoff that has also seen Canada slap $90 billion worth of retaliatory duties on American imports.
Although exports to other countries were up 2.9% in April, that uptick wasn’t nearly enough to counter the US pullback.
Overall, Canadian exports fell 10.8% to $60.4 billion in April — the steepest percentage decline in five years and the lowest export value in nearly two. Even in volume terms, the drop was significant, with total exports down 9.1%.
The auto sector bore the brunt, with motor vehicles and parts exports tumbling 17.4% on the month, largely due to a 22.9% plunge in passenger car and light truck shipments. Lower crude oil prices and a stronger Canadian dollar also contributed to the decline.
Imports, meanwhile, dipped 3.5% to $67.6 billion, helped slightly by an increase in gold imports. But the big story remains the US trade relationship, where Canada’s merchandise trade surplus shrank to just $3.6 billion, the smallest since December 2020.