The completion of a the TransMountain Pipeline is showing up in our economic data.
We just saw an update on how Canada is faring in the area of global trade and were surprised with a sharp increase. It took us from a deficit to a surplus meaning we are now selling more abroad than we are importing.
And the big contributor was an increase in crude oil exports thanks to the TMX completion and commissioning.
It is a stark reminder of how important oil is to our economy despite the political headwinds brought on by climate change policy. And, interestingly, the second-largest factor was increased exports of motor vehicles….clearly oil and oil-powered products play a key role in our economic well-being.
And there is one other factor at play here.
That’s the value of the Canadian dollar. It has been dropping relative to its U.S. counterpart which makes our goods and services cheaper for foreign buyers. Effectively we are on sale. And the value of our imports rose too…a reflection of the higher cost of goods we buy abroad.
