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Elmhurst Community College
Environmental Scan
Canada
Economic
General Information
Canada, a democracy located north of the United States and west of Greenland,
encompasses over 9,984,670 square kilometers. Within that vast area of land, which is over
100,000 square kilometers greater than the U.S., Canada holds many natural resources such as
fish, timber, coal, natural gas, and various metals. Interestingly, Canada directly borders only the
United States, making it the largest country which shares borders with only one other country.
Trade Deals
Canada’s proximity to the U.S. lead to its involvement with the creation of NAFTA, the
North American Free Trade Agreement in 1994. However, the trade agreement may not remain
in its current form. According to a CNBC report, United States Secretary of Commerce Wilbur
Ross confirmed on March 28, 2017 that early meetings were being held within the House Ways
and Means Committee regarding the renegotiation of NAFTA (Mui). President Trump reiterated
throughout his campaign the need to renegotiate international trade deals, especially NAFTA.
Following meetings between Prime Minister Trudeau and President Trump, Canada agreed to a
new trade agreement with the EU, known as the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement
(Stearns). Signed in February, this agreement eliminates 99% of tariffs between members of the
EU and Canada. This new trade strategy will benefit not only Canadian consumers, but EU
consumers as well, at time when they could use economic stability after Brexit.
Concerning Data
Data from recent years shows that Canadian economic growth has been negligible. From 2014
to 2016, the purchasing power for the average Canadian went from $46,100 to $46,200, meaning
a net increase of only $100 over two years. In comparison, the United States saw a PPP growth
