Canada posted a record C$75.2 billion in merchandise exports in April, according to Statistics Canada, with gains across nine of eleven product categories pushing the monthly total 1.6% above March’s already elevated figure. Since a 4.4% dip in January, total exports have climbed 19.2%.
Energy led the surge, with shipments of oil and natural gas rising 9.7% to C$19.9 billion. The ongoing US-Iran conflict has disrupted Middle East energy supply throughout the spring, pushing global oil and natural gas prices higher and lifting the value of Canadian shipments.
Farm, fishing, and intermediate food products gained 8.9% to C$5.3 billion, and aircraft and transportation equipment jumped 13.8% to C$3.1 billion. Metal and non-metallic mineral products fell 17.5%, though Statistics Canada noted they remained high by historical standards.
Imports edged up 0.3% to a record C$72.4 billion, leaving Canada with a trade surplus of C$2.7 billion — the second consecutive surplus and the largest since January 2025, widening from C$1.8 billion in March. Canada’s bilateral surplus with the United States expanded from C$7.8 billion to C$9.5 billion, its highest level since February 2025 — a figure that will not go unnoticed in Washington.
The numbers mark a sharp reversal from a year ago, when Canada recorded its largest trade deficit on record — C$7.1 billion — after tariff-driven disruptions sent exports plummeting 10.8%.
Meanwhile, on Truth Social
On June 9, Trump shared a Reuters headline on Truth Social: “US trade deficit widens by the most in nearly 34 years.” He offered no commentary.
The post drew immediate mockery. A widening trade deficit means the gap between what a country imports and what it exports is growing — the precise outcome Trump’s tariff regime was designed to prevent. Critics pointed out that the president, who has called the trade deficit proof that America is being “ripped off,” appeared to be sharing the development as a win.
The Reuters article Trump linked reported on November 2025 data — a month in which the US deficit surged nearly 95% to $56.8 billion. The US goods trade deficit hit a record $1.24 trillion for the full year 2025, even as Trump claimed his tariffs had slashed it by 78%.
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