Canada-China trade breaks record, as imports hit $100B

Trade between China and Canada hit record levels in 2022, with imports breaking the $100-billion mark for the first time, Statistics Canada data show.

Economists and others say businesses are looking beyond political tensions between the two countries, as demand ramps up and established supply chains reassert themselves in a post-pandemic world.

James Brander, an economics professor at the University of British Columbia’s Sauder school of business, said in the absence of government policies directing otherwise — such as those currently restricting trade with Russia — companies would not prioritize politics.

“Of course, yes, there are tensions. But economic or trade flows, and economic activity in general, isn’t affected very much by the political tensions unless there is some explicit policy,” said Brander.