Amid Trump trade war, Canada's exports to China up 30% in first half of 2026 | CBC News

Canadian exports to China rocketed by 30 per cent in the first half of 2026, with overall trade up 3.6 per cent year over year, according to Statistics Canada data analyzed by researchers.

Overall trade in goods between Canada and China totalled $66.6 billion in the first half of 2026, up 3.6 per cent, while exports increased 30 per cent to $21.74 billion year over year.

"This is a record for our first half of the year exports to China," said Bijan Ahmadi, executive director of the Canada China Business Council.

And as the latest Canada-U.S. trade escalation threatens to widen the rift between Ottawa and Washington indefinitely, Prime Minister Mark Carney has reiterated Canada’s intention to strike new trade deals with other countries and become less reliant on the U.S.

Incidentally, the Trans Mountain Pipeline reached 97 per cent capacity in June, substantially increasing Asia’s access to Western Canadian crude oil.

In fact, Mark Maki, CEO of Trans Mountain, recently projected that Asia would buy 70 per cent of Canada’s oil by 2028.

"We actually saw almost an immediate upswing in price," said Andre Harpe, chair of the Canadian Canola Growers Association and a canola farmer near Grand Prairie, Alta.

Alberta and British Columbia were responsible for the largest export gains, thanks to energy, minerals, forestry and agriculture.

"The sentiment that might have existed some time ago, about the inability to get our act together, so to speak, seems to be changing," said Peter Xotta, president and CEO of the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority.

While overall trade increased, the breakdown is vastly different when looking at the import numbers, which are down 5.8 per cent year over year, despite China still being Canada's second-largest source of imports.

"It’s a bit early, but it’s something worth keeping an eye on," he said.

Fact check: Are only Canada and China retaliating against U.S. tariffs?