The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today announced he will travel to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on May 21, 2024, to participate in the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Quadrennial North American Convention and promote the Canada-US relationship, including cross-border trade.
Invited by the SEIU to address the convention, the Prime Minister will highlight Team Canada’s work creating good middle-class jobs, building opportunities for our workers, strengthening health care, and delivering fairness for every generation. The Prime Minister will also highlight the deep-rooted partnership that Canada and the United States share. As the closest of friends and Allies, this relationship is deepened by the important contributions of organized labour, led by our cross-border unions.
While in Pennsylvania, the Prime Minister will meet with U.S. business leaders to identify opportunities for commercial, investment, and trade collaboration. As one of Canada’s biggest trading partners, Pennsylvania exports more merchandise to Canada than to its next four largest foreign export markets combined. In 2023, Pennsylvania exported US$14.3 billion to Canada, more than a quarter of Pennsylvania’s exports to the world. Canada has an extensive footprint in Pennsylvania, with US$13.6 billion in exports to the state. Canadian-owned companies also employ over 25,000 workers in the state.
With this productive trade relationship, we’re creating good-paying jobs our workers can count on, the right conditions for our businesses to grow, and more opportunities for Americans and Canadians alike. Canada is a reliable partner with critical minerals, a resilient supply chain, a competitive economy, and a world-class talent pool. With this Team Canada approach – we’re growing trade, attracting investment, and putting Canadian workers at the forefront of these opportunities.
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“Canada and the United States are the closest of friends. Together, we’re creating good-paying jobs, building opportunities for our workers, taking climate action, and growing our economies. This trip will be another opportunity for Team Canada to deepen the partnership with our American friends – and make life better and fairer for Canadians and Americans alike.”
The Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada
Quick Facts
- The SEIU is a labour union that represents some 2 million individuals. It includes SEIU-Healthcare, which represents roughly 60,000 healthcare workers in the Province of Ontario.
- Canada and the United States of America share one of the largest trading relationships in the world. The two countries also share the longest and most secure border in the world, over which nearly $3.6 billion worth of goods and services cross daily.
- With over $1.3 trillion in bilateral trade in goods and services in 2023, Canada was the largest U.S. trading partner. Canada-U.S. trade is built on long-standing binational supply chains, whereby approximately 79 per cent of Canadian goods exported to the U.S. are incorporated into U.S. supply chains.
- The Canada-U.S. trade relationship supports millions of good jobs on both sides of the border, driving innovative collaborations that strengthen North American competitiveness.
- Pennsylvania imported US$13.6 billion in merchandise from Canada and exported US$14.3 billion in merchandise to Canada in 2023
- The state’s economy depends heavily on imports of Canadian crude oil, wood pulp, lumber and various metals
- Canadian-owned companies employed 27,800 workers in the state in 2018.
- More than 2.2 million jobs in Canada depend on exports to the U.S., and more than 7.8 million jobs in the U.S. are related to trade with Canada.
- According to U.S. data, majority-owned Canadian companies operating in the U.S. employ over 866,000 workers.
- The Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) has been in force since July 1, 2020. It reinforces North American supply chains and enables Canada, the U.S., and Mexico to compete as a regional bloc on the global market.