History of Canadian Trade Canada and it’s early Trading Partners

History of the Fur Trade The Canada we know today exists because of trade After Columbus’s success in exploring the New World and exploiting its riches, other explorers set out to find out what lay across the ocean 1600’s – ships from France and England landed in what is now called Canada

1600’s F and E first traded with the First Nations peoples for fur and food and sent their treasures back home This IB was so prosperous that settlers from F and E soon moved to Canada to establish trading outposts (Hudson’s Bay Company and the NW Company) The fur (mainly beaver pelts) were traded for rifles, blankets, and other goods.

European Trade – 1700’s Permanent settlements were established in Halifax, Montreal, Quebec, Ottawa, Kingston and Toronto During this period the Seven Years War in both Canada and Europe brought the defeat of the French This led to a greater reliance on trade from England Canada’s historical connection to Britain remains strong – one of Canada’s top five trading partners

Trade with the United States In the late 1700’s US declared it’s independence from Britain – result was decrease in trade with Britain US was forced to become self-reliant Two important developments that gave rise to rapid growth in American Industry: The Steam Engine The Cotton Gin

Steam Engine James Watt, and entrepreneur invented the first practical Steam Engine in 1775 This invention provided cheap power to run machines and helped bring about the industrial revolution! A steam engine is a device that converts the potential energy that exists as pressure in steam, and converts that to mechanical force.

The Cotton Gin In 1794, American Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin This device was an automated device that separated cottonseed from raw cotton fibres – a job that was exceptionally labour intensive This invention increased production of clean, raw, cotton dramatically, and revolutionized the cotton industry in the US making the industry the profitable backbone of the US

At Home Meanwhile, Canada was still dependant on Britain who had no interest in developing a manufacturing base so far away Instead, Britain used Canada’s wealth of natural resources to feed the factories the were springing up in England Canada also became a supplier of raw materials (wheat, timber) to manufacturers in the US

Trade with the U.S Today The lead that America had over Canada is still obvious today The U.S. grew much faster than Canada and it’s plants and factories expanded rapidly as well Our economy was dependent on trade with Britain and America for most of it’s manufactured goods The U.S. continues to be our largest trading partner, and American brands can be found everywhere in Canada The U.S. however, still relies upon Canada’s raw materials, notably oil and water Canada exports to the U.S in 2008 amounted to 375 billion, and imports from the U.S were 227 billion Manufacturing jobs are decreasing in both countries as cheaper labour and improved technology make it more economical to send jobs to Asia