Not since Expo ’67: pandemic leads to first travel surplus in Canada in decades

Episode 108 of Down to Business podcast

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The coronavirus pandemic forced Canada to close its border with the U.S. to all but essential traffic. More than a year later, it remains closed, and the two countries experienced the pandemic in starkly different ways.

This week on Down to Business, David Jacobson, the former U.S Ambassador to Canada from 2009 to 2013, and vice chair at BMO Financial Group, spoke about what’s happening in the relationship between Canada and its largest trading partner, the U.S.

The border closure has definitely had economic impacts, Jacobson said, but not all the impacts can be measured. Some impacts have been unexpected: For instance, more Canadians vacation in the U.S. than vice versa, and so closing the border may actually have created positive effects on the Canadian economy.

All the same, he said that cutting off traffic for so long is having an incalculable impact on many businesses’ efficiency. We also talked about what lies ahead as new U.S. President Joe Biden ditches Trump’s trade tariffs, and enacts new policies like President ‘Buy American,’ designed to ensure that government contracts are awarded to domestic businesses. As always the interview was edited for clarity and brevity.