National Bank Notes Canada's Trade in November Posts A Renewed Decline in Goods Exchanges With The U.S.

12:38 PM EST, 01/29/2026 (MT Newswires) -- The widening of Canada's merchandise trade deficit in November was entirely due to a decline in exports, particularly of metal and non-metallic mineral products, said National Bank of Canada.

As has been the case for several months now, the fluctuation in the latter category was driven by the unwrought gold, silver and platinum sub-segment, where shipments fell by no less than 36.4% in November after reaching a record C$8.5 billion the previous month, noted the bank.

Despite this decline, precious metal exports remained up 39.5% since the beginning of 2025 compared with the same period in 2024, due in large part to higher prices for these metals, stated National Bank.

The decline in shipments of motor vehicles and parts was another negative point in Thursday's trade report. These fell to their lowest level since November 2022 amid a semiconductor shortage that is disrupting production in the automotive industry. The heavy trucks, buses, and other motor vehicles (-53.8%) subsegment was doubly affected, having also suffered from the imposition of tariffs on Nov. 1.

Fortunately, these declines were partially offset by an increase in energy product shipments, with the crude oil segment (+7.6%) benefiting from the reopening of refineries in the United States after maintenance, pointed out the bank.

Looking at the trade relations with the U.S., both Canada's exports to its southern neighbor and its imports from that country contracted in November, the latter to their lowest level since February 2022 ($37.1 milliard).

These declines could certainly reflect an effort by Canadian businesses to diversify their client list, but National Bank suspects that other factors are also at play. The disruptions mentioned above in the automotive sector are certainly contributing to the reduction in trade between Canada and the U.S., as is the wait-and-see attitude of U.S. clients.

With the U.S. Supreme Court set to rule on the legality of certain tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump, many U.S. businesses may indeed have delayed their orders from Canada in the hope of paying less in the future, added the bank. More will be known once the court has handed down its decision.

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