In this activity, you will realize that in today's world, nations have reached a level of interdependence that goes beyond that of previous history. As well, you will understand that Canada's economic well-being is connected to the economic well-being of other nations.

In the last activity, you learned that Canada is an internationalist country. This means that we work together with other countries for a common good. However, in order to do that, we have also become interdependent on these countries. This means that we rely on other countries, and our country's well-being depends on the cooperation of other countries. As well, other countries rely on us in return. This interdependence is very widespread and complex. More than ever before, no nation can survive on its own.

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Countries must import food, natural resources, and products that they do not make themselves, and in turn, countries sell food, natural resources, and products to other nations.

       

The next time you go into a grocery store, identify some tropical fruits that Canada must import because it is too cold to grow them here.

Did you know that much of the electricity that powers New York City is produced in Canada?

Communication and transportation have increased interdependence among countries around the world. The ways we can talk to each other and get from place to place have changed considerably over the last 100 years. Changes in technology have allowed countries to rely on each other much more than they ever did in the past.

Canada trades with many countries around the world. These are known as trading partners. Some of the nations that we trade with the most include the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the European Union (which includes 28 countries that are located in Europe, such as Germany, Poland, and Spain). Take a look at the image below that shows how much money comes in from these countries and goes out to these countries because of our trade agreements. In the next lesson, you will learn more about how this trading with other nations helps Canada.

One of the most important ways that countries in the world rely on each other is economically. This means that countries depend on trade with each other to sell things they produce and buy things they need. Products and resources that a country sells to others are referred to as exports. Products and resources that a country buys from others are referred to as imports.

Trade between nations has occurred for thousands of years, but advances in technology have expanded the scope of this trade. We can now buy fruit from nations in Central America because of refrigerated trucks and airplanes that carry fruit to Canada in a short time. Years ago, fruits grown and picked in tropical countries would have spoiled before they reached Canada.

Another practice that has made trade more economical is the use of containerized shipping. You may or may not know this, but some of those trailers you see pulled by trucks have probably travelled by ship and train also. This practice makes for efficient transportation of goods from where they are manufactured to where they are sold to consumers. They are handled at the factory where they are loaded into the container and again when they reach their destination.

 

 

For many years, nations imposed tariffs on goods that were produced in other nations. This form of a tax made an imported product more expensive than one that was produced at home. As technology and communication advanced, governments began to realize that removing these tariffs was to the benefit of their own nations and citizens. Some tariffs still exist, but every year, more agreements are arranged between nations to encourage free trade.