Mr. Speaker, it is always a pleasure to rise in this House and see many of my colleagues here this evening speaking to an important topic. I will be splitting my time with the hon. member, good friend and always smiling colleague, the member for Surrey—Newton.
As we speak tonight about the relationship between Canada and the United States, I speak with the perspective of having worked and lived in New York City for several years. It was many years ago, but I had the real privilege and honour of working in the United States of America and being there for a number of years, at a very interesting time politically with elections and also during the events of September 11 and then returning back to Canada. We have many family members and friends all over the United States with whom we keep in contact.
I would say about U.S. exceptionalism that the relationship that we have with the United States is a long-standing one. We are more than friends. We have this expression: We are fraternal, we are brothers, we are sisters. Many of us go back and forth. I was in the United States just several weeks ago taking my daughter to a soccer tournament in Akron, Ohio at the Pro Football Hall of Fame area. It was great to be there in Ohio and play against many teams from the northeast.
Let us be frank here. This debate is very important because it is about our economy, the U.S. economy and the North American economy. For the last 12 months, Canada has exported $173.4 billion of energy exports to the United States; $78.3 billion in auto and auto parts exports to the United States; $63.2 billion in consumer goods; $50 billion in metal and non-metallic mineral products; and $38.8 billion in forestry. The United States needs us and we need them due to the interdependency, the supply chains, the linkages, the people-to-people ties and the fact that $3.5 billion of trade goes across that border every day unhindered and unimpeded, creating wealth and creating jobs. There are millions of jobs in the United States of America that are tied to Canada, and vice versa. The U.S. is our largest export market and we are their largest export market. Larger than China and larger than Mexico, our trading relationship has grown and continues to grow and our people-to-people relationship continues to grow. We need to emphasize that point over and over again.
Our government has dealt with the 45th president, the first Trump presidency. We will again have a mature, responsible dialogue with this incoming administration on how we can secure our borders and our energy. Three million barrels of oil is shipped every day from Canada to the United States. There are no alternatives. Our auto companies are interdependent. Parts go back and forth every day across the border in Detroit and in Windsor. This relationship is a special one and we must always act with maturity, with calm and with poise, always defending Canadian workers and always defending Canadian businesses. That is our job.
I would like to just digress for one minute because there is something very important I need to point out from my riding. My riding of Vaughan—Woodbridge has over 368 restaurants, employing 5,000 employees and with almost $500 million of revenue. We have put forward a plan to give Canadians a break and to help out these restaurants over the two-month period over the Christmas holidays, into the new year and past Valentine's Day. Let us do the right thing. To all my hon. colleagues, let us get this passed for the restaurants like Via Mercanti and Castello, Gelato Gelato, That's Italian, Zafferano, Spizzico and all those beautiful restaurants like Desserts Plus and L'antipasto that I visit on occasion. Their customers can go there and get a break. I have always been taught, in my values, that every little bit helps and it is imperative that we do that.
I will go back to the very important trade relationship we have with the United States and any potential tariffs they may place on either Canadian or Mexican products. I am convinced that with the unique relationship we have, forged by geography, values, common interests, strong personal connections and powerful, multi-layered economic ties, their economy only succeeds when we work together. We know that. Any potential tariffs that the Trump administration potentially places on any country will only raise inflation in the United States, prevent interest rates from falling in the United States and hurt U.S. consumers. I understand that as an economist, and I believe we all understand that.
As Canadian parliamentarians, our first priority is our residents and businesses, and ensuring a bright future for all Canadians. I am here to ensure that the Canadian economy succeeds. I ran, in the first place, because the economic growth rates and direction we were seeing under the Harper government were abysmal. We delivered, and we will continue to deliver on the relationship with our U.S. friends and cousins. I have cousins in New Jersey. I will give them a quick shout-out. They have been there for decades. Just to give a small fact, my great-grandfather passed through Ellis Island in 1909. We have the ship manifest when he signed in at Ellis Island. He returned to southern Italy just a few years later, but those are the kinds of ties that Canadians have to the United States. Some of my employees have family in the United States, in Washington, D.C., if I remember correctly.
This economic partnership between our countries supports millions of jobs through direct foreign investment and cross-border trade. These are integrated economies. Canada imports more from the U.S. than any other country by a wide margin. In fact, Canada buys over two times more goods from the U.S. than China. The United States needs us and we need them to succeed economically, to ensure the security of North America and to work together on so many mutual interests.
Canadian consumers and Canadian businesses purchase more goods from the United States than China, Japan and Germany combined. Nearly half of the goods the U.S. buys from Canada are raw materials used by American manufacturers, contributing to jobs in the U.S. and North American competitiveness. Canadian companies buy from U.S. sources to make Canadian products. In short, the U.S. trade relationship is built on long-standing binational supply chains, where roughly 70% of Canadian exports to the United States are incorporated into U.S. supply chains.
There is no better example of this than the auto sector. It is a sector I covered in the private sector for many years and I chair the Liberal auto caucus here in Ottawa. Martinrea, Magna and Linamar on the auto parts supplier side, along with Toyota, Honda, Stellantis, Ford, General Motors and Volkswagen all depend on an integrated supply chain that links us with the United States. It is so important that continues.
In my last minute, I want to highlight a few things that I think are making a difference in the lives of the residents of Vaughan—Woodbridge, which is the logistics hub for many U.S. companies. Home Depot, FedEx, UPS and Costco are all located in the city of Vaughan, in my riding. CPKC's intermodal facility is in my riding; it is the busiest intermodal facility in the country. The CN MacMillan Yard is located in Vaughan; it is the largest CN facility in the country. The area I represent is a hub. Tens of thousands of jobs in my riding and in my city are connected to trade and investment in the United States.
We must all be part of team Canada. We all must represent Canadian workers from coast to coast to coast. That is our number one job, and we will do that by working with all members of Parliament to ensure a bright future for all citizens and residents.