Alexander Lee's Blog

The US government is on shutdown today, affecting 800,000 American government employees (Globe and Mail). Besides the temporary unemployment, causing people to spend less, many Canadian exporters are at risk as US boarder and trade employees are no longer in work. Canadian companies are bracing for delays in shipments, and less demand for their products as the US government is in turmoil. If the US government is suspended for a week, there will be not much damage to the Canadian economy and businesses, but rather seen as an inconvenience. But if the suspension last longer than that, the Canadian economy can result in a 700 million dollar loss per week, according to CTV News Canada. With the US being Canada’s largest trading partner, importing more than 462 Billion dollars last year (Globe and Mail), having the boarder slowed down will greatly affect Canadian businesses and the Canadian economy.