Trade with Canada is facilitated by proximity, common culture, language, similar lifestyle pursuits, and the ease of travel among citizens for business or pleasure.  In fact, the United States and Canada share the world's longest open border and 90% of Canada's 33 million people, a population one-tenth that of the United States, live within 100 miles of the U.S. border.

Additionally, American products have gained an increased competitive edge over goods from other countries as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and geographical proximity gives U.S. exporters an advantage.

As a result of these many factors, the U.S. and Canadian economies are closely intertwined.

Although the Canadian market mirrors the U.S. market in many respects, there are significant differences.

Even within Canada, there are important regional differences, just as there are differences among regional markets in the United States, and U.S. companies must take this into account in order to avoid costly assumptions. Some of these differences have an impact on the way U.S. firms approach these markets.

The Regional Fact Sheets below can help you further research and explore Canada's six marketing regions in order to learn more about their specific attributes and strengths: