Ahead of the Trudeau – Trump meeting on Monday – Finance Minister Bill Morneau was in Washington on Wednesday singing the praises of Canada-U.S. trade – as  part of the federal government’s charm offensive in the U.S. capital.

Morneau says nine million American jobs are tied to trade with Canada – which buys more from the U.S. – than all members of the European Union combined.

And Export Development Canada has released some numbers reflecting average annual growth in the flow of trade in goods and services among Canada, the U.S. and Mexico – between 1993 and 2016 under NAFTA.

Canadian exports to the U.S. rose an average of 4.5 per cent annually – and to Mexico exports rose 9.9 per cent a year.

U.S. exports to Canada rose 4.5 per cent annually – while American exports to Mexico rose 7.3 per cent.

As for Mexican exports to Canada – they were up 9.9 per cent annually – with  exports to the U.S. rising  8.6 per cent a year – over the 1993 to 2016 period under NAFTA.