7 Imports and Exports That Make Valentine’s Day Awesome

It’s a common misconception that Cupid is solely responsible for spreading the love on Valentine’s Day. Nothing against Cupid… but that’s not entirely true. Without international trade, we’d probably be exchanging cheese curds instead of chocolates—or maple leafs instead of roses. Here are some ways Canada’s trade agreements are helping you spread the love this Valentine’s Day.

1. Roses

Via flowers.italianflora.com

Roses and Valentine’s Day go together like PB&J (unless you’re allergic to peanut butter, then this analogy is horrible). In Canada, we produce more than 8 million rose stems every year, though most of that production doesn't happen in February… but worry not, imports come to the rescue each and every year. We import more than 12 million rose stems—mainly from Colombia. Is it a coincidence that Canada signed a free trade agreement with Colombia more than six years ago? We think not.

2. Jewellery

Via theweddingjewellers.com

Not all that glitters is gold. It’s true… diamonds, rubies, and sapphires also glitter. Jewellery is one of those go-to gifts for many on Valentine’s Day. As a country, Canada imports $1.5 billion worth of jewellery each year—and we export $257 million. We like our bling, and like true Canadians we don't mind sharing it with the world. This is good stuff we’re sharing with the world—our diamonds hail from the Great Canadian North. On top of that, unconfirmed legend has it that Canadian diamonds are 98.6% more beautiful than any other diamonds in the world.

3. Chocolate

Via paulmurphyinsurance.com

Some call this gift unoriginal; we call it a classic. Plus, it comes in cute heart-shaped boxes. It’s a billion-dollar industry in Canada, with $1.3 billion worth of Canadian chocolates being shared with the world and $1 billion worth of chocolates coming into the country each year. Once CETA comes into force, chocolate will flow tariff-free from Canada to the EU (and vice versa). That means even more chocolatey goodness at lower prices. Sign us up, please!

4. Perfume

Via upload.wikimedia.org

When you need the perfect gift to say: “you smell nice, but you could smell even nicer,” perfume is there. It’s simple, it’s fancy, and it comes in all sorts of mysterious names like “Mist of the Night”. It also makes for a great last-minute gift. Canada’s considerable imports of perfume and cologne (worth $238 million) ensure store shelves are well-stocked in time for the last-minute rush on February 13th.

5. Romantic dinners

Via s3-ec.buzzfed.com

Remember that famous scene from Lady and the Tramp where they share a single string of spaghetti until they meet in the middle? That’s romance. Since then, hundreds of thousands of Canadian couples have tried recreating the scene each year on Valentine’s Day. OK, that last stat was totally made up, but wouldn’t it be nice if that actually happened? Well, it can! Canada imports more pasta from the US and Italy than any other place ($130 million each year)—and thanks to NAFTA and CETA, it will be cheaper for Canadians everywhere to recreate that famous scene.

6. Champagne

Via brightonscenic.co.uk

With its chilled exterior and warm bubbles, champagne has mastered the hot-and-cold game. Champagne is like that person at a party who knows how to let loose and still look sophisticated. Canada is head-over-heels for champagne; we're among the world’s top importers of it—with about 1.6 million bottles coming into the country each year.

Note from our resident sommelier: An exquisite alternative to champagne is Canada’s very own icewine. It’s sweet, but not sweeter than your sweetheart, so jealousy won’t be a factor. Moreover, fake research has shown that couples who drink icewine on Valentine’s Day are more likely to stay together than couples who don’t. Real research shows that 45% of Canada’s wine export revenue is from icewine.

7. A big ol' tub of ice cream to get you through The Notebook

Because single people have just as much of a right to celebrate Valentine's Day as anyone else. To all of you singles out there, raise that spoon with pride, dive it deep into your tub of ice cream, and enjoy the cinematic beauty that is The Notebook. No judgement.

BTW, did you know that The Notebook stars two notable Canadian exports? Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams were both born in London, Ontario. As for that tub of ice cream, if it wasn’t made in the Great White North, then chances are it was imported from the US or South Korea. Thank you, NAFTA and CKFTA.