"The US no longer Canada’s most reliable trading partner"

Emphasis on "most."  Also, we could problematize what is meant by reliable when it comes to trade with other nations.  (Trade, copyright, cybersecurity, and China anyone?)

Kenneth Green plugs the Fraser Institute's recent ebook on America's 2012 elections, The US Election 2012:  Implications for Canada.

In doing so, Green suggests the overwhelming warm economic ties between Canada and the United States may cool.

From Green's article in Troy Media:

The general conclusion was that a second-term Obama administration is likely to continue on a protectionist trajectory, and to cement its role as an economic competitor of Canada’s, rather than its historically overwhelming role as a reliable trading partner.
...
Finally, Simon Fraser University Professor Alexander Moens concludes that the United States is going to shift from being Canada’s most reliable, and largest trading partner to a global rival; diversification of export markets needs to be Canada’s focus in coming years, as it has in the recent past. Professor Moens observes that “. . . the United States will not be willing to deal with Canada on trade and investment in a strategic manner until it needs cooperation with Canada . . . because of its own relative weakness vis-à-vis the rest of the world, and that will still be another decade or so.”

Moens concludes that for Canadians the message of the 2012 U.S. Presidential election is “The next phase of Canada’s economic development will likely take place in a political constellation of several world powers. Canada’s well-being will depend on a combination of competitive market factors at home and specific deals with multiple trade partners abroad among which the United States will likely still be the largest.”

Snap Shot: Canada Healthcare Costs; International Healthcare Costs

Canada's healthcare is anything but free; but, the cost of Canada's public healthcare system is still considerably lower, on a per capita basis, than the cost of healthcare spending in the United States.

The Fraser Institute last month released The Price of Public Health Care Insurance.  The short report estimates 2012 Canadian health spending and then breaks that spending down by different family types.  The report also shows the steep increase in Canadian healthcare spending witnessed between 2002 and the reports estimated 2012 figure.

Per Capita Cost.  The report also estimates that the 2012 per capita cost, or "the cost of the public health care insurance plan if every Canadian resident paid an equal share," of healthcare at approximately $3,779 CAD per Canadian (or roughly $3,859.00 USA).

Per Capita Country Comparison.  For a sense of how that compares to other nations' healthcare spending, check out this National Geographic (NG) graph using 2007 data.  Note:  This  chart pegs Canadian per capita spending at $3,895 USA.  I suspect the higher 2007 figure is more a reflection of the two countries considerable difference in exchange rates between 2007 and 2012.  This cross-graph comparison quirk notwithstanding, the NG graph still gives a sense of the difference between U.S. and Canadian spending on healthcare.