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The data released on Thursday shows that Canada's merchandise trade deficit in February expanded significantly. The main reason is the increase in gold imports, which pushed the total import amount to a record high. Although the export amount also increased significantly, it did not match the import growth. In addition, this is the first time Canada's export share to the United States has dropped to a historic low of just over 66%; a month ago, this ratio was 68%, and a year ago it was over 79% when businesses stockpiled shipments in advance to avoid impending U.S. tariffs. Statistics Canada reported a trade deficit of 5.74 billion Canadian dollars (about 4.12 billion U.S. dollars) in February, higher than the revised 4.18 billion Canadian dollar deficit from the previous month. Statistics Canada pointed out that the total import value in February surged 8.4%, pushing the total imports to a record high of 72.1 billion Canadian dollars. The main driver was the import value of "metals and non-metallic mineral products," which skyrocketed by 45.6% in February, with Canada's entities purchasing gold from the United States contributing the most.