I would imagine that there'd be a significant cost to taking the ore through the Panama Canal. Plus, we in Canada have always preferred to export our resources for $0.10 a pound, then buy back the finished goods for $1.00 a pound, haha, haggling over the cost of shipping, to boot.

Whenever I hear "Canada" in the same sentence as "international trade", I think of an old Frank & Ernest cartoon:

Geez, every year we rent a truck, go up into the mountains and cut down christmas trees at 15.00 each; then we haul them into the city, and sell them for 10.00 each. And every year we lose money ..... I know - next year we'll rent a bigger truck!

Have a great day, all.