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The Canadian economy continues to adjust to developments in the global economy such as stronger world demand, higher commodity prices, and the realignment of world currencies, including the Canadian dollar. Emerging-market economies, especially China and India, are contributing to intensified competition but are also creating new trading opportunities for Canada.

The Canadian economy continues to adjust to developments in the global economy such as stronger world demand, higher commodity prices, and the realignment of world currencies, including the Canadian dollar. Emerging-market economies, especially China and India, are contributing to intensified competition but are also creating new trading opportunities for Canada.

The giant emerging-market economies of China and India are truly changing the economic balance across the Pacific in a way that none of us can afford to ignore. The sheer size of these two economies is very impressive in itself: together, they account for close to 40 per cent of the world's population.

The Canadian economy continues to adjust to developments in the global economy, such as stronger world demand, higher commodity prices, and the realignment of world currencies, including the Canadian dollar.

To state the obvious, Canada is a very open economy, heavily dependent on foreign trade. What goes on in the rest of the world can have a substantial impact on our domestic economy.

There is a great physical distance between our two countries - in terms of latitude, there are about 80 degrees of separation between Buenos Aires and Ottawa. But despite that distance, Canada and Argentina are closer, and have more in common, than you might think. We are both federations, with a certain natural tension between the national government and relatively powerful provinces.

Today, I want to focus my remarks on Canada's adjustment to changes in the global economy. I will talk about our efforts to adjust to longer-term economic forces and about the challenges that these forces present. Some of our experiences may be relevant to other economies that are making similar adjustments in the face of similar economic circumstances.

We both share borders with the United States, the most important export market for each of us. Both Canada and Mexico have recently faced setbacks in cross-border trade with the United States. These stem not only from weaker U.S. domestic demand, but also from specific trade problems and from border-crossing delays associated with tighter security.

These are turbulent times, not just for business people, but for all Canadians. We have come through a very difficult year, a year filled with surprises that have challenged us all. At times like these, it is easy to focus on the near-term issues and problems.

Three developments have led us to modify our outlook for economic growth and inflation in Canada, since our October Monetary Policy Report. These include: stronger-than-expected world economic activity, the continued sharp depreciation of the U.S. dollar against major world currencies (including the Canadian dollar), and a somewhat larger output gap in Canada at the end of 2003.