The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday, June 6, edition that Canada's trade numbers for April reveal a shrinking U.S. trade deficit, a point often cited by President Donald Trump to justify his trade war. The Globe's Jason Kirby writes that Mr. Trump claimed the U.S. was spending up to $250-billion annually to subsidize Canada, but the actual deficit was about $60-billion last year (all figures U.S.). With Canadian exports to the U.S. dropping 15.7 per cent in April, the deficit fell to $2.2-billion, the lowest since early 2021. Mr. Trump's disregard for the impact of Canadian oil exports on the deficit has distorted the trade narrative. With oil prices tumbling amid the uncertainty brought on by Mr. Trump's global trade war, that is helped narrow the U.S. trade deficit with Canada. In reality, if crude petroleum is excluded from the picture, the U.S. has long enjoyed a trade surplus with Canada. The only sizable exception to that was at the start of this year, as Canadian exporters rushed to move their products into the U.S. ahead of the tariffs. Excluding oil, the U.S. trade surplus with Canada in April was the largest in years. Whether Mr. Trump notices, or cares, is another matter.