International Trade Minister Stockwell Day says he hopes President-elect Barack Obama can learn a thing or two from Canada.

The Okanagan-Coquihalla MP says the Conservative government will remind Obama that Canada is the U.S.'s biggest trading partner. Obama has hinted that he might reopen the NAFTA agreement to protect American jobs. Day says NAFTA is good for Canada and the U.S.

"We are each other's best customers. Millions of jobs in the U.S. depend on our trade and hundreds-of-thousands of jobs in Canada depend on this relationship. We'll frame it in the context of global financial uncertainty."

Day points out that more than 400,000 Canadians and Americans cross the 49th parallel every day and our two countries generate $1.7 billion in trade every day.

"This is not the time to put at risk some of our healthiest trading relationships."

Day says it would appear that the Harper and Obama governments have something in common on the environment front.

"We're pleased to see that President-elect Obama seems to want to take the approach of legislating greenhouse gas emissions. We are the first government in North America to do that."

The Harper government has laws in place aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emission by 20 per cent by the year 2020.

Day says Obama seems to be heading in the same direction.

"Though there may be differences in percentages and timelines that Obama is thinking about, the fact that he also wants to go in that direction is positive. He can possibly learn from us."