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OTTAWA — After months of mounting trade deficits with the rest of the world, Canadian exports bounced back in June — and in a big way — recording the largest surplus in shipments in nearly a decade.

That’s welcome news for an economy that is now in a shrinking pattern and flirting with another recession.

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For Canadian companies often criticized for not investing enough to support growth, with the country having to rely heavily on consumer spending to pull us out of the 2008-09 downturn, this could mark a long-awaited sea change.

Wednesday’s June export data — pointing to a 6.3-per-cent jump from the previous month and representing the biggest increase since December 2006 — helped shave Canada’s overall trade deficit to $476 million from $3.38 billion in May, according to Statistics Canada. Imports, meanwhile, were down 0.6 per cent in June.

Shipments to the United States, this country’s No. 1 trading partner, leapt 7.1 per cent and accounted for much of the rebound in total exports in June. Exports to countries other than the U.S. were up 3.8 per cent.