KANANASKIS, Alta. — The softwood lumber dispute and the U.S. Farm Bill aren’t officially on the G8 agenda, but it’ expected Prime Minister Jean Chretien will raise the issues with George W. Bush.

Chretien will have an opportunity for one-on-one discussions with the U.S. president and it’s thought that he will take Bush to task over trade issues.

Paul Cellucci, U.S. Ambassador to Canada, says talk of a trade war between the two countries has been blown out of proportion and he doesn’t expect trade talk to dominate discussions.

"There’s always talk about a trade war," says Cellucci. "The fact of the matter is we’re looking for continued trade expansion."

He commended Canada for working closely with the U.S. to ensure the movement of goods continued to flow across the border following Sept. 11.

"Just to put things i perspective, Canada has a $60-billion surplus with the United States. It’s powering the Canadian economy," Cellucci tells local media. "Canada has taken full advantage of the fact that it lies just north of the largest consumer market in the world."