BANFF, Alberta (Reuters) -Canada's finance minister said on Friday he would raise the importance of the country's deep trading relationship with the U.S. in a discussion with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent late on Wednesday.

Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne will hold a bilateral meeting with Bessent on the sidelines of the G7 finance heads conference in Banff, Alberta.

The meeting between the two is being touted as one of the key bilateral discussions at the G7 forum and comes after President Donald Trump and Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney met earlier this month and agreed to start serious talks on a new relationship.

"There's a lot for Canada and the United States to discuss," Champagne said.

"Canada is the largest customer (of) the United States. We buy more from the U.S. than China, Japan, the UK and France combined. So we have a very, very deep trading relationship," he said.

Champagne, who is the chair of the G7 finance leaders for this year, said the discussions so far in the G7 have been constructive.

"Together (we) have been able to align so to allow the G7 to make progress, which is a good thing," he said, adding his bilateral meeting with leaders of the EU was "very constructive."

He urged the G7 to work together and said the issues of non-market practices by China, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and reconstruction of Ukraine are important topics he would be discussing as the G7 chair.

"If there was one thing that comes out very clearly for me from this G7 is that we are stronger together," he said.