Expanding Canada’s Markets and Growing Global Trade

 

  • Our Conservative Government understands that Canada is a trading nation. That is why we have launched the most ambitious pro-export plan in our country’s history.

 

  • We know that one in five jobs in Canada and 60 percent of our GDP are linked to exports, and that as trade increases, so does our nation’s prosperity, putting more money into the pockets of hard-working Canadians.

 

  • Under the leadership of Prime Minister Harper our Government has made promoting trade and opening new markets for Canadians businesses, especially small and medium sized enterprises, a priority.

 

  • Our Government will continue to pursue an aggressive free trade agenda such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership and focus on helping Canadian businesses fully capitalize on global opportunities,

 

  • Since 2006, our Government has concluded free trade agreements with 38 countries, compared to the 5 prior to 2006. Canadian exporters will also soon have preferential access to more than half of the global marketplace.

 

  • Economic Action Plan 2015 adds to our Government’s record by introducing new measures such as:

 

  • Expanding the Footprint and Resources of the Trade Commissioner Service supporting Canadian firms with intelligence and advice on foreign markets

 

  • Promoting Competitiveness and Trade Opportunities for Agriculture and Agri-food by expanding the activities of the Market Access Secretariat with over $18 million in new funding.

 

  • Creating an Export Market Development Program which will work with small and medium-sized enterprises as they explore and pursue new export opportunities.

 

  • Reducing Barriers to Internal Trade by creating an Internal Trade Promotion Office which will strengthen Canada’s domestic economy and work with the provinces, territories, and businesses.

 

  • Securing New Market Access for Canadian Seal Products, which are an importance source of food and livelihood in some Aboriginal and coastal communities.

 

  • Our record on trade and market access includes:

 

  • Our Government released the Global Markets Action Plan, our pro-jobs, pro-export plan aimed at creating new opportunities for Canadians through trade and investment by targeting emerging and established markets with broad Canadian interests.

 

  • Concluded, signed or brought into force Foreign Investment Protection and Promotion Agreements (FIPAs) with 24 countries, more than any other Government in Canada’s history.

 

  • Implementing the Canada-US Beyond the Border Action Plan and Regulatory Cooperation Council Action Plan which speeds up trade and travel, improves security and economic competitiveness between the two countries

 

  • The Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement is a landmark achievement: it is Canada’s first free trade agreement in the Asia-Pacific region, one of the fastest-growing regions in the world and provides Canadians with preferential market access to South Korea’s 50 million consumers.

 

  • The historic Canada and European Union (EU) Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) is by far Canada’s most ambitious trade initiative ever concluded. The EU is the world’s largest integrated economy, with more than 500 million consumers and an annual GDP of $17 trillion.