Continuing Canada’s Legacy as a Freely Trading Nation
Trade is a vital part of Canada’s economy. As the new Liberal government begins to grapple with the economic reality of stalled global growth, it will surely look to trade as a way to stimulate the Canadian economy.
The previous government understood the importance of international trade. We acknowledged that one in five Canadian jobs is linked to exports and that nearly 60% of our country’s GDP relies on trade. We also knew that Canadian businesses can compete with the best the world has to offer. That is why we expanded our free trade relationships around the world: from five countries when we took office, to 51 by the time we left. We consulted widely with the business community, both here at home and internationally. We wanted to know what our small and medium sized businesses needed to successfully compete abroad. We needed to find out what would make Canada more attractive to international investors.
These consultations resulted in such landmark agreements as the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) with the European Union and the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), among others. Our country’s entire portfolio of free trade agreements make Canada the only G7 nation with free trade access to all of the US and Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific continents. That’s over 60% of the world’s economy. Our consultations also resulted in the creation of the Global Markets Action Plan, which continues to harness our diplomatic assets abroad to increase access for Canadian small and medium sized enterprises within markets that hold the most promise for them.
All of this was done under the shadow of a volatile international economy that has struggled to regain its footing since 2009.