About Canada’s trade policy (2024)

Expanding trade and investment is key to ensuring meaningful, inclusive and sustainable prosperity for Canadians, businesses and communities.

Overview

Canada actively implements a trade policy that aims to:

develop and maintain access to strategic foreign markets for Canadian goods, services and investments
manage key trading relationships while diversifying opportunities
maximize the benefits of trade for all Canadians

Global Affairs Canada leads the development and implementation of Canadian trade policy, including through:

litigating and settling disputes
ensuring bilateral market access
administering trade controls under the Export and Import Permits Act
negotiating and implementing international trade, investment and air transportation agreements
All this is done in collaboration with a wide range of partners, including federal departments and agencies, and through active dialogue with provincial and territorial governments, industry representatives, civil society and Indigenous Peoples.

Visit Canada’s trade policy to learn more about key trade policy areas covered by Canada’s trade policy team.

Trade policy priorities

Canada’s trade policy is based on 3 mutually reinforcing priorities:

Support for a strong multilateral trading system

The multilateral trading system, with the World Trade Organization at its core, is the cornerstone of Canada’s trade policy. Canada also plays a leadership role in WTO reform, including by chairing the Ottawa Group of like-minded WTO members. Learn more about Canada and the World Trade Organization.

Canada is also an active participant in other multilateral institutions that play important trade policy roles, including the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, G7 and G20.

Trade diversification

A long-standing trade policy priority is the diversification of markets for Canadian goods, services and investments through the negotiation of multilateral and bilateral regional free trade agreements (FTAs).

Canada currently has 14 bilateral and regional FTAs in force, covering 51 countries and nearly two thirds of global GDP. As the only G7 nation that has FTAs with all 6 of the other member countries, Canada is at the centre of global trading networks.

Canada’s inclusive approach to trade

Canada seeks to ensure that the benefits of trade and investment are more widely shared, both in Canada and abroad. Canada does this by advancing trade policies and provisions in trade agreements that maximize the benefits of trade for traditionally under-represented groups, such as women, small and medium-sized enterprises and Indigenous Peoples.

The Government of Canada also consults with a broad range of Canadians across the country to develop its trade policy positions and objectives, with a view to ensuring that these align with Canadians’ interests and needs. Learn more about Canada’s inclusive approach to trade.

The environment and trade

Canada’s trade policy has economic, environmental and social implications that must be taken into account to ensure that the initiatives the government advances effectively contribute to the country’s sustainable and inclusive prosperity.

Impact assessments are an integral part of all trade negotiations and help decision makers advance policy options that support Canada’s environmentally responsible economic growth for the benefit of all Canadians.

Quick facts: Canada as a trading nation

Canada is a modern, industrialized economy with important resources and a small domestic market. No wonder trade is so important for the country!

While Canadians represent just 0.5% of the world’s population, Canada accounts for roughly 2.5% of global merchandise exports.

Two-way goods and services trade accounts for approximately 65% of Canada’s GDP.

Foreign direct investment is also a key factor in Canada’s productivity. In 2019, the value of 2-way foreign direct investment flows amounted to $168.8billion.

Access to foreign markets is of vital importance to Canada’s continued prosperity—and the government’s trade policy plays a key role in promoting Canadian interests.