Canada has signed many free trade deals with other nations, but will not benefit from them unless the government bolsters trade promotion services and diplomatic support for companies abroad, says the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.
‘Pretty poor’ trade performance
“Pretty poor,” is how Cam Vidler of the Chamber of Commerce describes Canada’s performance on trade over the past decade. “We’ve had very slow export growth and also slow growth in foreign investment from Canada.
“Canadian companies which used to be seen as some of the most internationalized, increasingly seem to be staying at home,” he says.
Increased competition from other OECD countries as well as from developing nations accounts for some of the problem, says Vidler, as does the past high cost of the Canadian dollar. But beyond that, he says the Canadian government has lagged behind other countries in trade promotion policies. “We think there’s a significant gap there so fixing that area of policy is not a panacea but it certainly would help restore our trade success.”
Call for more ‘boots on the ground’
Canada does have tools to help businesses but Vidler says they need to be better co-ordinated, integrated and connected with businesses which may not be aware of them. “We also need to have the boots on the ground in foreign markets,” says Vidler noting that Canada has shifted some of it trade commissioners and diplomats to countries like China, Brazil and India. But he adds other countries like the U.K. and Australia have a better presence abroad and Canada needs to improve.
‘Urgency is very strong’
Canada also needs to improve its business brand and do more to incorporate the private sector into Canada’s international aid strategy, says Vidler. This has raised some controversy in Canada but Vidler dismisses it, says all countries are doing the same.
“It seems like we can’t go more than a few weeks without hearing bad news about Canada’s trade performance so I think the urgency is very strong,” says Vidler. “We need to fix this as soon as we can.”
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