Montreal, Quebec - 15 November 2013
Prime Minister Stephen Harper will today speak at an event hosted by the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal to discuss the benefits of the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement. He will also participate in a moderated question and answer session with Michel Leblanc, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal. The Prime Minister will be joined by Denis Lebel, Minister of Infrastructure, Communities and Intergovernmental Affairs and Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec, and Ed Fast, Minister of International Trade.
“I look forward to marking our Government’s latest historic achievement – an agreement in principle with the European Union on a Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement – with the Quebec business community,” said Prime Minister Harper. “Quebec, particularly Montréal, and all Quebecers have played a crucial role in reaching this historic agreement. I would like to thank all of the businesses and individuals across the province that encouraged and supported our Government along the way, helping to improve the economic landscape of our great country. The opportunities that lie ahead for you, and for Canadian companies, are enormous.”
The Agreement will create thousands of new jobs for Canadians and provide Canadian businesses with preferential market access to the EU’s more than 500 million consumers and to its annual $17 trillion in economic activity. In fact, a joint study conducted with the European Union, which supported the launch of negotiations, concluded that an agreement could boost Canada’s income by $12 billion annually and bilateral trade by 20 per cent.
In Quebec, workers and businesses in key economic sectors – including those in manufacturing, agricultural industries, professional services and investment – will benefit greatly from the preferential access that this agreement will provide to the largest and most lucrative market in the world.
The EU is already Quebec’s second largest trading partner and export destination.
