October 10, 2014 - Toronto, Ontario
Check Against Delivery
I want to extend a very warm welcome to everyone. It's great to be back in Toronto so soon after the historic Canada-EU summit.
Today I want to continue to build on our trade momentum. I want to share our government's vision for how we can support our businesses —particularly small and medium-sized enterprises [SMEs]—as they leverage new trade opportunities to deliver economic prosperity for all Canadians.
We know that Canada is one of the greatest trading nations in the world. In order to support the world's 11th-largest economy with only the world's 36th-largest population, you've got to trade.
Trade has helped drive Canada's economy and past prosperity. And it will fuel our future economic growth and development.
After all, one in five Canadian jobs is dependent on exports, and trade represents 60 percent of our economy.
That is why our government is so committed to implementing an ambitious trade strategy that serves Canada's job creators.
And above all, we want to be the strong partner small and medium-sized enterprises can depend on to successfully export.
As I survey the landscape for Canada's international trade, I see undeniable promise—but I also see a problem that needs fixing.
But before I describe that problem and our plan to address it, I think it's important to reflect on what we've accomplished since the Harper government took office in 2006.
As I mentioned, Prime Minister Stephen Harper recently hosted his European counterparts to celebrate the dawning of a new era in the Canada-EU partnership. With the conclusion of our trade negotiations with the EU, Canadian businesses will enjoy a unique competitive advantage in that market. Canada will soon be the only major developed country to have preferential access to the world's two largest markets—the European Union and the United States—and their combined 800 million consumers.
Canada has also just signed its first free trade agreement in Asia—with South Korea. Canadian businesses will be able to use Korea as a gateway to the dynamic Asian region and tap into Korea's global value chains.
Also last month, with the coming into force of the Canada-Honduras trade agreement, Canada now has seven trade agreements in Latin America. As well, on October 1, we announced the coming into force of our investment protection agreement with China, bringing the total number of our investment agreements around the world to 28.
Friends, let's take a moment to realize what that means…
Canadian exporters have, or will very soon have, preferential access to key markets in Europe, Asia and the Americas.
There are some people who said we would never be able to deliver on our vision for trade.
The truth is, we thought big from the moment our government took office in 2006.
Providing market access, tools and protection to Canadian businesses and investors is the commitment we've made to Canadians since day one.
Over the short eight years of our government, we've successfully concluded negotiations on free trade agreements with no fewer than 38 different countries, bringing the total to 43.
As a result, Canada now has trade agreements with more than half of the entire global marketplace. Those agreements speak to our government's commitment to deliver jobs, opportunity and prosperity to hard-working Canadians.
Despite this proven track record, some naysayers are still saying that we can't or won't succeed. Friends, the deals are done, the agreements will soon be in place, and we're now ready to help businesses fully capitalize on the tremendous opportunities that await Canadian entrepreneurs and business people on the world stage.
How are we going to do that, you might ask?
Last November, I announced the Global Markets Action Plan, or GMAP—Canada's blueprint for creating jobs and economic growth through trade and investment. The plan identifies Canada's priority markets and the priority sectors of our economy. The GMAP includes the notion of “economic diplomacy” as a core objective under Canada's broader foreign policy plan.
By economic diplomacy, we mean that we are committed to harnessing all of our diplomatic resources abroad to promote Canada's economic interests.
One tool that we're providing is trade missions. They are just one of the many ways our government helps Canadian companies, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises, explore opportunities, open doors and succeed in foreign markets.
Later tonight I will be heading to India to lead my third trade mission to that country.
And in order to help Canadian companies secure the benefits of the Canada-Korea trade agreement, I'm inviting all of you to consider participating in a multi-sector trade mission I'm leading to South Korea in February.
We have also focused on providing on-the-ground support to help Canadian companies succeed. That is why we recently announced that Canada will open four new trade offices in China, which will complement the existing network, bringing our network in China to a total of 15 points of service and 100 trade commissioners. Furthermore, Export Development Canada is opening new offices in Latin America, South Africa and India.
But in order to succeed abroad, we've got work to do here at home.
Over the last three years, I have had the chance to speak with business people from every economic sector and every region of Canada, and with the members of my SME Advisory Board. They told me they need practical tools and programs to seize the new opportunities that our trade and investment agreements have opened up in the global marketplace.
From Atlantic Canada to British Columbia and every point in between, the problem remains the same: government needs to be easier to deal with and more accessible. After all, entrepreneurs are busy focusing on growing their business, finding new customers and making payroll. We want our entrepreneurs to continue to be the best at what they do, not have to become experts in navigating government bureaucracy.
So clearly there's a problem that the government needs to fix. That fix involves doing a better job of letting Canadian companies know about the many tools that are available through the GMAP and how they can access those tools.
They require government to coordinate and align their activities and reach out to them. And they need government to anticipate and respond to their needs.
Historic trade agreements require historic trade promotion. These agreements were never meant to sit on a bookshelf collecting dust. We need to bring them to life so we can share the benefits.
That's why over the next year, our government will focus on helping SMEs seize new opportunities to boost their exports and reach their full potential.
Our government will work shoulder to shoulder with SMEs. They are the backbone of the Canadian economy and the real job creators, after all. This is why our government is so focused on ensuring that they know about the opportunities and can easily access the tools and support necessary to succeed at home and abroad.
How are we doing that?
I've started fixing the problem by instructing all of our export-oriented agencies to enhance their coordination, align their activities, facilitate referrals, and share market intelligence and information. Our goal is clear: we want to provide technical assistance to help SMEs export, or prepare them for export readiness.
We must ensure that our trade commissioners and all our export-focused agencies are agile and responsive to the needs of SMEs.
Agencies and organizations such as Export Development Canada, the Canadian Commercial Corporation, the Business Development Bank of Canada and the Canadian Trade Commissioner Service will work together to provide SMEs with the tools and services they need.
A perfect example of how our Crown corporations can and will work closer together is the Canadian Technology Accelerator program. This initiative, a partnership between our Trade Commissioner Service and the Business Development Bank of Canada, provides innovative Canadian companies with access to a unique environment in which they are exposed to sources of investment and to other innovators like themselves. We have 11 of these technology accelerators around the world. I want SMEs to know about them and to use them.
These types of partnerships and this type of coordination are exactly what our government is working to achieve.
Secondly, in order to better serve Canadian companies, I recently announced that more than 25 of our best trade commissioners are being embedded in business and trade associations across the country. In doing so, our commissioners will gain greater insight into the export needs of a variety of sectors and ensure that our trade promotion services and referrals reflect those specific needs. They will also serve a liaison function and help ensure that government is responsive to the needs of our job creators.
The job of a trade commissioner is not about sitting in a government office tower waiting for the phone to ring. Our trade commissioners are expected to be proactive on the front lines, helping to support Canadian companies, providing them with “on the ground” intelligence regarding the regulatory system, legal framework and business environment they will experience when they enter a new market.
Our government also applauds the actions of the private sector in helping to promote the opportunities associated with our trade agreements. Last month we welcomed the launch of the Coalition for Canada-Europe Trade to promote and advocate for Canada's recently concluded trade agreement with the EU.
We also recently announced the establishment of the Enterprise Canada Network, an initiative led by Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters in partnership with my department. This online service provides small and medium-sized businesses with access to 30,000 business opportunity profiles through the European Commission's Enterprise Europe Network.
Over the next several months, I will lead trade promotion workshops across Canada, in partnership with export agencies, to ensure we're partners in SME export success. We will be bringing these workshops to businesses in communities across Canada. These workshops will provide Canadian businesses with the practical information on all the tools available to them to help them export. That's what they've asked for, and that's what we'll deliver.
We are breaking down the silos between our agencies, taking a whole-of-government approach to trade and bringing Ottawa to Main Street.
Our trade promotion plan under the GMAP will ramp up efforts to ensure Canadian companies can better position themselves to take advantage of the once-in-a-lifetime opportunities we are opening through better access to global markets. After all, historic free trade agreements require historic trade promotion and support.
Why are we putting such an emphasis on reaching SMEs, you might ask?
Our government has recognized from day one that small and medium-sized businesses are the key economic drivers in Canada, and that their success in overseas markets is critical to achieving and maintaining our job growth and our economic prosperity.
SMEs make up the vast majority of businesses in Canada. They employ more than 7.5 million Canadians, or about 70 percent of the total private sector labour force.
We currently have somewhere in the order of one million SMEs in Canada. That number may surprise you. Sadly, a very small number of SMEs—approximately 40,000—export at all. Much smaller still is the number of SMEs—about 10,000—that export beyond North America. We need them to look beyond the United States to explore all the opportunities available to them. We want to be their partners and guide them along the path to export success.
That is the challenge we face, and we're committed to meeting it.
We know that SMEs typically don't have the in-house resources required to explore global markets and opportunities abroad. That's where we can help. And I hope Canada's larger businesses will help guide and inform the SMEs about their value chains to the opportunities abroad and the services we provide. After all, today's big businesses were once SMEs themselves.
We must ensure we're reaching out to all SMEs.
Since day one, our government has been committed to delivering high-quality jobs and economic growth to hard-working Canadians through increased trade and investment.
We've delivered on that commitment by making Canada one of the best places on the planet to do business and by providing Canadian businesses with preferential access to the largest markets in the world.
We've lowered taxes for Canadians and the businesses that employ them. And we've introduced a tax credit for small business.
Last month, Finance Minister Joe Oliver announced the new Small Business Job Credit, which will cut Employment Insurance payroll taxes by 15 percent. This will save small businesses more than $550 million over the next two years.
At the same time, we've harmonized regulations and reduced red tape. We want to make sure that Canada remains near the bottom of the G-7 in terms of the cost of doing business.
We've brought government spending under control. In fact, Canada is on track to be the first country in the G-7 to return to a balanced budget next year, positioning us to deliver even further tax cuts for Canadians.
Our vision has helped create jobs—over one million net new jobs since the depths of the economic downturn—and we've drawn praise from some of the most respected economic and financial organizations in the world.
The Harper government has focused on the economy and on trade, and the results speak for themselves.
We developed a plan and we executed it.
When we took office, Canada was virtually out of the game of trade negotiations, putting Canadian workers and businesses at severe risk of falling behind in this era of global markets.
There are still anti-trade activists in Canada, who are ideologically opposed to trade despite all the evidence that trade creates jobs, economic growth and economic security for hard-working Canadians and their families.
Our government, however, knows that today we have a proud history as a trading nation. We know that trade is vital to our future.
As we prepare to celebrate our 150th anniversary as a country in 2017, all of us will have a chance to reflect on how far we've come and where we want to go.
Friends, I mention all this only to emphasize the importance our government places on trade liberalization and investment promotion.
But there's still much work to be done, especially on the trade-promotion front. Even as we open up new doors of opportunity around the world, we must encourage our Canadian companies to take up the increasing number of export tools we have made available to them.
I thank you for your kind attention.
