International Trade in Canada

News Related to International Trade in Canada

• Canada: Blueberry farmer awarded $36-million for defective fertiliser - Feb 21, 2012

  Blueberry grower, Jag Aujla, spent 20 years building up his business, enjoying much success until, back in 2007, things took a turn for the worse.His plants started to yellow and their growth became stunted. After a while the disfigured plants began to die. He lost over 4 million plants.All of this came.....

  Source: FreshPlaza

• Canada: Potatoes for diabetics on the horizon - Feb 18, 2012

  Ontario's potato industry is taking on new varieties through Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's process to get new varieties into the marketplace through its Accelerated Release Program. Vanessa Currie, University of Guelph research technician with the plant agriculture department, says that increased.....

  Source: FreshPlaza

• Canada: Potato shortage should lead to better prices this year - Feb 18, 2012

  There may some good to come out of the Prince Edward Island potato shortage - higher prices for produce, according to the president of the island's potato board, Greg Donald. “There’s an opportunity to maximize our prices in the marketplace and slow down movement and manage our supply from now to the end.....

  Source: FreshPlaza

• Canada: Purple vegetables contain more antioxidants - Feb 18, 2012

  New research seems to suggest a higher percentage of antioxidants are to be found in purple vegetables. Antioxidants, it is claimed, can lower the risk of heart disease and certain types of cancer. Dr. Rong Cao of AAAFC and a team at the Guelph Food Research Centre suggest vegetables high in anthocyanins.....

  Source: FreshPlaza

• CANADA/US: Commodity costs sink Cott Corp FY profits - Feb 18, 2012

  Higher interest charges and the cost of PET resin have caused Cott Corp to report a drop in full-year profits, despite strong sales.

  Source: Just Drinks

• Canada, India Conclude Latest FTA Talks - Feb 18, 2012

  Canada and India hope to complete negotiations on a comprehensive economic partnership agreement in 2013, ministers say, as the latest round of trade talks concludes.

  Source: Tax News

• Canada: Consumer friendly pawpaw saught - Feb 17, 2012

  The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) has approved a co-sponsored research grant submitted by Bevo Agro Inc. and The University of British Columbia (UBC). The purpose of the grant is to develop a new cultivar of Pawpaw (Asimina triloba), North America's largest native.....

  Source: FreshPlaza

• CANADA: Molson Coors FY profits drop - Feb 17, 2012

  Molson Coors has reported a drop in full-year profits, despite higher beer sales.

  Source: Just Drinks

• US, Canada Consult on TPP - Feb 16, 2012

  It has been disclosed by the Office of the United States Trade Representative that the United States and Canada have held a senior-level bilateral consultation on Canada?s interest in joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations.

  Source: Tax News

• Product Launch - CANADA: Brick Brewing Co's Seagram Cider - Feb 15, 2012

  Brick Brewing Co's Seagram Cider

  Source: Just Drinks

• Canada, Costa Rica Hold Talks To Improve FTA - Feb 15, 2012

  Canada and Costa Rica have concluded a second round of talks on the improvement of their existing free trade agreement.

  Source: Tax News

Business outline for Canada

Main Industry Sectors

Accounting for almost two thirds of the GDP, the service sector dominates the Canadian economy. Its most dynamic areas are: telecommunications, tourism, Internet (almost 65% of Canadian households regularly use the Internet) and the aeronautical industry.

The agricultural sector represents a little more than 2% of the GDP and employs less than 2% of the population. Canada is one of the largest exporters of agricultural products in the world, wheat in particular. It produces 10% of the world's GMO harvests. Fishing is an important sector. Canada is one of the main producers of minerals, namely nickel, zinc and uranium. The country also has large reserves of oil and natural gas.

Canada has 6 strong sectors of primary industry: renewable energies (mainly wind), forestry sector, hydrogen and fuel cells, mines, metals and minerals, fishing, oil and gas. The manufacturing sector represents approximately a third of the GDP.

Economic Overview

After declining due to global recession, Canada's GDP has rebounded with growth estimated at over 3% in 2010 due to the stimulus package, the recovery of foreign trade and the newfound confidence of Canadian households. The growth rate should slow down in 2011, reflecting among others the end of the stimulus measures and a lower household consumption, which are facing increased levels of debt.

After the beginnings of a recovery, the emphasis is now on structural reforms. The government's priority is to consolidate its budgetary position, which in some provinces the crisis has worsened to alarming proportions. Plans to cut spending have been developed. Health reform also figures at the forefront, as well as a reform of the system of unemployment benefits.

In fact, even though Canada is a rich country with a very good living standard, it now has to deal with a worrying growth of its unemployment rate, which was estimated at 8 % in 2010. 

FDI in Figures

Since the economic recovery, foreign direct investment (FDI) in Canada, which during the previous decade had grown by 9% per year on average, has been slow and more concentrated. This trend should continue in 2011.

Canada's main attractions are its highly-skilled population, its abundant natural resources, its commercial dynamism and fiscal incentives, its competitiveness in key sectors (communications, transit, financial services), as well as its geographic proximity to the world's number one economy, the United States.

FDI Government Measures

Canada applies a high taxation rate on companies. It is currently the country that applies the lowest payroll taxes in the G7 countries.
Companies establishing their headquarters in Canada should get tax benefits (higher than those offered in the United States) up to 2010 . In addition, the government announced a euro 24.6 billion two-year recovery plan.

Country Strong Points

Canada's main advantages are a qualified workforce and an easy access to raw materials. It is one of the most dynamic economies in the world, with a market of 30 million consumers and sophisticated infrastructures, as well as a very modern transportation network.

Country Weak Points

Canada's weak points are its excessive dependance to the United States and a currently damaged financial system.

Foreign Trade Overview

Canada is a country open to outside and trade represents more than 60 % of its GDP.

The United States takes about 80% of Canadian exports. Canada is the United States' biggest foreign energy supplier, including the supply of oil, gas, uranium and electric power. Its other main trading partners are the European Union, Japan, China and Mexico.

As an effect of the global economic crisis, the Canadian trade balance has turned negative, as exports were falling quickly and imports began to recover much less rapidly. Exports have been stagnating in 2010, while imports have risen, thus creating a trade deficit.