Global Affairs Canada

Stay apprised of Canada’s economy and benefits – 3 editions per year

Find out how exports need to grow to achieve Canada's objective.

Since 2003, the World Bank publishes the Ease of Doing Business (EDB) Index aimed at measuring the regulatory efficiency and institutional quality of key processes that affect the business environment in a given economy. While highly influential, particularly in the developing world, the EDB has...

2019: This report provides a comprehensive summary of the main developments in Canada’s commercial activities during the previous year. It describes the events that took place in the global economy and trade in 2018, the main developments in Canada’s economy and those of its most important...

On September 21, 2017, the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), Canada’s most ambitious trade agreement since the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), provisionally entered into force. The 27 European Union members and the United Kingdom (referred as...

This study focuses on the diversity of merchandise exports by product. Export diversity by product is important to hedge against price shocks and sector-specific drops in demand. Product diversity is also important for ensuring that a positive shock in demand or price for a given product does not...

The containment measures enacted to combat the COVID-19 pandemic was one of the factor that left heavy negative impacts on Canadian exports and other aspects of the Canadian economy in 2020. An interesting feature of the “COVID-19 downturn” is the exceptionally large month to month variation in...

This report looks into how trade barriers affect the participation of women-owned small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in exporting. In order to understand the reasons underlying those findings, this report analyzes the gender differences in selected business characteristics of SMEs, namely size,...

This report presents an analysis of majority women-owned, equally owned and men-owned small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that export. Prior research found that women-owned SMEs were underrepresented amongst exporters. The implications are that businesses owned by women would not benefit as much...

The COVID-19 pandemic has renewed interest in international supply chains. While international supply chains proved to be very robust in the pandemic period of closed borders, restrictions on movement of people and goods, and closures of businesses, the pandemic proved the need for better tools,...

In order to analyze the vulnerability and risks of a supply chain disruption to Canada, it is important to understand where Canada and Canadian firms fit into GVCs. On the one hand, if Canada’s production mainly happens at the beginning—or upstream—of a GVC, the primary concern would be a...

There have been many studies that examine the Canada-U.S. trade relationship; this is deservedly so as the U.S. is Canada’s dominant trading partner. In 2018, the minister of international trade diversification announced a target to increase overseas exports by 50% by 2025.Footnote1 China is the...

Following the outbreak of COVID-19, global supply chains are at the risk of major disruptions. This report provides a cursory analysis of products that have limited international supply for Canada. These products could be especially susceptible and may require extra attention from policy makers...

Largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Canada’s merchandise trade —and merchandise trade around the world—has been volatile in the last two years. Business closures to control the spread of the virus, shifts in spending patterns, volatile commodity prices, and lingering supply chain issues have...

This report reviews of the characteristics of Indigenous small and medium enterprises (SMEs) involved in international trade, and identifies opportunities for enhanced federal policy and program design to support Indigenous business performance in international markets. Exporting is one of the...

Canada has a large, diverse, and highly educated immigrant population that makes an important contribution to the Canadian economy. This study examines the contribution of immigrant-led businesses to Canada’s export performance and study find that Canada’s foreign-born population is more...

This paper builds on the previous limited supply products study and provides an updated framework for identifying Canadian imports that are vulnerable to foreign disruptions. Several limitations from the previous study are addressed, including the consideration of domestic production capacity and...

This study focuses on the diversity of merchandise and commercial services exports by destination. Export diversity is important to hedge against the risk of an economic downturn in partner economies, but it also helps to protect against the threat of trade protectionism. Protectionism is...

Canada’s Export Diversification Strategy facilitates efforts to help Canadian businesses reduce the uncertainties and potential disruptions they may face in international trade, as well as help them seize the opportunities created by diversifying to new global markets.

This paper explores the volatility of foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows coming into Canada, and how some increases which may seem extremely significant, such as the 64% growth in flows from 2017 to 2018, can be misinterpreted without proper context and a broader, historical view of FDI flows.