The Globe and Mail Jan. 05, 2016 updated Jan. 07, 2016 10:40AM EST
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau intends to play an activist role in promoting Canadian business and investment with a major trade mission to China and India and a keynote address to the World Economic Forum in Switzerland.
It’s all part of a carefully laid-out economic strategy aimed at seeking new trade arrangements in a slumping global economy, with the long-range goal of achieving a pivotal free-trade deal with China.
Mr. Trudeau will first travel to Davos, Switzerland, to speak to the annual gathering of world leaders and wealthy executives on Jan. 21 at a special session entitled “A New Chapter for Canada.”
“It is a big economic opportunity,” said a senior government official, who was not authorized to speak on the record. “People who make the world’s biggest economic decisions will be in that room, and we plan on taking advantage of that to describe our economic strategy, to talk up the country and opportunities for people to invest in it.”
Mr. Trudeau plans to lead a high-level trade mission to China and India, likely in March after he holds bilateral meetings with U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington.
The Prime Minister and his top officials have already begun discussions with senior business leaders, including Dominic Barton, managing director of McKinsey & Co., and Montreal’s Desmarais family, which has extensive investments in China through Power Corp.
Peter Harder, president of the Canada China Business Council who also ran Mr. Trudeau’s transition team, is part of the discussions, as well as former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd. The goal is to seek a free-trade agreement with China similar to what Australia negotiated, which will see more than 85 per cent of Australian goods entering China duty-free.
“We are looking very closely at how Australia built their relationship, and we’re talking to leading figures from that period about how we can do something appropriate like that in Canada,” an official said.
For years, Canada has also been pursuing a free-trade deal with India. The most recent talks were held last March.
Planning for the trade mission is in its early stages, but the government has not ruled out a Team Canada mission including provincial premiers and territorial leaders and Canadian corporate executives. The Team Canada trade approach was championed by former Liberal prime minister Jean Chrétien’s government, but was never taken up by the Harper government.
The former Conservative government had a testy relationship with China over its public criticism of Chinese spying in Canada, China’s treatment of Tibetans and Canadian restrictions on oil sands investments.
Officials say Mr. Trudeau won’t shrink from criticizing China’s human-rights record, but they believe his family name will carry weight at the senior levels of the Chinese government in paving the way for fruitful trade talks.
“We have a unique opportunity, given the high regard in which the Prime Minister’s father is held in China,” the official said. “It isn’t hyperbole. They still look at Pierre Trudeau as the first Western leader to open his arms to China, which, in a society that treats history the way it does, is as if it happened yesterday.”
The slowdown in China’s economy is cause for concern, with less demand for Canadian natural resources. China Investment Corp., which manages $747-billion (U.S.), also recently closed its Toronto headquarters.
However, official say the focus of the trade mission will be on China’s and India’s rapidly rising middle class and fast-paced urbanization.
“Nobody is building cities as rapidly as China,” the official said. “So there are big opportunities for our pension funds, for our financial institutions, for our large infrastructure companies and for green technology.”
David Mulroney, a former Canadian ambassador to Beijing, said there are enormous possibilities to capitalize on China’s growing middle- and upper-income earners who are travelling more, sending their children overseas for education and buying real estate abroad. The Chinese also have high regard for Canada’s food safety, making it possible for Canadian firms to market fruit juices, wines and lobster, while also promoting health-care services targeting the elderly, he said.
“The challenge is not just to show up and say we are friends and let’s get back to business,” Mr. Mulroney said. “You need to institutionalize the relationship with regular visits and exchanges.”
Bill G 2 days ago
A continuation of the good work that PM Harper completed. I hope it works out well.
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BlackAcre 2 days ago
For those who worry about China taking our manufacturing jobs (such as they are), I can only assume that none of you has visited China recently. China is itself losing manufacturing jobs to Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia and other parts of Asia as the young people flock to the tech and services jobs in the big cities. Besides, what the trade pact will offer is the ability for Canadian infrastructure, agribusiness, energy and similar high-value added enterprises to get access to a market that needs desperately what they have to offer.
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catsrulz 2 days ago
When Harper signed some trade dales with China last year. Liberal supporters blasted him for it. Saying we shouldnt be doing that with a country such as China. But now are prasing Trudeau for trying to get a trade deal done with them.
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GHorsnell 2 days ago
So far these "free trade" deals with Asian countries have been good for the Asian countries and perhaps good for the rich company owners and CEOs in Canada but not so good for Canadian workers.
Will this "free trade" deal with India and China be any better or will Canadians see more trade deficits and work and jobs heading to Asia in return for cheap Asian products.
And what is happening with the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) the Liberals were leery about?
And how is this different from Harper Conservative plans?
And what about fair trade?
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BlackAcre 2 days ago
This is a great initiative and I commend the Liberals for doing this. One area on which the federal government needs to focus is food supply. As our ability to export commodities dwindles for logistical and economic reasons, Canada must look to our secure, safe food system to supply the areas of the world that need what we have to offer.
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moon howler 2 days ago
This is where the policies of the former government get blended in with the new government and where there is a continuation of the same economic strategy of the last 30 years. China has the largest middle class in the world- roughly the size of the population of the U.S. Obviously Canada has an abundance of natural resources that China does not have. In exchange, China has numerous, beyond count, goods they could introduce to the Canadian market. This is also the market where we want our oil to go. It will be interesting whether First Nations will change direction on their stance towards pipelines being built now that the U.S. has high tailed and run from the oil sands.
Overall, this is a solid strategy to follow and should be rigorously pursued.
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TerryQ 2 days ago
china is slowly morphing into a democratic society and the more urbanized it gets more demands for transparency and human rights will appear. China's current attempt at cleaning up corruption is part of the survival mode Communist party chiefs are concerned about. Canada should continue to engage China and let their population be well aware of our freedoms and rights.
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RespectfulComment 2 days ago
China is on track to become the largest economy in the world and will surpass the United States in the near future.
The Chinese middle class is expanding by hundreds of millions of people. They will all be buying building products, agricultural products, etc.
We produce building products, agricultural products, etc.
China produces many low cost quality consumer goods that we want.
Sounds like a deal made in heaven.
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gmreader_101 2 days ago
Good for Canada and good for China, a win-win.
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"internationalist" 2 days ago
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau intends to play an activist role in promoting Canadian business and investment with a major trade mission to China and India and a keynote address to the World Economic Forum in Switzerland..
===============================
Now that's a very smart man who understands international economics and politics.
GOOD FOR YOU JUSTIN!
Please ignore all the imbeciles that constantly criticize you....rev the engines ahead in full throttle.
Canada cannot depend only on one market ...the USA.
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moon howler 2 days ago
Trudeau will come to learn that there is no political pay off to free trade deals. His goal is to get the job done and drag Canada kicking and screaming into prosperity.
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NWN 1 day ago
Great thing about markets. Look at the dollar. If you are unable to compete internationally you die from starvation with no jobs for the next generation and no purchasing power to buy international goods and service. As price hyperinflation increase prices for real assets the average wage declines in purchasing power parity. Domestic laws are a market inefficiency set to protect certain segments of the population while capital in relocated elsewhere globally taking Canadian jobs with them. Since the start of Confederation we have relied on the extraction of resources to fuel our domestic consumption while others used their grey matter to create the savings to invest 100 years into the future. Its simple folks its called survival of the fittest.
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Rick Taves1 2 days ago
Why is it conventional wisdom that free trade creates jobs? I wish someone would explain how giving firms licence to shut down their Canadian operations to move to low wage low environmental regulations locales from which they send their products back to be sold in our market is good for us.
Our present low dollar should make our manufacturing industries hum. It isn't. There aren't any left.
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The Outsider11 2 days ago
Lots of assumptions are made when dealing with China: that China is open to Canadian goods, services, and human resources. I think not..
What is really happening is that China (and India) want to export their goods, services, and human resources to Canada, taking Canadian jobs offshore and onshore.
Free Trade agreements don't benefit the majority of Canada or Canadians.
The only benefit to Canadians is the vast profit from selling their home. A payoff for all the lost jobs and future employment opportunities.
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Tom Z 2 days ago
I am for Canada reject TPP. In its entirety. 100% of it.
I am for Canada proceed to establish specified trade agreements with China, Japan, Taiwan. Specified is not 'free'. It means certain sectors of mutual benefits will enjoy not only low or no tariff but will face low barrier to mutual investments. Establishing strategic trade agreements with these Asian countries is essential for Canada's 21st century prosperity. There is no two way about it.
Canada must negotiate trade agreements on a principle of prosperity for the people. NOT prosperity for the corporations and hope wealth will trickle down as in NAFTA and TPP. The uniquely American model has failed, and failed even within America.
Also, Canada must find ways to link the transportation of goods directly, instead of going through the U.S. and therefore using the USD as intermediary. Today, due to US-Cdn dollar exchange rate, prices of Asian products are artificially inflated because goods are first imported to the U.S. before redistributed to Canada. We must discourage this.
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nu-view 2 days ago
Its to be hoped our Liberal Government negotiators have better skills than their predecessors.
China is going through a trauma of sorts as it tries to bring the rate of consumer spending up from a dismal 30% of GDP to somehere nearer to the US and EU factor of 70%. Pundits think it could take decades.
Meanwhile, others have considered out deals to date, and one has written a book.
"Sold Down the Yangtze: Canada's Lopsided Investment Deal with China", by G. Van Harten, might be a good start at learning what our leaders are bent on doing.
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Rick Taves1 2 days ago
We will be exporting service industry jobs soon. Accounting, health care diagnostics, insurance, most legal work. All can be done more cheaply abroad.
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Mee 2 days ago
Being from Ontario & knowing the massive failures inflicted by liberals boondoggles I have little to no faith that anything will come of this other than tax paid trips for the wealthiest of the wealthy.
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Layla4 2 days ago
In relation to the sale of armed vehicles to Saudi Arabia, didn't Trudeau just finish saying that he doesn't get involved in sales from Canadian companies to foreign states?
He doesn't get involved... until he does.
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Republic of Saturn 2 days ago
Slow time in China anyway ... the main goal is to export Canadian agriculture products?
Everything is bit late now, Australian are shipping cattles to China with airplanes. And Russian
www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-01-04/putin-sparks-russia-pork-boom-as-import-ban-expands-hog-breeding
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Bud Tugley 1 day ago
The only thing worse than Trudeau not paying attention to the economy is to have Trudeau paying attention to the economy.
He's just not ready.
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bilgo 2 days ago
Is it possible that about 800 will travel with PRIMO ?
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David Gibson 2 days ago
""Look, we can give you Osoyoos Gold or Bella Coola Bud for $500,000 per ton, F.O.B. Vancouver,............""
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Rotory 2 days ago
The Chinese see this dummy coming from a mile away. They will make mince meat out of these liberals.
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axel53 2 days ago
Unifor and other unions will move their support to NDP if he keeps up this free trade stuff.
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Sheep #5491 2 days ago
Disclaimer:
I am not now, nor was I ever, a conservative or NDP supporter.
----
How is that vote for 'real change' working out for you? Taking back Canada. Restoring our manufacturing and jobs. And our reputation for neutrality and fairness. All that stuff. How's all that working out for you? How many times since the 60's have you voted for 'real change'? I don't propose to know how to right a democracy gone wrong but I'm certain it begins with a majority consensus that something is definitely wrong!
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Cathy Bows 1 day ago
Hmm, has to use the same rich family that advised his dad to get his foot in the door. Wonder if Leadnow will do a campaign against this like they did for the FIPA deal? I kinda doubt it.
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luz1938 2 days ago
BRAVO! BRAVO! Way to go, Prime Minister!
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Joe Dick 2 days ago
Military arms deals with the Saudis, free trade with China...Justins new foreign policy.
Sickening.
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Freedom Reigns 2 days ago
so as usual justin china dealings good, harpers were bad, the hypocrisy never ends
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William Lyon Mackenzie1 2 days ago
Make sure Justin reads The Art of the Deal.
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Mandelbrot 2 days ago
Where is the outrage from the Progressive media . . . sorry I forgot, this is their guy so it's ok.
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Citizen 1 2 days ago
Stephane Dion and Junior negotiating on behalf of Canada.
Be afraid. Very afraid.
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Twizzle 2 days ago
How does that song go? "meet the new boss, same as the old boss......"
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THEROCK17 2 days ago
Another Team Canada Junior disaster.
So, he's gonna cash in on his Father' s reputation amongst the Chinese.
It's a great negotiating strategy.
Especially for what's left of the Canadian manufacturing sector
Just what we need
Oh yeah, we are in good hands alright.
Fore!
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MACKINNONJWM 2 days ago
Oh, and was it one or two weeks ago that China moved its investment offices to USA from Canada??? And Libs were critical of Conservatives trade missions to India and China for last ten years plus. Not sure we have anything to offer China or India ...Canada is a land locked producer of commodities with going out of business pricing and higher taxation levels than the majority of all the other potential suppliers. Without export transportation terminals on the West Coast and East Coast with connecting pipelines we are dead in the water ....maybe the FN , or green energy , or global warming groups will come to our rescue??? Talk is cheap, merely an investment of saliva. Great photo op opportunities for Vogue's China and India offices. Not built yet...no problem.
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Schmelter_ 2 days ago
It was only a matter of time..
"There's a level of admiration I actually have for China. Their basic dictatorship is actually allowing them to turn their economy around on a dime."
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Toronto Mouth Breather 2 days ago
How is Canada going to negotiate with the Chinese with Stephane Dion as Foreign Affairs Minister?
Dion couldn't negotiate his way out of a wet paper bag.
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I.N. Flagrantedelecto 2 days ago
Race to the bottom politics. Just like the Conservatives.
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Paul C. 2 days ago
Justin (and Notley) should focus on the Energy East pipeline, to stop hemorrhaging Canadian dollars on purchasing oil for Eastern Canada from the Middle East, Venezuela and all other crappy countries.
With the sinking CAD, Trudeau may soon have to sell and re-lease the Parliament Hill, just to keep-on the lights and heat in Montreal. With everything priced in USD, many families already cannot afford fresh fruit and vegetables for their kids, yet we cannot sell the one commodity Canada can readily export without a deep discount and shipped on expensive and accident-prone railways.
Will you still vote Liberals when the CAD is at 50 cents and all you can afford to eat is sticks and snow?
.
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JasonHRoy of Central Nova 2 days ago
So we can count on the LPC howler monkeys flooding the comments with "Trudeau is selling out Canada to the highest bidder with another free trade agreement".....
.....like they were when the Cons were in power...??
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Don't B Fooled 2 days ago
Why believe this guy...25,000 refugees by Christmas, no make it 10,000...check that - 6,300. Tax neutral to tax the rich to give the middle class - NOT, a structural 2Bn a year deficit. Modest deficits...will now balloon to +20 Bn/yr....Classic Liberal lies and incompetency - following his mentor Wynne. Canada is screwed. Canada is back....to the bad dark o'days of Trudeau Sr. And sand bagging our future and future generations.
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Duke Charles Martel 2 days ago
One of the big "winners" in Johnny Crouton's first team Canada cup in hand tour of China was Nortel. Anyone remember them? And where are they today?
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Sheep #5491 2 days ago
This must be a situation where they hit Canadians squarely between the eyes with reality. I seem to remember it happened with Harper as well. Is democracy an illusion?
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Tormaine 2 days ago
poor Libbies trying to defend junior on every thread.
gonna be a long 4 yrs for you chumps.
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CGY11 2 days ago
Elected, Day 1: Abort my campaign promises and adopt Harpers, Day 2: Make up a bunch of excuses why my original promises are not met, Day 3: Take comfort that the people like me and that is the reason they don't mind refugee quotas are not met - and it is not because 70% of Canadians don't want them (regards Cologne) Day 4: Increase spending like it's my Daddy's CC, Day 5: Research my new snowboard moves from my drone selfie movie
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William Lyon Mackenzie1 2 days ago
Doesn't Chrystia Freeland have something to do with international trade? Not mentioned in the article. And how does it relate to TPP?
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ScottyKnows2 2 days ago
Harper government signed over 30 free trade deals with countries during its' time.
Trudeau's Liberals criticized it every step of the way...but now they are in power and acting just like the Conservatives...probably because it's the right thing to do and they knew it all along
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Ultimate187 2 days ago
Keep it all business. Avoid HR stuff. If you have no qualms trading with the U.S. (complete with Gitmo, torture, illegal invasions, police brutality etc), then you should have no qualms about China either.
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Straight talk 20 hours ago
PET, Chretien, and Justeen are too cozy with China. Remember that a couple of years ago Junior was all praise for China?
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Bud Tugley 1 day ago
There were six sentences in yesterday's op-ed piece that stood out. They are:
“Space, food, water, minerals and energy: When it comes to natural resources, only Brazil and Russia are even in the same league as Canada;
Canada’s natural resources are a huge long-term strength, even if resource markets are cyclical.
Each (successive Liberal and Conservative governments in the post-war years,) shared the idea that social and economic progress go together. This resulted in a 60-year mutual accommodation of these two powerful sets of aspirations. They came to be seen as mutually strengthening, not adversarial. They made today’s Canada.”
Unfortunately, the Left in Canada today, and that clearly includes the Liberals, has bought into the environmentalist's narrative that we cannot have both a robust economy and a healthy environment - we have to choose one or the other. It is not true.
An economy based upon careful resource development and extraction, together with the means to get those resources to market, are the only way that Canadians can support over the long term the social structures that define our nation. Economic health and a healthy environment are not mutually exclusive.
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gentle_man 2 days ago
Harper was always against china just to please americans. At the end, Americans knocked Harper with the keystone hammer. Its good to have good relation with any major economy which will nourish our economy.
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JM M1 2 days ago
Trudeau is a great fan of China he will get along just fine with them--When Harper was dealing with China the Liberals and NDP were dead against it...calling Harper al kinds of things....oh, how things change when the Liberal Party is running things...
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Cat-o'9tails 2 days ago
Free trade deals = Canadians trade the sovereignty of their country for crap they don't need to survive on the planet.
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nelson1000 2 days ago
Southern Ontario is the heartland of Liberal support. But competition from China and other countries such as Mexico through free trade agreements is what has decimated Ontario's manufacturing industry. I don't know if the average Ontario voter realizes what they may have done to their province by voting in "China loving" Trudeau.
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B. Arthur 2 days ago
I have a novel idea, why don't we seek a "Fair Trade" agreement with China. Currently we trade with China under a set of complicated and ever shifting rules and it has not worked in our favour, I can only imagine what it will look like if just open the door, we will look like the unfortunate door man on those Black Friday videos.
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Shuswap82 2 days ago
Trudeau says "What's a free trade agreement"?
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joe_six-pack 2 days ago
still wondering about those illusive benefits free trade agreements will bring about to the average joe? for a clue, where are all those auto manufacturing plants of which there was a great abundance before nafta but now there barely is scant evidence of any.
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Shuswap82 2 days ago
Liberals need to cozy up to China in order to borrow $billions to cover the $25,000,000,000 deficit, just for 2016!!!
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Government is the Problem 2 days ago
"Trudeau sets sights on free-trade deal with China"
----------
Well...that's interesting.
I just spent the past 9 years listening to all the socialists, liberals and progressive in this forum arping about these free trade deals that Harper was working on, like the TPP.
And now here's True Dope wanting to make such a deal with a country that makes TPP look like a puny deal.
Naturally, all the socialists, liberals and progressive will congratulate True Dope, and say that this is an example of good Liberal fiscal management.
So what other Harper policies that True Dope lambasted over the past few years is he now going to adopt?
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GHorsnell 2 days ago
China's industry is slowing. It's economy is slumping and the stock markets recently fell.
What is China going to buy from Canada when China won't need so much in the way of oil and other commodities?
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liberalcrybabies 2 days ago
This is a precursor to the approval of the TPP.
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JC12345 2 days ago
"big opportunities for our pension funds, for our financial institutions, for our large infrastructure companies "
Big opportunities for investment houses and banks. Yippee. And let's not forget:
"and buying real estate abroad."
Oh boy so that 25%/year increase in Vancouver real estate prices can keep on going and going. Yippee again. The realtors and developers and banks who profit from that, at the expense of the middle and lower classes, will no doubt be making their Liberal Party kickbac.... errrr donations.
"The Chinese also have high regard for Canada’s food safety"
Yeah - we don't put Melamine in baby formula.
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bob adamson 2 days ago
Australia, recognizing its regional location and extractive industries potential, has led the way along with Japan (despite the legacy of its 1930s and 1940s aggression) and South Korea in establishing close economic ties with China. Canada can benefit from their experience, but will be challenged in this regard because (a) these other countries, along with the US and Germany, have a long head start in establishing niche relationships with China, and (b) Canada, for good reasons, will not want to ship large quantities of bitumen from westcoast facilities.
By contrast, India affords unique opportunities for Canada because of the emergence of a vibrant Indo-Canadian community here in recent years, the fact that India is several years behind China in opening to economic partnerships with the advanced modern economies (i.e. we aren't burdened, as is currently the case with China, with being latecomers to the party) and India is increasingly becoming open to allowing foreign companies that have intellectual property and expertise to partner with Indian companies for domestic Indian projects.
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pewetlaureate 2 days ago
Has Trudeau read the news lately: The thief of the East took the land of the Vietnamese built an island out of it, then tried to establish a control of navigation of the Pacific Sea? Canadians don't want to trade with a thief!
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MACK91 2 days ago
Junior can trade his weed with the Chinese.
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figurethis 2 days ago
congratulations, Junior now approving more jobs to go over to China.
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its strictly business 2 days ago
I was waiting, waiting for the writer of this pontification to get to the section where young Justin would welcome with open arms a lot more real estate speculators into Canada to help jack up the prices even further. Now for me to quote our former N.D.P. premier , premier bonehead, it is a WIN, WIN situation as my real estate investments continue to rise. Oh sure there are lots of areas I totally disagree with the liberals but I'm beginning to like the kid more and more as he is making me money. Way to go Justin.
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Birdj1 2 days ago
That's my PM!! China FTA first.. India next.. then we'll see about the TPP. Keep the tanks full on the A310 'cause the PM will be needed to go to S. America to give everybody down there a hug. Justin.., you're on the right track!!
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its strictly business 2 days ago
Eddy do you always have to bring up the name Trump.
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JasonHRoy of Central Nova 2 days ago
So will Trudeau be "destroying the Canada-Chinese business relationship" when he brings up the Chinese human rights record.....
....or will he "be selling out and be more concerned about big business and the almighty dollar" while ignoring human rights...??
I seem to remember the Liberal supporters had both sides covered whenever Harper visited China.
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bodomar 2 days ago
Why are still sending foreign aid to China?
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BRUCEHUNTER3 2 days ago
Good luck trying to get much shipped out of BC.
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MG-TD 2 days ago
Bob Fife makes his debut.
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J_Lee 2 days ago
I told you so. The Liberals work for the rich families in Canada. All rich families vote for the Liberals. After all, the Liberals are still selling natural resources and will be outsourcing high end jobs to other countries. mark my words: wealth inequality in Canada will get much worse under Justin Trudeau.
Don't complain when you are getting poorer.
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Dryenema 2 days ago
Justin will agreed on everything traded in multiples of 25,000..... no, 10,000..... no, how about a number somewhere around 4,000?...... ah crap, how about anything the Conservatives originally projected that actually made sense and was achievable?
Canada is hooped if we let this clown close to any negotiations.
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William Lyon Mackenzie1 2 days ago
"Canada is Back" has been toned down to "A New Chapter for Canada" for the discerning Davos audience.
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Wild Bill 2 2 days ago
China and India Team Canada missions could be very positive for Canada
ALL depends on the details
Moore, Garry R - Solutions Inc
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Duke Charles Martel 2 days ago
What are we going to sell the Chinese - maple syrup?
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richmond anon 2 days ago
Here in BC our Provincial and Municipal politicians have been on a never ending series of trade missions to China over the past decade.
All of them characterized by the accompanying full contingent of real estate industry representatives.
Free trade? Nothing compares to the freedom we have given the parking of overseas money into our residential real estate. Vancouver looks forward to displacing Hong Kong as the most unaffordable City in the world.
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John C 1 day ago
Is China not included in TPP? Looks like Lib doublespeak trying to claim something initiated by the Conservative government.
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Rightontheleft 2 days ago
I think the Liberals should be very careful about what is in the agreement, especially food products. China has a terrible reputation for quality.
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3blindmice 2 days ago
This govt has been negative on pipelines to export our oil to China, I trying to figure out what we can export - maybe seniors.
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CJMOM1 2 days ago
Nice to see a trade deal that is not entirely about selling our raw unprocessed resources to China and India. Processed food stuffs is a value added manufactured good, the holy grail of 21st century global trade that is unlikely to be off shored in the near future.
Canada also has relatively few global competitors in the provision of health care thanks to enormous investment by our governments.A return on those investments through international trade is a visionary and it is difficult to argue that trade in health care innovations and knowledge is not supportive of human rights.
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portia44 2 days ago
China - Chretien - Power Corp- Trudeau - connect the dots.
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Jimbo5 2 days ago
China should be an increasing focus of Canada's trade. We already have good trade positions with our Pacific trading partners even without the TPPA.
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JasonHRoy of Central Nova 2 days ago
"Just another example of this government selling out Canada piece by piece to foreign interests and their corporate pals. Today I'm so ashamed and embarrassed to be Canadian. I don't recognize my country anymore and can't wait until 2019 when we can take Canada back....!!!"
Just invoking my inner Liberal there folks....as you were and carry on.
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Shuswap82 2 days ago
A oil millionaire talking to other millionaires! Another Bilderberg Group.
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joe_six-pack 2 days ago
all free trade agreements are bad news for workers who earn more than what workers in the far east earn doing similar work i.e. manufacturing.
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rcbeattie 2 days ago
Good plan, especially as China was excluded from the Pacific rim not-free trade agreement.
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JC12345 2 days ago
Who is going to benefit from this?
" Dominic Barton, managing director of McKinsey & Co."
" Montreal’s Desmarais family, which has extensive investments in China through Power Corp." Isn't Desmarais big in the Liberal party?
"Peter Harder, president of the Canada China Business Council who also ran Mr. Trudeau’s transition team"
But for working Canadians... nothing but job losses and cheap trinkets.
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JC12345 2 days ago
"It’s all part of a carefully laid-out economic strategy aimed at seeking new trade arrangements in a slumping global economy, with the long-range goal of achieving a pivotal free-trade deal with China."
Carefully laid out by who? Not by Trudeau, he hasn't been in office long enough to do that. No PM could in two months.
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Westerninvestor3 2 days ago
The probability of a trade deal with China is almost zero under the current Liberal government.
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Earl Street 2 days ago
Trudeau wants Canada to become a province of China.
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p cuevas 2 days ago
The sooner we would stop having anything to do with China the better. Human rights and environment abuses galore. It would be much better, albeit more expensive, if we returned our manufacturing home and were able to make and purchase items of quality. A pipe dream I know but this just wreaks of bad news.
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Bloomer61 2 days ago
Sure lets send over what few manufacturing jobs that are left in Canada to China. In return we get cheap goods made by slave labour with no civil rights, in factories that have no health and safety regulations or emissions standards. Working Canadians and Chinese lose and the winners are the factory owners.
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MorehamEddy 2 days ago
If Canada only traded with countries that had a good human rights record we would be trading with a couple dozen countries(if that)... Employment trumps ethics I guess.
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Ridgeman54 2 days ago
meeting the wealthy in Switzerland! I'm sure they will be ecstatic about hoe JT believes in taxing the rich. Aren't they the ones that can kick start the economy?
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nrh 2 days ago
The arrogant little fool probably thinks that he is capable of negotiating with the Chinese and the Indians, but he is completely out of his league.
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Cat-o'9tails 2 days ago
The problem with trade so far away from home is that it is unsustainable and when you develop an economy on unsustainable trade you are not governing for the future you are trying to prop up industries that are never going to survive so in essence you are a noose around sustainable living and not the kind of innovative thinkers we need right now.
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Shuswap82 2 days ago
Does Fife not see the hypocracy here???
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JC12345 2 days ago
" less demand for Canadian natural resources. China Investment Corp., which manages $747-billion (U.S.), also recently closed its Toronto headquarters."
Would it be too much to ask to have the government concentrate on changing Canada from a resource economy to one that creates actual goods that can sold globally instead of racing to sell off our resources as fast as it can?
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JC12345 2 days ago
And why exactly do we want to compete with a country that pays its workers $1/day?
Want to know how China competes? Order something on ebay. Not only does the item itself cost less than in Canada but it is usually with free shipping - the price of the item including shipping is frequently less than it would cost _just for postage_ of a similar size item across the city in Canada. To ad insult to injury it is our postal system doing most of the work in delivery.
To make matters even worse if the item value is less than $35 there is no duty or tax collected. And regardless of what you actually pay for the item most sellers put $10 as the declared value.
How can Canadian retailers compete with that?
Level the existing playing field before opening the floodgates.
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WigAndFakeNose 2 days ago
Take your time. The entire world has been waiting for this moment.
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canadianmorningwood 2 days ago
there is no such thing as free trade with China, It will all be one sided
their is no market demand for Canada raw materials, They will buy our
raw oil for next to nothing and we will buy it back at a premium as a finished
product.
this will not end good for Canada, mark my words.
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vancharger 2 days ago
Well, he does have an admiration for their communist dictatorship...he also seems partial to Saudi executioners too....
Sunny Daze!
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monkey121 2 days ago
While not a bad idea, although considering negative views many Canadians have of China and its government I cannot see this selling easily politically. Perhaps a better solution is to try to urge China to sign on to the TPP so that would have sort of be a roundabout way to get free trade with them. And note Vietnam which is communists is already part of the TPP.
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monty bissett 2 2 days ago
You got to remember as jr said China is the country he most admires. His daddy would added Cuba to the list along with China
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dunrob 2 days ago
Free trade as in free to send us all their junks, their bacteriae and viruses, etc. etc. and free to not buy anything from us except unprocessed resources.
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CGAtoronto 2 days ago
JT is learning that commerce must proceed without morals. Saudis, Chinese, who will be next, Justin?
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Citizen 1 2 days ago
No doubt. He admires communist dictatorships.
And if he pushes his electoral reform through he'll be pushing us in that direction.
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axel53 2 days ago
I have been very critical of Mr Trudeau but this makes me hopeful that he is moving on from his various "bleeding heart" projects to economic matters. After all, if we don't have jobs not much else matters. And putting everybody on the government payroll won't work in the real world. (And make no mistake, the more trade all humans on the planet do with each other the better off we'll all be in the long run.)
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NADDAWAY 2 days ago
Only continuing Comrade Harper's legacy of grovelling and turning Canadian housing into one big dirty laundering ponzi cash scheme....courtesy of Hong Kong!
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Big Gun1 2 days ago
Seriously, what can we expect from a trade deal with China? Will they open their economy to Canadian investment? No way. Canadian companies will still need a Chinese majority partner. WIll they protect intellectual property rights? No way. Will they be allowed to purchase whatever they want in Canada with National Treatment? No way. Will they open their services market? A little bit. This would be focused solely on trade and solely on exporting commodities to China and in exchange, consumer and industrial goods into Canada. What we need for this is not an FTA but expanded infrastructure so our railroads and ports can handle these goods. An FTA would be virtually meaningless otherwise and represents more posturing and hollow promises from the personally popular, style over substance Mr. Trudeau and his government.
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Hermesacat 2 days ago
At least Trudeau isn't likely to allow what Harper allowed: i.e. selling off our premier Canadian resource companies to China. For instance, once proud Canadian O & G company, Nexen, Canada's largest natural gas producer, is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Beijing based Chinese oil co. CNOOC. Nexen is now "Nexen CNOOC" and is 100% Chinese owned "thanks" to Harper allowing the foreign sale of Nexen to go through. Harper had a rubber stamp he used for such occasions.
Conservatives/conservatives are much more likely than Liberal/liberals to allow the sell off and sell out of Canadian corporations and resources to foreign countries, including China. Because ideologically, it's part of standard conservative belief the free market, not ones own nation, is "sacred" & most worthy of protection. Conservative ideology says corporations, including foreign ones. should be able to do want ever the H*ll they want to, with minimal gov't oversight and regulation. This is how China was able to take over Canada's premier natural gas co.: Harper's gang said "Fine, China. take it, it's yours! Who are we ideological conservatives to stand in the way of the noble free market? Enjoy!"
Thankfully, Liberals are more likely to have allegiance to Canada first, and elevate Canadain national interests above the so-called rights & interests of corporations to buy & control Canadian corporations and resources. Treacherous Tories, OUT.
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TimInBC 2 days ago
Any bets that if the headline had been "Trudeau rejects free trade with China" most of the Harper-fan posts would have been exactly the same?
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monty bissett 2 2 days ago
This would be beyond stupid. Ontario can't compete with Detroit and they are in the dumpster. How on earth would Ontario compete with China. Them burning dirty coal and making a widget for 5.00 and Ontario using wind mills juice at 3 times the cost of USA and building the widget costs 25.00. That would be Jr economics alright. Maybe sign an agreement when they agree to clean up their air and stop polluting the world. Get some of those green loons down to the local Wallmart to get them to demonstrate against folks buying Chinese products instead of protesting Canadian products. Maybe get Greenpeace to close some of their offices in Canada and start opening up offices in China and maybe get a ship full of green loons in a Greenpeace ship paid for by Canadians over their to block a few harbors. Then maybe we can look at a trade agreement. Could you imagine if bad old Harper would have trotted this out. That would have got the left green loons dancing and ripping
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Chris Lalonde 2.0 2 days ago
Rainbow coloured unicorn seeing Junior negotiating with the mainland Chinese. God help us...
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wills37 2 days ago
Liberal or Conservative, free trade deals are always good in the long haul. It would seem that this is something the Liberals have learned very quickly. The China where Pierre Trudeau was some kind of hero, as was Norman Bethune, is not the China of today. A free trade deal with China and India today will require lots of give and take from both sides, and giving is something both India and China have a hard time doing. Pipelines are bound to be part of the deal and so is potash.
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Clear Thinker 2 days ago
Yay! More cheap goods made by slave labour. Liberal economics in action.
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Doctor Demento 2 days ago
"... former Canadian ambassador to Beijing, said there are enormous possibilities to capitalize on China’s growing middle- and upper-income earners who are travelling more, sending their children overseas for education and buying real estate abroad."
Uh, hello?
Seriously, hello?
What ON EARTH makes Trudeau and his team somehow think that people in British Columbia want more of THAT?
As it is now they are already paying the income tax to pay for too many Vancouver parachute families needing free health care and subsidized university...
... WHY INCREASE THE BURDEN?
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Vic E 2 days ago
Justin, please take a look at the calendar. This is 2016, not 1986 .. Chretien’s pointless ‘Team Canada’ world odysseys, copied by subsequent governments, did nothing to prevent Canada’s domestic slide. The infatuation of domestic politicians with multi-national Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) has hastened Canada’s decline. I know you want to gain favour with Chinese and Indian immigrants, but do think about what you are doing. Please don’t rely on the real estate market being pumped by foreign high-flyers anymore because it doesn’t help. China's markets are anything but free, and its economy is being roiled by 'Central Command' -- we don't need to barter away any more of Canada's resources. Time for Canadian politicians to stay home!
What did the Conservatives ‘accomplish’ with their globe-trotting and signing of 39 new FTAs between 2006 and 2015? Canada is a small cog in a competitive global market dominated by Corporate Global Value Chains. If autos can be produced more cheaply in Mexico … that’s where it’s happening, and to heck with flowery statements about reducing greenhouse gas emissions, eh? Harper’s government devised a budget based upon oil rising to $250 per barrel DESPITE the inimitable boom-bust cycle, which busted again when our good 'ally' Saudi Arabia decided to crank out more of its top quality oil. Let’s stop doing the same old thing and redesign domestic governments, which have made themselves and Canadian workers so inconsequential.
See Deloitte’s report, Human Capital Trends 2015, Canadian perspectives on the New World of Work at
https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/ca/Documents/human-capital/ca-en-hc-trends-2015-aoda.pdf
This report describes the continuing transition to a “contingent” (or just-in-time) work force, meaning temporary, contract, hourly and outsourced workers. 47% of the businesses surveyed said they will increase the use of contingent, outsourced or contract workers in the next 3 to 5 years.
A 2013 article from the Economist tells us that 47% of today’s jobs could be automated in the next two decades: http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21594298-effect-todays-technology-tomorrows-jobs-will-be-immenseand-no-country-read Fewer workers will be needed. How do we ratchet down the upward spiral of human numbers, where competition for dwindling resources results in confrontation?
Here's the TD Bank’s 2013 Economic Report about jobs in Canada: https://www.td.com/document/PDF/economics/special/JobsInCanada.pdf TD did not find, nor did it predict, any labour shortages in Canada. Aside from tightness in limited areas, Canada has a surplus of under-utilized workers.
Canada now has too many politicians to support. Time to reduce the size of all levels of government in order to reduce Canada’s combined government debts on which the Fraser Institute reported yesterday that Canadians paid $60.8-billion in interest payments alone in 2015.
alpha_1 2 days ago
This is gonna end badly. our PM is a dunderhead. His feel good politics so far have been an abject failure.
If I hear any more of 'Canada is back', I'm gonna be sick. Grow up, kid.
btg 2 days ago
A Free Trade deal with China? Is he nuts?
A deal with South Korea was bad enough, because their auto industry will benefit more than all of our manufacturing and service industries combined because of non-trade barriers... the TPP is still not ratified and he has not said what exactly he will do.
Most "free trade" deals are real deals that give investors and corporations rights and to tie the hands of elected governments. The Chinese government (and miliatry) owns major oil companies and other corporations that will just buy up everything that moves - it won't just be a few monster homes in Vancouver.
I am a Liberal and supported John Turner in 1988 because he was right - Trudeau knows little about economics and while he was right about deficits, he is wrong on this.
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Joe Dick 2 days ago
This will infuriate liberals, what with Chinas brutal human rights record and all.
...snicker...
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The Last Truthbender 2 days ago
first things first
get the bomber jets out of the middle east, deal with climate change, settle the refugees and stop arming Saudi Arabia
then we can move on to the part where you continue on where harper left off
if we wanted a government that focused on free trade "deals" that bring little benefit to ordinary Canadians we would have kept Harper in power
live up to your promises JT and you might go places
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NADDAWAY 2 days ago
Wow.the 'blue meanies' and pillsbury doughboys crawling out of the 'oily' outback because JT is following Stevos free trade dealings. The 'poor kid' never gets a logical break from the 'redneck' grandstanding from 'Alburnta' land! lol
