Prime Minister Stephen Harper recently announced that Canada has reached an agreement in principle on a Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement with the European Union. The historic agreement will create thousands of jobs for Canadians and give Canadian businesses access to a half-billion new customers.

Whether you are a fisherman in Atlantic Canada, a forestry worker in Québec, an auto-worker in Ontario, a Prairie farmer, or an engineer from the West – you will benefit from the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). 

It will open new markets to Canadian exporters throughout Europe and generate significant benefits, jobs and opportunities for all Canadians. The benefits of this agreement are equivalent to creating almost 80,000 new jobs or increasing the average Canadian household’s annual income by $1,000.

Exports are responsible for one out of every five jobs in Canada. They help parents feed and clothe their families and make ends meet. They also help pay for children’s education and save for retirement. Trade offers Canadian consumers a greater choice of lower-priced goods and services. It increases Canadian prosperity and boosts our standard of living.

When Canada trades, the whole country becomes more competitive, as:

• prices for goods and services fall;
• wages, salaries and our standard of living rise;
• businesses can hire more workers; and
• Canadian families benefit from greater choice and selection in goods and services.

The elimination of 98 per cent of all EU tariffs on the first day that the Agreement comes into force will translate into increased profits and opportunities for Canadian businesses of all sizes in every part of the country. 

For example, the elimination of EU tariffs in the agricultural sector and the fish and seafood sector will mean that lobster fishermen in the Maritimes, maple syrup producers in Québec, apple growers in Ontario, grain producers in the prairies, cherry growers in British Columbia and arctic char farmers in the Yukon who export to the EU will see their bottom lines improve.

CETA is by far Canada’s most ambitious trade initiative ever. It is broader in scope and deeper in ambition than the historic North American Free Trade Agreement:

• It will make Canada one of the only developed countries to have preferential access to the world’s two largest markets – the European Union and the United States – giving access to more than 800 million affluent customers.
• It will make Canada an even more attractive destination for investors and manufacturers, which will create jobs and opportunities for all Canadians.

The EU is the largest and most lucrative market in the world.  With its 28 member states, 500 million people and annual economic activity of almost $17 trillion, it is bigger than the United States, our number one trading partner. CETA would triple the number of countries with which Canada has free trade agreements from 14 to 42, providing Canada free-trade access to over half of the entire global marketplace.

-30-

The audio version of Garry's October 28, 2013 op-ed column can be heard by clicking here