Ottawa, Ontario - Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada

The Honourable Ed Fast, Minister of International Trade, today highlighted the benefits of the past year’s historic trade and investment accomplishments for hard-working Canadians in every region of the country.

Under Canada’s Global Markets Action Plan (GMAP), the Government of Canada delivered on its commitment to open new markets, protect Canadian investment and support Canadian companies, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), as they seek to boost their exports. Part of the government’s pro-exports, pro-jobs plan, GMAP will create jobs, growth and long-term prosperity for generations to come.

Key accomplishments this past year include:

• the conclusion of negotiations and release of the complete text of the historic trade agreement with the European Union, the world’s largest market with over 500 million consumers;
• the conclusion of Canada’s first free trade agreement in the Asia-Pacific region with the landmark Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement, which has received royal assent and will come into force on January 1, 2015;
• a foreign investment promotion and protection agreement (FIPA) with China, bringing to 28 the number of FIPAs Canada has with countries around the world; and
• the launch of a series of cross-country Go Global workshops, which this year provided over 300 SMEs with tools and practical information from all of Canada’s export agencies to help them reach their full export potential.

In 2015, the government will continue to build on the momentum of the most significant year for trade in Canadian history.