Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu eyes new markets, smaller trade delegations
Global News
Canada’s new trade minister aims to boost deals in South America, Asia, and Africa, and urges firms to use existing trade pacts more effectively.
Ottawa’s new trade minister says he’s looking to sign deals in South America, Southeast Asia, Africa and beyond — and to convince businesses to actually use the trade agreements Canada has already signed.
“My primary role as Canada’s top salesman is to be out there hustling, opening doors for businesses and accessing new markets,” Maninder Sidhu told The Canadian Press.
“My phone has been ringing with opportunities because people want to deal with reliable, stable trading partners.”
Prime Minister Mark Carney has tasked Dominic LeBlanc as minister responsible for Canada-U.S. trade. Sidhu’s job focuses on countries other than the U.S.
Export Development Canada says Ottawa has 15 free trade agreements covering 51 countries, offering Canadian exporters preferential access to over 1.5 billion consumers.
But Sidhu said Canadian businesses could be doing a lot more to look beyond the U.S., particularly as Washington threatens and imposes a range of tariffs.
Sidhu served four years as a parliamentary secretary in roles reflecting all three branches of Global Affairs Canada: aid, trade and diplomacy.
The job saw him represent Canada in trade promotion events in Southeast Asia and security forums in the Caribbean.
Regina police disciplined an officer for repeatedly accessing personal data of six citizens without authorization 67 times throughout the course of three years.
The list was chosen based on the scale of the devastation, the number of Canadians affected and the financial toll, with wildfires taking the top spot.
Manitoba RCMP say a fisherman is missing after his side-by-side went through the ice.
The population boom recorded in Nova Scotia since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic appears to have come to an end.
New data suggests the majority of Canadians support efforts to expand oil and gas development, including expanding and building pipelines — but within that, their support differs.
Hamilton police say they have arrested 21 people in connection with hundreds of 'organized retail thefts' at multiple Shoppers Drug Mart locations across Ontario, Quebec and B.C.
In October, U.S. President Donald Trump cancelled trade talks with Canada after Ontario aired an anti-tariff ad featuring former U.S. president Ronald Reagan.
Operations are set to resume Friday at the K3 potash mine in Esterhazy, Sask., after a fatal incident earlier this week.
Toronto is seeing a sharp 54.3 per cent decline in homicides and violent crimes this year, but police and a community leader warn the progress is fragile.
Data shared with Global News by the city shows Toronto is currently tied into eight separate private security contracts, predominantly for services relating to homelessness.
A Saskatoon woman has used naloxone kits multiple times to stop overdoses. Some experts say the kits are significantly helping decrease fatality in overdose cases.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told members of Congress this week that next year's joint review 'will depend on the successful resolution' of several issues.
The Appeal Court's three-judge panel has declared the Oath of Allegiance requirement unconstitutional and of no force or effect, meaning it is no longer required in Alberta.