Talking Points<\/p>\n
The Liberal government says Canada\u2019s non-U.S. exports are starting to grow, but the spring economic update suggests a shift in Ottawa\u2019s global focus from trade to investment
\nThe update commits $11 million for the Canada Investment Summit taking place this September in Toronto<\/p>\n
\u201cThis event will showcase Canada as a compelling investment destination and a trusted convener of global capital, with a focus on priority sectors such as energy and critical minerals, artificial intelligence, defence and infrastructure,\u201d the document says.<\/p>\n
The shift in focus from merchandise exports to attracting<\/a> foreign investment is in line with how the Liberal government has been framing the next phase of its response to the \u201crupture in the world order\u201d that Carney described<\/a> in his January speech in Davos, where he urged middle powers to chart a new path against \u201ceconomic intimidation\u201d from superpowers.\u00a0<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tRelated Articles<\/p>\n \t \n\tBy \t At a massive industrial tech trade fair in northern Germany last week, Industry Minister M\u00e9lanie Joly told<\/a> The Logic it was time to put those words into action.<\/p>\n The update goes some way to reframe international trade in these terms, including when it comes to persuading automakers to move production to Canada.<\/p>\n In February, the federal government launched<\/a> public consultations on how to adjust access to remissions from counter-tariffs on U.S. autos to better serve the goals of Canada\u2019s auto strategy. The current system lets<\/a> auto manufacturers that produce in Canada import some vehicles from the U.S. free of counter-tariffs if they keep those operations going. The consultations, which closed this month, proposed \u201ca potential system where companies earn tradeable credits based on their production in Canada,\u201d which the spring economic update says the government is considering \u201ca starting point.\u201d<\/p>\n The spring economic update also states plainly that trade deals will be viewed through the lens of how they can benefit Canada beyond trade in goods.<\/p>\n \u201cCanada will also leverage new and existing trade agreements, including the recent agreement with China, to support new investment in the sector, diversify Canada\u2019s auto export markets, and position Canada as a global leader in electric vehicles,\u201d the document says.<\/p>\n On his January visit to Beijing, Carney announced<\/a> a deal with President Xi Jinping to let 49,000 Chinese-made EVs into Canada at a tariff rate of 6.1 per cent, which he said would also drive joint-venture investment in Canada. The $50,000 price cap<\/a> on the new consumer rebate for EVs and plug-in hybrids does not apply to models made in Canada\u2014another incentive.<\/p>\n The shift does not mark a retreat from traditional trade priorities. In fact, the economic update proposes $91.3 million over five years to help protect the Southern Resident Killer Whale population from the increased trade-related noise and traffic off the B.C. coast.\u00a0<\/p>\n Similarly, the update does not suggest Canada has abandoned trade with its southern neighbour, or given up on getting the Trump administration to lift remaining tariffs on key sectors such as steel, aluminum, autos and lumber. It also makes clear the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), known as CUSMA on this side of the border, has played a key role in preserving access to Canada\u2019s most important export market.\u00a0<\/p>\n That deal is facing \u201ca likely complex review,\u201d the document says, so private sector economists forecast trade uncertainty to remain high. Talks with Trump have been bumpy<\/a>. Export diversification takes<\/a> time. The \u201cmost tariff-exposed industries,\u201d such as autos, are so integrated into the North American supply chain it can be hard to diversify much at all.<\/p>\n That is one reason the economic update confirms the remaining retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods will stay for now. The document says the counter-tariffs have generated $9.7 billion in federal revenue since the earliest ones took effect in March 2025. Ottawa returned $5.5 billion through granting remission requests, leaving $4.3 billion in federal coffers. That is far below the $20 billion that the Liberals projected<\/a> in their election platform.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"OTTAWA \u2014 The Liberal government says its trade diversification efforts are \u201cbearing fruit,\u201d with the spring economic update…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":23546,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[17,6445,1887,383,290,11718,401,11719,11720],"class_list":{"0":"post-23545","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-canada","8":"tag-canada","9":"tag-economics","10":"tag-exports","11":"tag-investment","12":"tag-national","13":"tag-spring-economic-statement-2026","14":"tag-trade","15":"tag-u-s-trade","16":"tag-u-s-canada"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23545","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23545"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23545\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23546"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23545"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23545"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23545"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n\t![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Mark_Carney_Davos_Jan2026_Harun_Ozalp_Anadolu_Getty_2256691539_1920x1280-768x512.jpg\")
\t<\/a><\/p>\n
\n\tLaura Osman, Chaimae Chouiekh and Catherine McIntyre\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\t![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Hannover_Messe_overhead_April2026_Hannover_Germany_handout_1920x1280-768x512.jpg\")
\t<\/a><\/p>\n