International Trade Committee on Nov. 3rd, 2025

[The Chair (Hon. Judy A. Sgro (Humber River—Black Creek, Lib.)), Liberal, Judy Sgro]

I call the meeting to order.

This is meeting number 11 of the Standing Committee on International Trade.

Welcome to our witnesses today. We appreciate your coming in person and sharing your thoughts and ideas with us.

Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2) and the motion adopted by the committee on Thursday, September 18, 2025, the committee is resuming its study of Canada and the forthcoming CUSMA review.

We have with us today, from the Calgary Chamber of Commerce, Deborah Yedlin, president and chief executive officer by video conference. From the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce, we have Doug Griffiths, president and chief executive officer, and from Forest Products Association of Canada, we have Eric Johnson, vice-president, federal government relations.

Welcome to you all.

We will start with opening remarks of up to five minutes. You'll see me raise my hand or just push the button to cut you off when your five minutes are up in order to allow the committee members sufficient time to ask their questions.

We will start with Ms. Yedlin, please.

[Deborah Yedlin, President and Chief Executive Officer, Calgary Chamber of Commerce]

Thank you, Madam Chair and members of the committee.

My name is Deborah Yedlin, and I am the president and CEO of the Calgary Chamber of Commerce, which represents 1,700 members and approximately 400,000 Calgarians. I'm joining you today from Calgary, which is on Treaty 7 territory, comprising the traditional territories of the Blackfoot Confederacy, the Tsuut'ina Nation, the Stoney Nakoda and the homeland of the Otipemisiwak Métis Government of Alberta, districts 5 and 6.

On behalf of our member businesses, I appreciate the opportunity to speak about Canada's trade relationship with the United States and Mexico as it pertains to the forthcoming CUSMA review, which is a critical moment for North America's economic future.

The Calgary Chamber of Commerce represents a diverse cross-section of businesses—from small family enterprises to global energy producers and aviation, agriculture, telecommunications and technology firms. While their sectors differ, the message is consistent: Certainty, stability and access to markets are essential to investment, growth and jobs.

CUSMA has delivered significant, measurable benefits since it came into force. It has preserved duty-free market access for Canadian goods and services, supported record levels of cross-border trade and investment and provided certainty through dispute resolutions mechanisms, like chapter 19.

However, the global landscape has changed dramatically since 2020. Geopolitical tensions, supply chain realignments and growing economic nationalism are reshaping how and where goods move. In this environment, a strong, predictable North American partnership is not just about trade; it's about economic and energy security.

The upcoming review is not a formality. It is a critical moment to strengthen and modernize CUSMA. The agreement must evolve to reflect today's economic and geopolitical realities and to ensure that North America remains competitive in a rapidly changing world.

From the perspective of our business community, there are four priorities Canada should champion in the review.

First is energy security and cross-border investment. Canada supplied 60% of the U.S. crude imports in 2023. This is a reminder that our economies are deeply integrated. This translates into $87 billion in energy exports from Alberta. Maintaining clear rules of origin for energy products and restoring investor confidence in cross-border infrastructure are essential. At the same time, we must strengthen collaboration on clean energy and emerging technologies—from carbon capture and hydrogen to nuclear power—so North America leads in both energy security and decarbonization.

Second, we need to secure integrated supply chains for critical minerals. With demand expected to double or quadruple by 2040, we need rules that recognize the full North American value chain, from extraction to manufacturing of Canada's mineral wealth, especially in Alberta and Saskatchewan. By doing so, we will reduce dependence on non-aligned nations and ensure resilience in industries like batteries, EVs and advanced manufacturing. This includes downstream facilities as being part of this strategy.

Third, we need to focus on facilitating labour mobility. Persistent labour shortages, especially in the skilled trades, health care and technology sectors, are limiting growth. The CUSMA professionals list must be updated to reflect emerging occupations, such as AI specialists, cybersecurity experts and renewable energy engineers. Also, development of reciprocal credential recognition and streamlined processes for short-term business travel and cross-border project work will strengthen supply chains and innovation across borders.

Finally, we need to secure predictability in trade. Businesses, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises, need certainty that tariffs and other trade barriers will not disrupt their operations. For many small exporters, low-value thresholds allow goods to move across the U.S. border without duties. When the U.S. reduced the de minimis threshold in 2025, it created additional costs and slowed shipments, directly affecting small businesses that lack the resources to absorb these costs and disruptions. Small and medium-sized enterprises contribute 42% of Alberta's exports to the United States. Predictable, rules-based trade is essential for these businesses to plan, invest and participate confidently in North American supply chains.

In closing, CUSMA has been an anchor of North American prosperity, but its success cannot be taken for granted. As Canada heads into the joint review, we have an opportunity and obligation to ensure that the agreement remains modern, fair and forward-looking.

By focusing on energy security, supply chain resilience, labour mobility and trade predictability, Canada can strengthen its competitive position and reaffirm its role as a reliable partner and indispensable neighbour in North America.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I look forward to the questions.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Thank you very much.

Mr. Griffiths, go ahead. You have up to five minutes.

[Doug Griffiths, President and Chief Executive Officer, Edmonton Chamber of Commerce]

Good afternoon. Thank you for the opportunity to speak.

My name is Doug Griffiths, president and CEO of the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce.

I'm here on behalf of the chamber's 2,000-member organizations and the broader community of 38,000 Edmonton businesses whose success depends on a stable and accessible North American market.

Businesses and consumers across Canada are concerned. We commend the efforts the Government of Canada has taken to reassure businesses and safeguard Canada's relationship with the United States even before the CUSMA negotiations commence.

Canada's relationship with the United States is the backbone of our economy, as each day Canada-U.S. trade supports about 3.3 million Canadian jobs. In my home province of Alberta, around 90% of the province's exports go to the United States, the highest in the entire country.

The integration of the Canadian and U.S. economies has never been more evident. Companies of all sizes now operate across both countries. Products often cross the border multiple times before reaching consumers, while employees travel frequently to collaborate, deliver services and sustain operations. For example, Edmonton's Little Potato Company offers a clear example of this. It manages a fully integrated North American supply chain, with its Canadian headquarters and production based in the Edmonton region, and it's U.S. processing facility and head office located in DeForest, Wisconsin. The company's success depends on strong cross-border relationships. It sources from growers in both countries, employs workers across both economies and supplies retailers throughout North America.

We're pleased to see the government has maintained strong relations and open communications with the U.S. and Mexico. As Canada enters the next round of CUSMA negotiations, protecting and deepening those trusted cross-border relationships must be a central priority. To the extent possible, Canada should protect CUSMA's existing core provisions as they provide predictability and stability for businesses operating across the border.

In 2024, 76% of Canada's goods exports went to the United States and two-way trade surpassed $1 trillion for the third consecutive year. Canada remains the top export market for more than 30 U.S. states, and we remain critical to their success as well.

When tariffs were announced earlier this year, I reached out to my counterparts in several U.S. capital city chambers. A clear consensus emerged: We must keep the border friction-free and the rules clear. Canada and American businesses, and the chambers of commerce that represent them, agree that free trade is the right path forward. We recognize and appreciate that this is also the goal of the Canadian government.

We all know that no one wins a trade war. Protectionism and uncertainty hurt businesses, workers and communities on both sides of the border. The current trade dispute was not of Canada's making, but it has created an opportunity for resolution. Over the past nine months, we've seen how vulnerable our country can be and our economy can be and why Canadian businesses must diversify their supply chains and export markets. To do that, they need the right support and right policy environment.

As CUSMA discussions begin, Canada must secure a stable, rules-based framework. If tariffs remain, they should be clearly defined, time limited and carry meaningful penalties for unilateral changes.

A concrete way to ensure open and reliable trade is to establish a rapid-response mechanism for tariff escalation in the next CUSMA. This would require minister-level talks within seven days of any new trade measure to prevent sudden tariffs that raise costs, create uncertainty and weaken confidence in cross-border trade.

We recognize that on October 23, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced the goal of doubling Canada's non-U.S. exports over the next decade. That's an important step toward long-term diversification and building a strong business community, and it deserves support. It's also clear that businesses need a two-pronged approach, swift resolution to U.S. trade challenges and long-term diversification of supply chains and export markets. Both are essential. Canada's chambers of commerce and world trade centre organizations are well-placed to help government advance these goals.

Canada's eight largest metropolitan chambers in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Halifax, collectively known as the Canadian Global Cities Council, represent businesses and cities that together account for roughly 10 million Canadians. These organizations are often the first point of contact for businesses that maintain strong local connections and possess deep knowledge of the challenges and opportunities facing communities. This network can and should be leveraged and expanded into a national platform, providing practical concierge-style interprovincial and international trade services to small and medium-sized enterprises, helping them navigate rules of origin, trusted trader programs, labelling requirements and access to new markets.

In closing, Canada's prosperity depends on trusted relationships, robust trade and strong, collaborative business communities across North America.

We highly recommend that you ensure open and reliable trade. To the extent possible, Canada should protect CUSMA's existing core services, which ensure predictable trade, investment and growth across North America; strengthen engagement with U.S. states beyond federal channels; and pilot a concierge trade service program through Canada's world trade centre network.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Thank you very much, Mr. Griffiths.

We'll go on to Mr. Johnson, please.

[Eric Johnson, Vice-President, Federal Government Relations, Forest Products Association of Canada]

Thank you, Madam Chair and members of the committee.

My name is Eric Johnson. I'm the vice-president of the Forest Products Association of Canada. We represent the companies that manufacture Canada's lumber, pulp and paper, and forest-based bioproducts.

Collectively, our sector directly employs over 200,000 people in every region of the country, and we support another 200,000 jobs indirectly. We contribute approximately $22 billion to Canada's GDP, and we export $37 billion in products every year. That makes forestry one of Canada's top four export industries and the economic backbone of more 300 communities across the country.

For Canada's forest sector, the forthcoming CUSMA review is not just a procedural exercise; it's a strategic moment to re-establish confidence, fairness and predictability in the North American trading system.

For too long, forestry has existed at the margins of our continental trade framework, excluded from the discipline, rules, protection and predictability that apply to other sectors in CUSMA.

The result has been damaging and enduring. Since 2017, Canadian exporters have paid over $10 billion in duties, which now sit in the U.S. treasury. Average combined rates are now at 35%, and newly applied section 232 tariffs add an additional 10% to lumber and 25% to furniture and cabinets.

These aren't policy differences. These are structural failures that continue to punish a sector fundamental to Canada's economy and North America's housing market.

Forestry cannot remain an unresolved bilateral irritant. We should be recognized as a strategic pillar of North American competitiveness. Our mills supply over 90% of the lumber imported by the U.S. When our trade relationship breaks down, homebuilding slows, housing costs rise and workers on both sides of the border lose.

For Canada, resolving this dispute is about more than a tariff line; it's about anchoring the rules of fair trade in the products that literally build our continent. The CUSMA review is the opportunity to make that happen.

Specifically, FPAC urges the Government of Canada to secure a durable softwood lumber settlement under the CUSMA umbrella to provide long-term certainty for producers, workers and communities; end the misuse of the national security tariffs and codify protection against their future application to integrated resource sectors; and reinforce the integrity of the dispute settlement process through binding timelines and enforceable rulings that prevent cases from being stalled indefinitely.

These are not new ideas. They are overdue fixes to ensure that Canada's most trade-exposed manufacturing sector can operate under predictable rules-based conditions.

Canada's forest sector is not seeking special treatment; it's asking to compete on a level playing field. A modernized CUSMA should be forward-looking in aligning standards, accelerating product innovation and rewarding low-carbon, responsibly sourced materials.

A continental approach to forestry can underpin North America's housing affordability, climate resilience and industrial competitiveness. Every home built in the U.S. supports U.S. construction jobs and Canadian forest jobs. A fair, stable trading framework will deliver growth, investment and even energy security across the region, in particular for rural and remote communities in Canada.

The Government of Canada's recent $1.2-billion package offers some stability, but programs and loans don't substitute for market access. What will restore investment and confidence is a clear strategy towards a durable trade resolution, backed by political focus at the highest levels.

Canada must approach the 2026 review with a whole-of-government mandate, treating softwood lumber and forest products as integral to CUSMA's success and the wider prosperity of North America, not an exception to it. The world is watching to see whether Canada can secure fairness for its most renewable and low-carbon export sector.

The forest sector has been a dependable partner in Canada's prosperity for over a century. It's ready to be a partner again in shaping a renewed North American trade framework that works for workers, communities and consumers on both sides of the border.

We ask the committee to underscore that forestry must be central to Canada's CUSMA priorities—not as a historical grievance but as a modern opportunity to strengthen competitiveness, stability and economic security across North America.

Thank you. I look forward to your questions.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Thank you very much.

Mr. Jeneroux, you have the floor for six minutes, please.

[Matt Jeneroux, Conservative, Edmonton Riverbend, AB]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you to the witnesses for joining us here today.

I always threaten to pass a motion to have more Edmontonians here, Madam Chair, but you're doing it without my motion.

I want to welcome you, Mr. Griffiths, to committee. It's good to see you. Thanks for the work you do for Edmonton.

An interesting statistic that you mentioned is that about 76% of businesses in Canada send their products to or do trade with the United States. I suspect that's probably changed in the last little bit. I would love to get the Edmonton numbers if you have them.

I'm more interested in some of the work that you've been doing with the U.S. chambers. I think you're doing some of the work on behalf of the government, reaching out to the chambers. I'm just curious. Is there a response similar to what we'd expect—that the tariffs are also impacting them at a significant level?

[Doug Griffiths]

Yes. I appreciate the question.

Edmonton does export lots of goods primarily to U.S. markets, like the rest of Alberta. With our softwood lumber and oil and gas, 90% of what we export goes to the United States across Alberta. The tariffs are having an incredibly significant impact, especially for us. We're not the corporate office centre. We're the labour centre. We produce the goods. We have the businesses that are actually doing the work. With the slowdown, it's a growing challenge.

On the work I did with other chambers of commerce and calling them, the feedback, I would say, was universal with concerns. The only difference was that some were very open about the negative impacts of the reduction of free trade and having a porous border. They were very open about it. Others said that they couldn't say anything. They were very concerned, but if they ever said something, they were a little concerned about their own viability over the long term—not from us but internally. That just registers that businesses know how critical free trade is to the economy, and they desperately are hoping for a resolution on their side so we can return to work as normal.

[Matt Jeneroux, Conservative, Edmonton Riverbend, AB]

That's interesting. Thanks for doing that work.

In the Province of Alberta's 2025 Speech from the Throne, they indicated that the “vast majority of Alberta exports”—I think the words were—to the United States remain tariff-free, but they're worried about potential sweeping changes that could come at a whim.

Are you hearing about that inconsistency from your members?

[Doug Griffiths]

Consistency is the key to anything in business. I run my own small business, and consistency is what gives you a surety for investments in capital and your operations. Even if it's a bad circumstance, consistency is better than a good circumstance that could change at any minute, because of the risk to capital and the risk to those investments.

Given that the free trade agreement is still in place and most of the goods are travelling consistently and freely, the concern that the President, frankly, could on a whim decide that things are going to change is what's chilling the market, investments and our economy. This is especially in Edmonton, I can say, because that's where I'm from. Lots of businesses are concerned about what happens next month or next year, not just with CUSMA but with the President changing his mind. Even when they have access to markets now and free trade is continuing, they're holding off on those investments for fear that something could change, which is having an even bigger negative impact on our economy than anything the President of the United States could do.

It's not those businesses' fault. It's just practical. It's why we need some security and stability.

[Matt Jeneroux, Conservative, Edmonton Riverbend, AB]

You touched in your presentation, too, on the long-term diversification policy, in particular the role that the world trade centres could or should be playing in cities across the country.

When everyone seems to be looking to go to different markets, I get from your testimony that you're looking to stay within Canada and to support and enhance lots of the local businesses here. Perhaps you can touch on some of the work that you're looking at.

[Doug Griffiths]

Out of a 179 active world trade centres in the world, six of them are located in Canada. Alberta doesn't have one. The Edmonton Chamber of Commerce currently is the world trade centre. It's just a moniker on the building right now. Last year, towards the end of the year, we made a pitch and presentation both to the federal government and to our provincial government about igniting the world trade centre to help with interprovincial free trade. I had 13 years in government in the province of Alberta working with our previous premier, Ed Stelmach. He worked on interprovincial free trade within western Canada. He made some great gains there.

I think it has been an undertapped potential. We've had a very porous border with the United States that was barrier-free for such a long time. I think sometimes it has made us complacent. I pitched that we could ignite the world trade centre in Edmonton and work on interprovincial free trade. We're still working on those two applications with the federal and provincial government in partnership. I think there is incredible potential to work our way out of this by focusing on it. Even if the situation is resolved with CUSMA, the negotiations go fine and the chaos disappears, I still think it's something that's critically important that this country needs to work on.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Thank you very much.

We're on to Madame Lapointe.

[Linda Lapointe, Liberal, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you to the witnesses for being here, and I welcome them to the committee. It's a great pleasure to have them here.

My riding is north of Montreal. It is very well represented in the agri-food processing sector. There are also a lot of SMEs and businesses in the aerospace sector.

My question is for both Mr. Griffiths and Ms. Yedlin.

What I'd like to know is how does western Canada view the economic complementarity of regions, such as Quebec's, in the renegotiation of CUSMA, the Canada-United States-Mexico free trade agreement?

[Doug Griffiths]

If I understood the question correctly, I can testify that our businesses in Edmonton and all of those I know across western Canada—as the CEO of the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce but also after spending 13 years in the provincial legislature in Alberta working with my colleagues in other jurisdictions across Canada—have a foundational and fundamental belief that we need to succeed together. Canada is going to be stronger together. We can't sacrifice one sector of the economy for another, one sector of Canada or one part of Canada for another. We have the ability, as long as we stand together, to capture an entire world that is desperately seeking the economic resources, opportunities, expertise and innovation that Canada has to offer. It would be short-sighted to think that we need to compromise one sector for the other. I think we can do this together. Our long-term prosperity is going to require us to do that.

[Linda Lapointe, Liberal, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Griffiths.

Ms. Yedlin, what do you think?

[Deborah Yedlin]

Thank you.

I just want to point out that we, in Calgary especially, are working to develop an aerospace hub. We are attracting investment from other defence industries.

Doug is absolutely right. We have to work together. We have to make sure that we can leverage each other's strengths from coast to coast to coast. Whether that is in aerospace and defence, whether it is in agriculture or whether it is in clean tech and AI—we know, of course, that Montreal is a hub for AI—there is so much going on across this country.

I just want to say that there's so much transactional friction we've had to deal with as a country because of all the interprovincial trade barriers. This is something that is deemed to be one of the easier levers to pull in terms of accelerating economic growth in Canada. Decreasing transactional friction will decrease costs and increase labour mobility. We absolutely need to make sure that it's something we do, along with, of course, leveraging the industries that we have on both sides, whether you're in Alberta or in Quebec.

[Linda Lapointe, Liberal, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

Thank you, Ms. Yedlin.

I have a question for you, Mr. Johnson.

Quebec and western Canada have a common interest, which is softwood lumber. We, too, in Quebec, have a lot of it.

How is your association preparing to defend Canadian interests on this issue?

[Eric Johnson]

Listen, it's been a long-standing irritant. Quite frankly, you need to negotiate with two parties willing to negotiate in order to come to an agreement. We have advocated strongly for supports to the sector. We saw in September the Prime Minister announce a package of $1.2 billion for the industry. That is a good first step, but as things have sped up and increased tariffs have been added to lumber, we'd like to see governments come together with industry to work through what a true solution may look like.

The industry has never been more coordinated and collaborative across the nation. We look forward to working with the government to help them negotiate with the U.S. and to find solutions here in Canada. There is still a lot we can do on the regulatory front. There's a lot we can do on buildings and coding. There is a lot we can do on market access. All of those are portions of what we can do in terms of a single agreement with the U.S. that promotes durable trade. We can derisk and we can move pieces of what we trade to the U.S., but ultimately a negotiated settlement is where we'd like to land.

[Linda Lapointe, Liberal, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

I have more questions for the chambers of commerce.

In Quebec and elsewhere in Canada, the compliance rules of CUSMA, the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement, are causing problems for a number of exporting SMEs.

Do you think there should be more harmonization of federal programs to support interprovincial innovation? How could we improve that?

[Doug Griffiths]

Yes. I would say that we do need to harmonize.

I also think that something the federal government could do is step up with some concierge service. A lot of small and medium-sized enterprises don't have the capacity or the resources available to navigate CUSMA. Rather than waiting to identify problems further down the road, some sort of concierge service to navigate and negotiate through those processes would help our businesses access the U.S. markets, but at the same time would also help them scale up faster. One of our challenges with competition with the United States is that in Canada we don't scale up fast enough to be competitive. That will take some coordination, not just between our jurisdictions in our economies but federally too in order to help make sure we're competitive.

[Linda Lapointe, Liberal, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Griffiths.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Mr. Savard-Tremblay, you have six minutes.

[Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay, Bloc, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot—Acton, QC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I'd like to thank all the witnesses for being here.

My first question is for the Forest Products Association of Canada representative.

I want to make sure I understand the following. We're talking more and more about market diversification. In addition, we know that 78% of forest product exports from Canada and Quebec go to the United States.

If we were to diversify markets, which ports would be helpful in getting our products to other destinations? Could using these ports for the domestic market be an option?