International Trade Committee on April 30th, 2026

[Alexa Young]

The supply chain partnership is really strong. There are lots of good partnerships happening across the supply chain. We are just one cog in the wheel that keeps trade humming and our economy flowing.

That said, again, we are going to have to work in partnership and look at all kinds of opportunities, including increasing rail capacity. We know the trade diversification corridors fund, through Transport Canada, is going to be really critical to that.

It's about looking at what types of projects are going to be required, including on the west coast, to help Canada meet this moment. That includes—

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Thank you very much, Ms. Young.

Ms. Konanz, please go ahead for five minutes.

[Helena Konanz, Conservative, Similkameen—South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC]

Thank you.

My first question is for Mr. Fulton.

As an MP who represents many ranchers in Similkameen—South Okanagan—West Kootenay, I agree with the intention of the study because I want to see more Pacific beef exports, and so do my ranchers. In fact, they'd like more markets in general, of course. We'd like to focus on more Asian markets. Obviously, those markets come under a lot of competition from Australian beef, New Zealand beef and American beef. Canadian beef producers want to keep and eventually grow our foothold in the Japanese market or in Asian markets.

What are the chief barriers that you see limiting Canada from bolstering these export markets?

[Tyler Fulton]

That's a great question, and I really appreciate it. I think it's a very good opportunity for me to relay the current landscape.

We are seeing, just in the last year, a surge in demand for Canadian-origin beef. There are very similar quality attributes between U.S. and Canadian grain-fed beef, yet buyers in Mexico and South Korea, for example, are specifically choosing Canadian beef over our American counterpart's, in part because of the disruption and global uncertainty that surround trade with the U.S.

To relate this back to your question, the opportunity is really about conveying and facilitating the volume of flow that demand actually calls for. I can't speak specifically about whether or not the same effect is happening in Japan. Quite simply, previously, the U.S. industry was so large, with multiple plants, that they could pull from several different plants and it would still be of U.S. origin. Buyers in Japan and those countries chose to deal with those plants and sellers because they had greater flexibility, ensuring that they could get the product exactly on the spec they needed.

Now we're seeing the opposite. We're seeing a focus on Canadian beef being pulled into those markets because of the uncertainty.

[Helena Konanz, Conservative, Similkameen—South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC]

That's really good news.

You've been to my area of the world and know we have six border crossings with the United States. Even though we need to open up these markets, it's extremely important that we continue to trade with the United States. In fact, we need that trade with the United States. You understand, also, the difficulties with transportation and getting products to market.

What is the level of investment needed in terms of rail capacity, port fees or storage for meat exports in western Canada?

[Tyler Fulton]

Yes, unequivocally. I think you bring up a really critical point that I did not mention earlier: the critical nature of the trading relationship between the U.S. and Canada.

Broadly, the beef industry exports about half of its total production, whether it be in live cattle or beef. Currently, 70% of that is destined for the U.S. We can't diversify our way out of that, nor should we want to. The market signals are pulling Canadian beef products in for that.

Critical to that is addressing the infrastructure bottlenecks that we see. I would say that most significantly it's those border crossings that relate to, for example, the CFIA vets having enough capacity and hours to not be a constraint in bringing U.S. feeder cattle into southern Alberta, for example.

There are several different constraints on border crossing that we need to address.

[Helena Konanz, Conservative, Similkameen—South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC]

That is really important information. Thank you for bringing that forward.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Thank you very much. I'm sorry, but you're right down to zero.

Mr. Yasir Naqvi.

[Yasir Naqvi, Liberal, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Thank you very much, Madam Chair.

I want to thank all the colleagues for the very thoughtful discussion today.

I thank the witnesses for being here.

Mr. Fulton, we miss your being here in person. It's always good to see you.

Welcome, Ms. Young.

I want to focus on what the future looks like and get your thoughts on a wish list as to what you would like to see when it comes to trade between Canada and Japan. Both the Minister of International Trade, Minister Sidhu, and the Minister of National Defence, Minister McGuinty, are co-leading a trade mission, as you probably know, to Japan in the later part of June. I believe it is June 23 to 26.

They'll be focusing on defence and security as a sector, of course; on information and communication technologies, including AI; on clean technologies and on energy transitions. Agriculture and agri-food is a big part of this trade mission, including efficiency, food and, of course, forestry and forest products. I know we have representatives from that sector coming to this committee as well.

From your perspective, what can this trade mission to a country like Japan, which has been a very important trading partner for us, mean? What would you like to see the government focus on as it relates to trade with a country like Japan?

Maybe we can start with Ms. Young first and then go to Mr. Fulton.

[Alexa Young]

Absolutely. I love this question.

Minister Sidhu is doing a great job, travelling the world and telling the world that Canada is open for business.

During the next mission to Japan, what I'd like to see in a perfect world is the minister standing on stage to say, “Here are the milestones that are going to get you more of the products that you want and need from Canada. Roberts Bank terminal 2 has the support from government, and it's moving forward to a final investment decision. We have successfully moved forward on the Second Narrows dredging, which will open the doors to more energy products shipping to Japan. We have heard you on the labour disruptions that are making you uncertain about our being a trusted trading partner.”

The minister saying those types of things as he stands on stage and continues to build these relationships is critical to saying that we are open for business and that we're taking action.

[Yasir Naqvi, Liberal, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Mr. Fulton.

[Tyler Fulton]

That's a great question. As a matter of fact, I spoke with Minister Sidhu yesterday. We talked about the planned trade mission, with a focus on agri-food.

Quite simply, what I relayed to him was our opportunity that needs to be seized today. It is unique in this geopolitical landscape that there is a shift and a desire for products of Canadian origin. To address that, these trade missions are critical. They raise the profile. Even some investment in, like I said, AgriMarketing to really raise our presence in those local markets at this specific time....

It really is an exciting time to build market share.

[Yasir Naqvi, Liberal, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Thank you very much.

Mr. Fulton, in terms of building that market, you're looking at Japan, you're looking at the Indo-Pacific more broadly speaking. You know we're working towards negotiating an agreement with ASEAN. You were involved in the conversation we were having vis-à-vis Indonesia as well.

Speak to me about what kind of diversification we should be focusing on that is an opportunity we have not yet explored when it comes to Japan and the broader Indo-Pacific region in relation to your product, to beef, and maybe to agri-food in general.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Please give a brief answer, Mr. Fulton.

[Tyler Fulton]

The analogy is this: instead of using different components to build a car, we are doing the exact opposite. We're taking a beef carcass and creating all of these different products. We have 200 different products that can go to 200 different countries and will optimize the value of the aggregate carcass. I can't stress enough the opportunity in all of those unique local markets, which demand a specific little difference in the product, and it's Canadian beef's opportunity to seize.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Thank you very much.

They're exciting answers, and we very much appreciate you being with us today.

We will suspend for a moment while we get our other witnesses up for the next panel.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

I'm calling the meeting back to order.

Thank you very much to our witnesses and to our committee members.

From the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, we have Jeff Nankivell, president and chief executive officer. From the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, we have Matthew Holmes, executive vice-president, international and chief, public policy. From the Forest Products Association of Canada, we have Derek Nighbor, president and chief executive officer.

Thank you very much for finding the time to come and speak to the committee again today.

We will start with opening remarks of up to five minutes.

Mr. Nankivell, the floor is yours.

[Jeff Nankivell, President and Chief Executive Officer, Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada]

Thank you, Madam Chair, for the opportunity to appear today.

My main theme today will be that Canada-Japan trade relations are no longer best understood as a traditional export relationship. They're now shifting to a strategic economic partnership shaped by economic security, supply chain resilience and advanced industries.

This is a topic on which we at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada have increased our focus recently through our combination of in-house expertise, external research fellows and partner institutions, and convening events such as our annual Canada-in-Asia Conference in Singapore. Just yesterday on our website, we published a new research dispatch making the case for Japan-Canada co-operation on semiconductors and supply chains.

Japan matters for Canada not only because it is a major, sophisticated market—it has been that for a long time already—but today because it is a key Indo-Pacific partner at a time when reliable access to markets, trusted supply chains and rules-based trade are under unprecedented pressure. The opportunity is not simply to sell more to Japan. It's for Canadian businesses to become more deeply embedded in Japanese and allied value chains.

Accordingly, Japan should be understood as a partner in Canada's economic resilience. That means aligning our commercial relationship with sectors where both countries have strategic interests—critical minerals and batteries, artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, semiconductors, new materials, clean technologies and advanced manufacturing—all the while continuing in areas of strength, such as life sciences, aerospace, energy, agri-food and food security.

The most important point is that Canada should not be content to remain only a supplier of raw materials. In critical minerals and batteries, the greater opportunity lies in processing, refining, recycling, battery materials and related supply chain activity. In advanced technologies, the opportunity is not only research collaboration but commercialization, standard setting and industrial partnerships. Across these sectors, Canada should position itself as a trusted industrial and innovation partner, not only as an exporter.

The CPTPP gives Canada and Japan a strong, rules-based platform for this work, as you have been hearing. It has lowered tariff barriers and strengthened the framework within which Canadian firms can pursue opportunities in Japan, but formal access to a market is not the same thing as commercial success in that market.

Japan is open, but it's also very stringent. Canadian companies continue to face non-tariff and business barriers, including Japan-specific standards, certification requirements, language and labelling requirements, layered distribution networks, high consumer expectations and a relationship-based business culture. These are not reasons to avoid the market. They're reasons to approach it with patience, preparation, local partnerships and long-term commitment.

If we want our firms, especially small and medium-sized firms, to succeed in Japan, we must support them with market intelligence, help them to navigate standards and certification and help them with introductions to credible local partners.

Canada's Indo-Pacific strategy recognizes that trade, investment, innovation and security are now closely connected. In the Canada-Japan context of today, that means encouraging Japanese investment in Canadian critical minerals, energy, batteries, clean tech and advanced manufacturing. It also means supporting joint research and development, commercialization partnerships and stronger links among firms, universities, provinces, territories, indigenous partners and Japanese industrial actors.

The recently signed joint statement on Canada-Japan Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, with its practically focused road map, is an important step in this direction.

Subnational and indigenous partnerships deserve particular attention. Many assets relevant to Japan's economic security are rooted in specific regions and communities. Building durable Canada-Japan value chains will require federal policy, provincial capacity, indigenous partnership and private capital to work together. CPTPP has opened doors at a time when Japan itself is actively looking to diversify its relationships. The task now is to help Canadian firms to walk through these doors and to find a place inside.

In practical terms, that means focusing on three things. First is targeting co-operation in sectors where Japan's strategic priorities and Canada's comparative advantages overlap. Second is making Canada a more attractive destination for trusted Japanese investment and coinvestment. Third is ensuring that Canadian businesses receive practical support to navigate Japan's demanding but rewarding market.

If we get this right, Canada will capture more value, strengthen our supply chains and our overall resilience, support Canadian firms and workers, and deepen one of our most important Indo-Pacific partnerships.

Thank you for the opportunity to contribute to the committee's deliberations.

I look forward to answering your questions in either official language.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

You're right on your five minutes. Thank you very much.

Next is Mr. Holmes.

Go ahead, please.

[Matthew Holmes, Executive Vice President, International and Chief of Public Policy, Canadian Chamber of Commerce]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Good afternoon, everyone.

Honourable members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to appear today on behalf of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.

Our network represents more than 400 local, provincial and territorial chambers of commerce and boards of trade across the country, and over 120 trade associations in every sector of the economy. Along with our corporate members, this broad network represents over 200,000 businesses of all sizes in Canada.

We strongly support efforts to deepen trade ties with Japan, one of our most important economic partners and a trusted ally in the Indo-Pacific. Japan remains the world's fourth-largest economy and Canada's fourth-largest foreign direct investor, and it accounts for approximately $40 billion in trade.

Those numbers are important, but the strategic case is even stronger. In March, Prime Minister Carney and Prime Minister Takaichi elevated the relationship with a new comprehensive strategic partnership focused on defence, energy, critical minerals, trade and technology. This reflects a simple reality: In a more uncertain world, Canada and Japan are natural partners.

It's not well known that Canada's relationship with Japan is one of our oldest. Only four years after the last spike completed the transcontinental railway, Japan's first consulate opened in Vancouver in 1889. The official Ottawa embassy followed in 1928, and ours in Tokyo in 1929—only our third in a non-Commonwealth country, after the U.S. and France.

Our business communities are also deeply connected, including through the Japan-Canada Chambers Council, JCCC. That launched in 2014 as a partnership between the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The JCCC serves as an annual exchange to strengthen business ties, share knowledge and advance policies between our two countries. Last February, we hosted a JCCC delegation in Ottawa, and we look forward to returning to Japan this September for the 2026 meeting to continue our business-to-business exchange focused on economic security, resilient supply chains, energy security, advanced technologies, food security and defence. You'll have heard the word “security” a few times there.

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce will also be participating in the team Canada trade mission to Japan at the end of June, as we recently did in Korea and Mexico, supporting Minister Sidhu's efforts to diversify and strengthen Canada's trade relationships with reliable partners.

Beyond the bilateral relationship, Japan is a key rule of law ally at important multilateral tables, such as the G7, the G20 and, of course—as we've been discussing this morning—CPTPP. Last year, as Canada's official business engagement group at the G7 and G20 tables, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce hosted the Business 7 Summit, or B7, in Ottawa, which included a delegation from Keidanren, Japan’s business federation. We also held similar side meetings in Johannesburg last fall, on the edge of the B20 meeting.

From these exchanges, business priorities are clear. In the 2025 B7 communiqué, business leaders called for coordinated measures to stabilize critical minerals markets and unlock investment, including strategic reserves, tax incentives and financing tools to expand capacity among trusted partners. On supply chains, we recommended a G7 mechanism to coordinate responses to shocks and choke points, map high-risk dependencies and support the production of strategically critical goods. Unfortunately, one year later, we are living through this risk in real time.

The new comprehensive strategic partnership provides a strong road map for further collaboration, including modernizing the Joint Economic Committee to reflect emerging priorities, such as critical minerals, advanced manufacturing, energy security and new technologies. This also points to concrete industrial opportunities. For example, Canada and Japan have agreed to build on—as you have heard—existing co-operation on battery supply chains and industrial science and technology, while continuing to support Japanese automotive manufacturers investing in Canada as a key entry point to the North American marketplace.

When I had the opportunity to visit the 2025 Osaka world expo last fall, I was reminded that, although the distance between our countries may be great due to the Pacific, we are, in fact, neighbours. As a key entry point for Canada within our broader Indo-Pacific strategy, Japan remains one of our most trusted and strategically important partners in the region and globally.

In closing, it is the Canadian chamber’s view that deeper ties with Japan are firmly in Canada’s national interest and consistent with our goal of trade diversification within a rules-based order.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Thank you very much, Mr. Holmes.

We'll go to Mr. Nighbor, please, for five minutes.

[Derek Nighbor, President and Chief Executive Officer, Forest Products Association of Canada]

Thank you, Madam Chair and members of the committee, for the invitation today and the opportunity to discuss the status of and a future look at the Canadian forest sector's trade with Japan.

I appreciate the opportunity to share the time with my colleagues and give a shout-out to our colleagues at the chamber. We're a proud chamber member and appreciate the work that they do to facilitate a number of these trade missions.

I'd also like to recognize the work of the Canada Wood Group. They are a partner group of FPAC that leads our export market diversification work.

As the son and the grandson of Ottawa Valley pulp and paper workers and as the son-in-law of a former stationary engineer at the pulp mill in Smooth Rock Falls, Ontario, I'm really proud to work with our team to bring the voice of our sector and its employees and communities across its large value chain from producers of lumber to panels, engineered wood, pulp and paper and bioenergy. It's an industry in Canada that creates nearly $90 billion a year in economic activity with $37 billion in annual exports, putting it in the top four of Canada's exporting industries. Our current shipments to Japan are in the $1-billion range.

In the face of combined softwood lumber duties and section 232 tariffs currently in the 45% range, our sector's priority continues to be the elimination of section 232 tariffs and future risks thereof and getting to a durable deal on softwood. At the same time, we're leaning into the domestic market opportunity for more wood use here at home and export market diversification. There are opportunities, but they are incremental relative to the nearly $8 billion in annual softwood lumber shipments to the United States.

We've been trading in Japan for 100 years in Canadian forestry. The Canada Wood Group has been in place for 50 years. It's taken us that much time to get to $1 billion in business. It's a heavy lift, and I'm happy to talk about some of the details in a bit.

These are our priorities in Japan.

We want to defend and grow lumber share. Let's remember that Japan is not a natural build-with-wood culture, and Canada has played a leading role in introducing and accelerating the wood-building culture into Japan. Our dimension lumber now holds 65% of Japan's two-by-four market, and continued technical engagement on Japanese market standards and the platform frame system is needed to hold and grow that share.

On mass timber and advanced wood building systems, what Canada can bring aligns with Japan's housing renewal, decarbonization and seismic resilience priorities. It builds on Canada's federal-provincial reconstruction support after the 2011 Tohoku earthquake.

In the forest bioeconomy, we see an opportunity in biocarbon, biofuels and biomass, which are also emerging Japanese priorities in that decarbonization space.

There are a few barriers to note.

There is a shrinking Japanese market with growing Japanese supply. Housing starts are declining with the aging Japanese demographics, and Japanese-graded lumber is gaining share in the two-by-four segment.

European and other competitors are scaling up. We're seeing aggressive market entry across lumber, pulp and pellets from the EU into Japan.

We're seeing a tightening of standards and sustainability requirements. New Japanese sustainability and traceability rules require sustained technical engagement.

It's not just about selling more wood to Japan; we have to get in there, we have to work on the codes and the systems, we have to develop the market and then we have to demonstrate. It's really a three-step process.

There is supply-side pressure here at home in terms of declining allowable cut, federal-provincial regulatory duplication, rail and port reliability and the cost of the rail system in Canada.

Our asks and offers to meet the moment include dedicated, multi-year funding for the Canada Wood Group to build on its successes in export development; and doubling the funding of NRCan's global forest leadership program; collaborating on investment in market-entry support, spec alignment tools, testing labs and distributor networks in Japan. There are also those opportunities in Korea.

On the continued trade missions to Japan, we just had one with the B.C. and Alberta governments back in November specific to forestry.

That was a bit of a profile about us and our opportunities.

I thank you for your time and look forward to your questions.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Thank you very much.

Mr. McKenzie, go ahead, please, for six minutes.

[David McKenzie, Conservative, Calgary Signal Hill, AB]

Madam Chair, if I could, I'll defer to my colleague to initiate, and we'll split the time.

[Helena Konanz, Conservative, Similkameen—South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC]

Thank you very much.

Mr. Nighbor, we have been more than a decade without a softwood lumber agreement. It's important to diversify, I think we all agree, but in my riding, Similkameen—South Okanagan—West Kootenay, we've already seen shift changes and job losses. My riding has six border crossings to the United States that are vital for the historical U.S. trade that we depend on.

If we're looking to hurry on trade with Japan and other Asian markets, what's the pace we need to move? How many mills do you expect might not be able to hang on for another year, two years or three years? Please don't sugar-coat it.