International Trade Committee on May 7th, 2026

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

I call the meeting to order.

Welcome to meeting number 37 of the Standing Committee on International Trade.

Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2) and the motion adopted by the committee on Thursday, February 12, 2026, the committee is resuming its study of Canada's trade with Japan.

We have with us today, from the BC Council of Forest Industries, Kurt Niquidet, vice-president and chief economist, by video conference. From the Canadian Pork Council, we have Stephen Heckbert and René Roy, who, at this point, are regular members of our committee. From the Canola Council of Canada, we have Chris Davison, president and chief executive officer, by video conference.

Mr. Niquidet, I turn the floor over to you for up to five minutes, please.

[Kurt Niquidet, Vice President and Chief Economist, BC Council of Forest Industries]

Thank you, Madam Chair and members of the committee.

I am Kurt Niquidet, vice-president of the BC Council of Forest Industries, representing forest products manufacturers from British Columbia.

Japan is one of B.C.'s most important non-U.S. markets for forest products. In 2025, we exported about a billion dollars' worth of products, including softwood lumber, pulp and wood pellets. This is a market we have built for decades through sustained technical engagement, product adaptation and in-market presence.

It is a premium market. Canadian lumber achieved significantly higher prices in Japan than in the United States. Canadian suppliers hold roughly 65% of Japan's two-by-four housing market. B.C. mills are specifically configured for this market, including with metric sizing and appearance-grade products, and there are long-standing relationships with customers in Japan. At the same time, Japan is not a growth engine. The market is constrained by declining housing demand as a result of demographics, rising domestic supply, increased competition from Europe and tightening technical and sustainability standards.

For B.C. producers already facing high fibre costs and supply constraints, maintaining share requires continuous investment and engagement. Even with decades of success in Japan, approximately 75% of B.C.'s lumber exports still go to the United States. There is no realistic scenario where Indo-Pacific markets replace the scale of the U.S. market. Diversification strengthens resilience, but it cannot substitute for stable and predictable access to the United States.

From a policy perspective, four priorities stand out. First, sustain and expand funding for the Canada wood program. Second, invest in technical engagement, including standards alignment, testing and building innovation. Third, recognize forestry as a core sector within Canada's Indo-Pacific strategy. Fourth, continue coordinated federal, provincial and industry trade engagement.

In closing, Japan demonstrates that B.C. and Canada can compete successfully in high-value global markets, but diversification is not a substitute for stable access to our primary market.

Thank you. I look forward to your questions.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Thank you very much.

We'll move on to Mr. Heckbert, please.

[Stephen Heckbert, President and Chief Executive Director, Canadian Pork Council]

It will be Mr. Roy who will give our opening statement.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Mr. Roy, you have the floor, please.

[René Roy, Chair, Canadian Pork Council]

Good morning, Madam Chair and members of the committee.

Thank you for the invitation to participate in your study. It's a pleasure to be with you again today.

My name is René Roy. I am a pork producer from the Beauce region of Quebec, and I have the privilege of serving as the chair of the Canadian Pork Council. Joining me with you is Stephen Heckbert, our CEO.

We are here today to discuss a fundamental relationship central to our trade prosperity: Japan. For the Canadian pork industry, Japan is not just a buyer; it is a strategic partner.

The relationship between the Canadian pork sector and Japan is not new. It has been built over more than 50 years of rigour. Since the 1970s, Canada has consistently met the extremely high quality standards of Japanese consumers.

Today, the statistics speak for themselves. Japan is our second-largest export market by value. In 2025, Canadian pork exports to Japan exceeded $1.5 billion, and the gap with our largest market—the United States—was very narrow. What is particularly notable is Japan's preference for chilled, fresh pork. It is a high-value segment where Canada holds a dominant market share. Nearly half of all fresh pork imported into Japan comes from our farms in Canada.

Beyond the numbers, we must understand the geopolitical significance of these exchanges. In today's global context, agri-food trade has become an instrument of national security and sovereignty. By providing Japan and its citizens with a stable, healthy and high-quality protein, Canada strengthens its diplomatic ties with one of the world's most influential economies. This interdependence creates a solid alliance within the Indo-Pacific region.

A Canada that exports its processed resources on a large scale is a Canada that projects influence. Every ton of pork shipped to Tokyo is a pledge of stability for our bilateral relations. It demonstrates that Canada is a reliable partner, even when global supply chains falter. This reliability bolsters our diplomatic weight and, by extension, our sovereignty on the global stage.

To maintain this global reach, we must take a closer look at what is happening here at home. For pork from the Beauce or the Prairies to end up on Japanese plates, it must pass through our processing plants. It is imperative that we recognize the strategic importance of developing and supporting a strong meat processing industry in Canada.

These companies are the ones turning a raw commodity into a value-added product. They create thousands of local jobs, but more importantly, they allow us to brand our products. It is through our local processing capacity that we can provide the specific cuts demanded by the Japanese market, creating a unique Canadian signature. Without robust domestic processing, we would be merely exporting commodities, but with it, we are exporting Canadian excellence. This added value is what makes Canadian agri-food products shine across the world.

This does not mean there are no challenges. One concern we hear repeatedly from our international partners is the need for reliability in our ports, so we urge this committee to work with our ports to find long-term solutions to our labour challenges. International markets that rely on our products need to know they can do so.

The Japanese market is the perfect example of Canadian trade success. It's a historical relationship based on quality and mutual trust. To protect this success and strengthen our national security, we must continue to diversify our markets while investing heavily in our domestic processing capacity and our infrastructure. This is how we will ensure the sustainability of our farms and the strength of our economy.

Thank you.

We look forward to your questions.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Thank you very much.

Mr. Davison, go ahead, please, for up to five minutes.

[Chris Davison, President and Chief Executive Officer, Canola Council of Canada]

Chair Sgro and members of the committee, thank you very much for the invitation to join you today.

My name is Chris Davison, and I'm the president and chief executive officer of the Canola Council of Canada.

The Canola Council of Canada is a national value chain organization representing approximately 40,000 canola farmers, together with the rest of the value chain, which includes exporters, processors and life sciences companies. As a value chain organization, our goal is to ensure the industry's continued growth and success, and to do this by meeting domestic and global demand for canola and canola-based products, namely canola seed, oil and meal.

Our industry represents $43.7 billion in direct, indirect and induced economic activity annually and supports over 200,000 jobs across the country and some $16 billion in wages. Canola also represents one of the largest sources of farm cash receipts in the country.

International trade is vital to the success of the industry. The vast majority of canola products are destined for international markets, with export value totalling $12.6 billion in 2025.

Japan is a valued customer of Canadian canola, accounting for 10% of the aforementioned total export value in 2025. More specifically, in 2025, Japan imported 1.7 million metric tons of Canadian canola seed, representing approximately 23% of all Canadian canola seed exports that year. The total export value of canola and canola products to Japan in 2025 was $1.3 billion. Of that, $1.2 billion was canola seed, together with a smaller quantity of canola oil.

Japan's use of vegetable oils for food use is very significant, representing almost two million metric tons in 2025. Current calendar year exports to Japan of Canadian canola seed through to February are just over 250,000 metric tons. For the crop year starting last August, those exports are just shy of 900,000 metric tons through to February.

Japan is a consistent and long-standing customer of Canadian canola, with export volumes ranging from just over one million metric tons to 2.3 million metric tons annually over the course of the last 10 years. This trade relationship is supported by extensive and ongoing industry-to-industry engagement between Canadian exporters and Japanese importers, buyers and processors.

There is also a long-standing bilateral canola consultative mechanism, which was originally established between the Canadian and Japanese governments and is now operated by Canadian and Japanese industry with the participation and support of both governments. As part of this consultative mechanism, there are meetings each year where representatives of the Canadian and Japanese industry come together with the participation of government representatives and other select stakeholders. In fact, this year represents the 50th year of these consultations, making it the longest running and ongoing bilateral canola trading relationship. These meetings are characterized by discussion and information sharing on a range of canola-related topics, including among them food security, production of canola, supply and demand, quality, sustainability and transportation.

By way of summary and conclusion, the Canada-Japan canola trade is a very important relationship, with Canada as a world leader in canola production and exports, and Japan a valued customer that relies on imports to meet approximately 60% of its overall food security needs. Canadian canola has worked and will continue to work to play an important part in meeting those needs.

Thank you for the opportunity to join you today. I look forward to the discussion that follows.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Thank you very much.

I neglected to mention to the committee members that the U.K. agreement the committee did extensive work on got royal assent. The Indonesia one has passed as well. That's the great work this committee does. I wanted to recognize the great work the international trade committee does and thank all of the members for the extensive co-operation they showed. It came out better as a result of us working together. Thank you to all.

Mr. McKenzie, you have six minutes.

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

Thank you, Madam Chair.

If I can, I'll start, Mr. Davison, by asking you to put the exports Canada has in the canola area to Japan into the context of our overall canola exports with our major trading partners.

[Chris Davison]

I can make a couple of comments about that. As I mentioned in my opening remarks, the overall export value of Canadian canola in 2025 was $12.6 billion. Japan represented 10% of that in terms of economic value. In terms of the proportion of seed exports, it represented 23% in 2025.

Japan is a consistent top five customer for Canadian canola and canola products, together with the United States, China, the European Union and Mexico. There are a number of other markets that are of significant interest and value to Canadian canola, many of which you'll be familiar with, like the U.A.E., Bangladesh, South Korea, Pakistan, Chile, etc.

To come back to the main point, Japan is a consistent and long-term, top five customer for Canadian canola.

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

Our major export markets are the U.S. and China.

[Chris Davison]

They are the top two markets. Together, certainly in the context of 2025, those are consistently the top two. As I said, the EU, Japan and Mexico round out the top five.

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

Most people, if not everyone, listening to this conversation today will be familiar with the events around China's restriction on imports and its tariffing position on Canadian canola as part of, let's say, aggressive trade negotiations, to try to put it somewhat gently.

Were the other markets, including markets like Japan, able to take up the slack created by the reduction in the Chinese market?

[Chris Davison]

Certainly, there were a number of factors that came together. We're always looking at a combination of market dynamics. When our number two market, in the case of China, was effectively closed to us, that had a ripple effect throughout the industry. You see a reordering of the trade that takes place, which is typically a function of a number of factors. Obviously, there's supply and demand and the relationship to price in that regard, and what our competitors are doing and whether they're having strong production or not.

We were very pleased to see a number of other markets step up in terms of the volumes they were taking of Canadian canola and canola products. I will say, collectively, we're very grateful for that, but the total volume and value represented by our top two markets cannot be made up by the other markets collectively.

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

China's position on tariffs on canola was a temporary reduction. What do you anticipate, or what are you concerned about going forward for the year ahead?

[Chris Davison]

I'll give a clarification. What we saw were two sets of tariffs in place.

One was the result of an anti-dumping investigation, and we got a final determination on that not that long ago. It saw a final determination of 5.9%, which was added to the previous 9% MFN tariffs, for a rate of 14.9%. There is no time limit on that particular set of tariffs.

There was a second set of tariffs as a result of an anti-discrimination investigation, with the result being that tariffs on canola meal, which were 100%, are suspended as of now, so they're at 0%, and that runs through to December 31, 2026. Those same tariffs remain in place for canola oil. Obviously, we will be looking to see what arrangements can be put in place to provide ongoing trade and a measure of predictability and stability for the Canadian industry beyond December 31, 2026.

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

There's uncertainty as of now, but it's a work-in-progress. Is that fair?

[Chris Davison]

That's fair.

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

Thank you.

Mr. Roy, I think you mentioned domestic infrastructure as a necessary support for your industry's export capability. Do you have a wish list that the federal government can consider to improve our domestic capacity to support your industry's exports?

[René Roy]

Yes, we do. The first thing on it is the question of railroads. We know we don't have a lot crossing our country, and when one is blocked, it becomes a huge limitation to our exportation. The fact that our products are mainly fresh means that they have to be delivered on time. Also, our consumers on the other side of the Pacific Ocean expect these products on time, so our reliability is extremely disadvantaged if we are not able to provide this.

The other one is on the labour side, making sure that we are able to find solutions to labour disputes rapidly and that they do not jeopardize our trade.

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

Prioritizing continuity of service when it comes to transportation as a matter of national importance would be one way to address that. Obviously, labour negotiations and discussions have to happen, but if they happen at the same time and we maintain a continuity of service, that would be preferable for your industry.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Could I have a brief answer, please?

[René Roy]

Yes.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Thank you.

Mr. Roy always knows how to give that short answer.

Mr. Lavoie, you have six minutes.