International Trade Committee on May 28th, 2026

[Yasir Naqvi, Liberal, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Thank you very much, Chair.

I'm going to ask maybe one or two questions and then share my time with Ms. Khalid for some follow-ups.

Mr. Larkin, thank you very much. I'm really grateful to you for sharing this information. We've been very privileged in this committee to have presentations from members of the pork and beef communities. The views are fairly consistent, and that's good to know.

You and I were having an off-line conversation earlier about the opportunities that are opening up in other parts of the world because of our efforts in trade diversification, especially in Asia. China is a big market, and Southeast Asia is a big market.

Can you speak a little about what those opportunities look like? What are some of the challenges that the sector is facing to really optimize these opportunities for meat?

[Kyle Larkin]

In Asia, it's very interesting. We have very mature markets, and we have markets that are emerging. In the mature bucket, we have Japan and South Korea, which are two of our largest customers for pork and beef products. Japan actually competes with the United States on a yearly basis to be our number one customer for pork. They're usually about $50 million or $100 million off, one way or another.

China is obviously a massive market for agri-food products globally in general. We were really pleased to see the reintroduction of beef access to the Chinese market a few months ago, but as all of you folks around the table know, our pork industry continues to be impacted by the 25% retaliatory tariffs on Canadian pork. That has cost pork processors in Canada specifically about $175 million since the imposition of those tariffs.

Market diversification is not something new to the sector, and there are great opportunities in places like Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines. There are growing markets there and growing exports. We have challenges with countries like Indonesia and Malaysia, which have high halal requirements. We do have halal-certifying bodies here in Canada that have been certified by the Indonesian authorities, for example, but we're continuing to deal with what I'll call non-tariff barriers in exporting our halal beef to Indonesia, where we were just approved for export a few months ago. That's a major potential market. We just have to get past these non-tariff barriers that we're currently dealing with.

[Yasir Naqvi, Liberal, Ottawa Centre, ON]

That's very interesting, because part of the effort through these agreements is to get rid of these non-tariff barriers. I look forward to working with you on this, because I think the halal certification piece could easily be resolved, given that our certification process aligns with their certification process. I appreciate that comment.

I'll pass the microphone to Ms. Khalid.

[Iqra Khalid, Liberal, Mississauga—Erin Mills, ON]

Thank you very much.

MP Naqvi's line of questioning is a great segue into mine.

Mr. Larkin, you represent about 90% of all the meat processing in Canada. You deliver to over 90 different markets across the world as well, not just domestic ones. When we are in the process of negotiating different trade agreements with different countries, how does your membership work with the different communities to make sure that we are not only being contextually compliant, but also living up to the standards and finding and providing trade in those new markets?

I'll give the example of Australia and New Zealand. Picking up on Mr. Naqvi's point on the halal certification process, they have been able to tap into the markets not just in beef but also in lamb in the Middle East, in a lot of the Asia-Pacific regions and even in Canada. There are some consumers here who purchase frozen beef and lamb from Australia and New Zealand to complete our markets.

I would love to know about that process of research and development of innovation to make sure that we are living up to providing delivery to the markets we're negotiating contracts with.

[Kyle Larkin]

That's a very good question. I don't think I have enough time to answer the entire question, but I would highlight two pieces for you.

One is that we have the Indo-Pacific agriculture and agri-food office, based in Manila, Philippines. It was established in 2024 with a five-year mandate and a five-year funding bucket. Our ask of the Government of Canada is to make that office permanent and grow on its success.

You mentioned the Australians and the New Zealanders. I would also mention the Americans. All three countries have had regulatory officials in all of these fast-growing Indo-Pacific markets for quite some time. For example, there have been USDA officials—U.S. Department of Agriculture officials—in every single market for a few years now. We have regulatory officials in Manila, Philippines, whose mandate is the entire Indo-Pacific, and we need to make the funding permanent in Manila and grow on that success. We need more regulatory folks in the Indo-Pacific to help us.

The second piece is that the Canadian Meat Council coordinates foreign audits to Canada on a yearly basis. For example, we just had the Dominican Republic audit here a few weeks ago. We'll have Japan's coming up in a few months. Their foreign regulatory officials come to Canada and inspect our establishments so that we can continue exporting—or even start exporting—to their countries.

There is a lot of work being done on the international stage, and we are always working hand in hand with our officials at Global Affairs, the CFIA and AAFC.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Thank you very much.

I believe there is a point of order.

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

Madam Chair, excuse me for interrupting, but I would like to clarify something.

Mr. Larkin, I just returned from a parliamentary mission to Brazil and Argentina. Earlier, you mentioned that the sanitary regulations, which are actually audited by Health Canada, had not been audited since 2018. However, that is not at all what we heard—either in Argentina or Brazil. They said they were applying the regulations and that we were monitoring them here on Canada's behalf.

[Kyle Larkin]

Can I respond to that?

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Yes, quickly.

[Kyle Larkin]

Thank you, Chair.

I looked at the information on the CFIA's website just yesterday. The last time we had our CFIA inspectors physically go to Brazil was in 2018, and for Argentina it was in 2015. They were physically in Paraguay and Uruguay in 2022, I believe.

One of the largest beef exporters in the world is Brazil, which is followed pretty closely by Argentina. Our message is to ensure we have an inspection equivalency, because our companies here in Canada spend millions of dollars a year to ensure they're CFIA-compliant—for good reason—but we need to ensure the folks importing into Canada are also CFIA-compliant.

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

They will ensure that they comply with Canadian regulations there.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Absolutely. One thing committee members did was talk beef all the time and reiterate CFIA's regulations and so forth. Rest assured that from the committee's end—and I know from the PS's end too when he does this—those issues were raised a lot in order to make sure they understood that we expect CFIA quality.

Thank you all very much for your information. We go together on these issues, and we'll see how we do this year. We're excited about moving forward on the CUSMA review, and we hope that we'll be able to solve all of the problems ahead.

I will suspend for a moment until our other witnesses come to the table.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

I'm calling the meeting back to order. Thank you very much.

Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2) and the motion adopted by the committee on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, the committee is commencing its study of international trade-related activities of certain federal entities.

We have with us today, from the Canadian Commercial Corporation, Robert Kwon, president and chief executive officer, and from Invest in Canada, Laurel Broten, chief executive officer.

Welcome very much to both of you. I apologize that we are starting a few minutes late, but we will try to catch up.

Ms. Broten, if you would like to, please give your opening remarks of up to five minutes.

[Laurel Broten, Chief Executive Officer, Invest in Canada]

Good afternoon, Madam Chair. I thank you and members of the committee for the invitation to appear today.

It's a pleasure to join you to discuss the role that Invest in Canada plays within Canada's trade portfolio and the importance of global investment as a driver of trade, growth and competitiveness.

Thank you for this opportunity to participate in your study today.

Invest in Canada's mandate is to promote, attract and facilitate foreign direct investment to support economic prosperity and drive innovation across the country.

We advance this mandate by carefully curating global marketing and outreach campaigns in target markets and by serving as a single-window entry point for global investors pursuing large-scale transformational investments in key sectors. Invest in Canada focuses on attracting new greenfield investments and large-scale capital. We also support global companies with existing Canadian footprints to make significant reinvestments and to expand or diversify their Canadian operations.

Invest in Canada provides a concierge-style service to global investors through dedicated relationship and account management. We work closely with federal, provincial and territorial partners, including the trade commissioner service and in-market partners, to deliver a coordinated and competitive Canadian value proposition and to provide seamless end-to-end service and support.

We are proud to provide partners with access to our bespoke intelligence and data portal so that they have the necessary tools to inform their investment attraction activities.

These tools ensure that partners share a consistent narrative and dataset with all international investors, regardless of the point of interaction.

As part of Canada's international trade ecosystem, Invest in Canada plays a distinct and complementary role within the portfolio by focusing exclusively on the attraction and facilitation of global investment. This work supports trade by attracting international investors whose capital, technology and networks help Canadian firms integrate into global value chains and expand exports or who in turn become global exporters from Canada themselves. In this way, investment attraction is a key enabler of trade growth.

As global trade and investment relationships evolve, diversification is becoming increasingly important, with major investors seeking resilient and balanced portfolios. In this context, Canada stands out as a reliable partner with a strong and distinct value proposition that resonates with global investors. Canada offers economic stability, the rule of law, a predictable and increasingly streamlined regulatory framework, an educated workforce, deep natural resource endowments, the best tax treatment for new business investments in the G7 and access to 1.5 billion consumers across 16 free trade agreements, representing two-thirds of global GDP.

Invest in Canada's sectors of focus are aligned with those attracting companies with strong export potential, including advanced manufacturing, extracting critical minerals and other natural resources, value-added agriculture, and energy, just to name a few, further solidifying the connection between trade and investment.

Let me highlight two examples of recent investments by global companies that will drive long-term economic growth in Canada as well as export from Canada.

The first is a large European energy company that recently invested in a Quebec-based critical minerals company. This project represents approximately $630 million U.S. in capital expenditure and has been described as essential for Canada's defence and economic security, positioning the country as a reliable domestic supplier of battery materials for the global energy transition.

The second is a recent Japanese investment in a manufacturing facility focused on producing electric vehicle battery tray enclosures. The new facility is expected to create approximately 1,000 direct jobs and is fast becoming a key part of the local ecosystem. As always, a team Canada approach was key to these investment attraction successes.

Despite Canada's achievements, it is crucial to highlight that global competition for investment is fierce. As investors evaluate the entire Canadian ecosystem, including talent, energy, infrastructure, regulatory environment and access to supply chains, a coordinated approach is an increasingly robust Canadian value proposition that will always be essential.

Let me conclude with this: Investment is a win-win. Canada offers what global investors are seeking, and attracting strategic global investments will continue to enhance Canada's integration into global markets, strengthen economic resilience, support sustainable long-term growth and drive increased export well into the future.

Thank you very much. I look forward to answering your questions.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Thank you very much.

Go ahead, Mr. Kwon.

[Robert Kwon, President and Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Commercial Corporation]

Good afternoon, everyone.

Madam Chair and honourable members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today.

In today's global environment, marked by geopolitical realignment and ongoing disruption across critical supply chains, countries are actively seeking trusted, reliable partners. This creates a clear opportunity for Canada to lead.

For 80 years, the Canadian Commercial Corporation has supported Canadian exporters and strengthened bilateral trade relationships through our government-to-government contracting model. With our expertise in international government procurement and contract negotiations, CCC plays a unique role in the Government of Canada. We work alongside EDC financing and insurance and Global Affairs Canada's network to support Canadian exporters selling to governments abroad.

We provide support to Canadian exporters from the beginning of their contract journey to the end by helping them navigate complex markets, by streamlining contract administration and by working closely with Canadian exporters and foreign government buyers to address and mitigate risks. Our contracts are backed by the Government of Canada, so foreign government buyers can trust that they will be delivered as agreed upon.

What we do translates into real economic benefits for Canada. Over the past five years, CCC has signed $17 billion in export contracts for Canadian exporters, with more than $4 billion signed last year alone. In addition to these signed contracts, we are actively managing a contract portfolio with a value of about $10 billion. We expect these exports to sustain more than 41,000 jobs in Canada over the next five years.

CCC operates through three business lines. The first is the defence production sharing agreement, or DPSA. Our key public policy mandate is administrating the DPSA on behalf of the Government of Canada. This defence trade agreement enshrines Canada as part of the U.S. domestic military supply base, which enables Canadian exporters to sell goods and services to the United States Department of Defense on equal footing with their U.S.-based competitors.

We receive a parliamentary appropriation for this business line, and services are offered free of charge to Canadian exporters. Last year, we delivered an exceptional return on our parliamentary appropriation: For every dollar of the appropriation, CCC signed $139 in export contracts.

Canadian defence exporters rely on this privileged access to the U.S. defence market, the largest in the world, to build capacity and to expand additional global markets. Through strategic and concerted efforts to expand our reach across branches of the U.S. Department of Defense, the DPSA has seen a 22% compound annual growth rate over the past five years, with opportunities for Canadian exporters in such diverse sectors as food, medical supplies, construction supplies and even snowplows.

Our second business line is referred to as international prime contracting, or IPC. As Canada advances its trade diversification, CCC is uniquely positioned to help Canadian exporters navigate uncertainty and capture high-value global opportunities through our IPC business line. It's a key driver of export diversification and growth. It's an important tool to support Canada's goal to double non-U.S. trade by 2035. IPC enables government-to-government contracting in sectors of national importance, such as aerospace, nuclear, agriculture and defence.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Could you complete your presentation, Mr. Kwon? We're running over time.

[Robert Kwon]

I'll conclude by highlighting one key example where CCC exemplifies the work in support of diversifying Canada's trade.

Last year, after more than five years of negotiations, CCC delivered a truly historic contract that strengthens Canada-EU ties and brings back an iconic Canadian aircraft. We signed a contract with six EU countries for the sale of 22 Canadian-built amphibious firefighting aircraft from De Havilland Canada. That will lead to 500 jobs directly and more than 3,000 jobs throughout its supply chain. CCC was involved from the very beginning of this very complicated contract. We're very pleased to support this important Canadian exporter.

In closing, honourable members, in an increasingly uncertain world, Canada's reputation as a trusted partner is one of our greatest competitive advantages. CCC exists to turn that reputation into results for Canadian businesses, for Canadian workers and for the Canadian economy.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Thank you both very much.

We'll go to Mr. Mantle for six minutes, please.

[Jacob Mantle, Conservative, York—Durham, ON]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you to our witnesses for appearing and providing the committee with valuable testimony.

My questions will be for Ms. Broten.

I'm going to ask you a few questions about your most recent report. You called it the best performance in a decade. Is that correct?

[Laurel Broten]

Are you speaking to the 2024 report?

[Jacob Mantle, Conservative, York—Durham, ON]

Yes, your most recent report.

[Laurel Broten]

Yes.

[Jacob Mantle, Conservative, York—Durham, ON]

You said you focused on new greenfield investment. Could you tell me what percentage of FDI in Canada was new greenfield investment, expansions of productive capacity or additions of machinery, equipment and IP?

[Laurel Broten]

Our focus at Invest in Canada is on the largest, most transformative investment. On the greenfield investment side, we would work with areas of priority for the federal government.

I'll give you an example of that. Vianode—