Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure to stand in the House to talk about Bill C-79, which is finally coming to fruition later this afternoon, to ratify the comprehensive and progressive agreement on the trans-Pacific partnership. Unfortunately it is disappointing that it has taken the Liberal government this long to get to this point.
Throughout the parliamentary session, the Conservative Party of Canada has given the Liberals ample opportunities to get this agreement ratified as quickly as possible. I recall earlier this winter, we outlined a process for them to expedite the approval of the CPTPP. Later in the spring, we tabled a motion to ratify the CPTPP immediately. Earlier this summer, the leader of the official opposition put forward a letter to the Prime Minister asking him to ask the Speaker to recall Parliament as quickly possible so we could ratify this agreement. Every single step of the way, the Liberal government and the NDP blocked these opportunities.
I want to emphasize what we potentially could have risked. We may not have been one of the first signatories to this unprecedented trade agreement that would bring Canadian industries, including agriculture and energy, more than 500 million new customers. This is what was at risk. We had to be one of the first six countries to ratify this agreement. Once the first six countries ratify the TPP, it is enacted within 60 days.
Let us put this into perspective. Had we not been, or we may not be yet, one of those first six countries, that is like going to the prom without a date, then asking for a dance once the music has started and everyone's dance card is already full. We would be sitting on the sidelines. It is very difficult to break into those markets once the trade agreements and side agreements are already made.
I have to emphasize through history just how important trade agreements have been. The previous Conservative government realized how important free trade agreements were. Prior to coming to office, Canada had free trade agreements with four countries. Over the 10 years under the previous Conservative government, we signed free trade agreements with more than 50 countries. The Canadian economy has felt the benefits of those free trade agreements in every level of the economy.
The Pacific region continues to experience among the fastest growth in the world. This is an incredible opportunity for Canadian industries, agriculture and energy to be part of the gem of this agreement, Japan, as well as fast and growing lucrative markets like Malaysia and Vietnam. The CPTPP will reduce tariffs in countries that represent 13% of the global economy. That is $10 trillion in GDP. This will create new opportunities and benefits for Canadian businesses, workers and consumers.
The CPTPP has the potential to boost Canadian income by more than $20 billion over the next decade. If we wait, Canadian firms risk losing jobs, opportunities, advantages and certainly will impact their supply lines. We cannot delay this any further. The risk to the Canadian economy is simply too great. We must be among the first countries to ratify this agreement so we can be part of those first opportunities.
That was why we urged the Liberals to table this legislation as soon as possible. That was why earlier this year we outlined a process to expedite the approval process, why we tabled the unanimous motion last spring to ratify the CPTPP and why we asked the Prime Minister to bring this back this summer.
The new and preferential access under the CPTPP is projected to provide Canadian exporters with tariff savings of $428 million a year, with the bulk of those exports coming to Japan at a total of $338 million.
I cannot stress enough how important this agreement is to Canada's agriculture sector and certainly to the farmers, ranchers and food processors in my riding of Foothills. The stakes for Canadian producers are high. They are high because of the damage the Liberal government has done with our foreign affairs and irritating our trusted trading partners.
Our agriculture sector has lost vital trading markets like India for our lentils and pulses and Italy for our durum wheat. Certainly now with NAFTA hanging by a thread, we are at risk of losing the United States, our number one trading partner. At every opportunity, the Liberal government has antagonized the United States administration by constantly tabling progressive social value domestic issues that have nothing to do with an economic agreement.
That is why we are in an incredibly weak negotiating position when it comes to NAFTA, which makes the CPTPP that much more important. We need to ratify this agreement so we would not only have those additional 800 million customers, but also have important leverage in the negotiations with the United States on NAFTA. I cannot express that enough. For example, Japan is Canada's third-largest export market for agri-food products. That amounted to almost $4 billion in trade in 2016 alone. Tariff cuts by Japan and Vietnam over five years could increase our annual exports of canola by $780 million and our beef exports by $380 million and our pork exports by $639 million. That the United States is out of the CPTPP makes those markets that much more lucrative. The opportunities for Canadian agriculture are incredible. With the tariff-free savings, our wheat and barley exports to Japan could go up by $167 million; our pork products by $51 million, our beef by $21 million, and our wood products $32 million.
These products are essential pillars of the economy in my riding of Foothills. The tariff-free access to the markets like Japan would be felt throughout my riding. It would be felt at Cargill meats in High River, which employs 4,000 people; by the farmer in Claresholm; by the farm-implement dealer in Pincher Creek, and certainly by the ranchers in the municipal district of Ranchland. This would be felt in every single corner of my riding.
According to research commissioned by the Canadian Agri-food Trade Alliance, the TPP would increase agri-food exports by $1.84 billion. Not being part of the TPP could cost Canadian agriculture almost $3 billion. There is simply no choice; we have to be part of this agreement. The agri-food sector is the biggest job creator in Canada, creating more than $2.1 million jobs and contributing 6.7% to Canada's GDP. To put that more simply, one in five jobs in Canada and 60% of our country's GDP are directly linked to exports.
As Conservatives, we understand the profound benefits of these free trade agreements. In fact, the TPP was negotiated by the previous Conservative government and very little of the language in the previous agreement has changed compared with what we are seeing here. What has changed is the delay after delay to achieve very minimal wording changes in the title. That has put our Canadian economy at risk for almost nothing.
There are incredible opportunities in the TPP, but unfortunately other opportunities would go unrealized. Not only is Japan looking for a secure supply of agri-food and agricultural products, but also for a secure supply of Canadian energy. It looks to Canada as a place of political stability, a place where it could have a reliable supply. While the trans-Pacific partnership would give us those opportunities, unfortunately the Liberal government has failed to provide the critical infrastructure to ensure that we can get our energy products to market and access those Asian opportunities.
The most critical piece of infrastructure was already approved and ready to go, with the northern gateway pipeline, but the Liberals made a political decision to cancel that pipeline, and now we have seen them bungle a second opportunity with the Trans Mountain expansion. Not only have they bungled that opportunity, but Canadian taxpayers are now on the hook for that pipeline at $4.8 billion and counting.
On the one hand, we have incredible opportunities when it comes to agriculture and agri-food producers across the country, and certainly in my riding of Foothills. On the other hand, I am concerned about those incredible missed opportunities that would help people in our energy sector in Alberta and across the country. Because of mismanagement by the Liberal government, we will not be able to take advantage of those opportunities that would put thousands of people back to work.