Mr. Speaker, I rise today with a bit of a heavy heart. I want to take a moment to acknowledge the passing of Cardigan fire chief Tony VandenBroek.
Tony is gone way too soon. Chief Tony was a dedicated leader and committed volunteer in his community. His decades of service reflect his courage, compassion and unwavering commitment to keeping others safe.
I also want to express my appreciation for the important discussions I had with representatives of the Canadian Volunteer Fire Services Association this week in Ottawa. Its support is crucial to supporting firefighters, such as Tony, who protect our communities.
I say to Chief VandenBroek's family, his fellow firefighters and everyone else who is feeling the loss, my thoughts are with them. May Tony rest in peace.
I rise today with pride to speak about the importance of international trade to the people of Prince Edward Island. Ambition, creativity and determination span this province from tip to tip. This is something that may be a bit of a challenge for me because I came from the supply-managed sectors, and all the trade deals, although they bring common good to the country, have carved away some of my industry, but I support free trade. That is why I am standing here today to speak to it.
Islanders know the value of hard work. It is their love of the land and the sea that lays that foundation. Whether it is running tractors through the fields in eastern P.E.I., hauling traps in Morell or serving customers at the local shops in Georgetown, farmers, fishers and manufacturers are producing traditional world-class commodities with care and ingenuity. They are not just feeding families on the island; they are also feeding Canada and the world. They are not just crafting goods; they are creating excellence that stretches far beyond our red shores to all corners of the globe.
Islanders understand that trade is not an abstract policy. It is more than just numbers on a spreadsheet or lines on a ledger. Trade is about people. It is about the hands that haul the lobster traps, the families who farm the potato fields and the innovators who turn local knowledge and creativity into a global opportunity. In today's fast-changing global economy, for Islanders to be competitive and to succeed, P.E.I. businesses need further access and expansion across the global industry.
Trade diversification is not just a government policy priority, but a necessity for economic sustainability. Too often smaller economies, like ours in Atlantic Canada, become vulnerable when we rely too heavily on one or two export destinations. We have seen, time and again, how a single border delay, a newly imposed tariff or an unexpected policy shift can ripple across an entire province and significantly impact an entire industry.
That is why agreements like the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, or CPTPP, and Canada's vast network of trade agreements are so vital for Prince Edward Island's future. The CPTPP opens doors to fast-growing markets across the Asia-Pacific region in countries such as New Zealand, Vietnam, Malaysia, and now, with this legislation, the United Kingdom. It provides clarity in trade rules, lowers tariffs and offers fair access for our exporters. It gives our potato growers, seafood processors, bioscience innovators and small business producers the pathways and tools to reach new customers.
Islanders are proud of what we make and produce. We farm responsibly. We fish sustainably. We innovate with excellence. The world is noticing. There is a growing demand for P.E.I. seafood, our world-famous potatoes, our bioscience, technology and research, and the creativity of our local artists, storytellers and musicians who perform for audiences from all over the world.
However, global demand alone is not enough. We need agreements that open doors and the infrastructure and policies to help Islanders walk through them. That is where our Prime Minister's announcement comes in. It is a bold, transformative goal to double Canada's non-U.S. exports over the next decade. Doubling our non-U.S. exports means diversifying where we sell, what we sell and how we sell it. This means a pathway to resilience, growth and independence, and with agreements, such as with the U.K. accession, being strengthened, we would have the tools to make that vision a reality.
For decades, our island economy, like much of Canada's economy, has relied heavily on a single market. That partnership with our friends and neighbours to the south will always remain important to us, but if we want to secure our long-term prosperity and independence, we must broaden our reach. It means finding new customers for island seafood on other islands around the world, like Japan or Singapore. It means showcasing our clean tech and bioscience innovations in the U.K. and Australia. It means putting P.E.I. products on tables and in markets around the world. The CPTPP is one of the key tools that would help us achieve that goal.
When we talk about doubling the exports, we are talking about creating new markets for our producers, reducing risk and building resilience. That is what this legislation is about. It is about building the future of communities on Prince Edward Island.
Why does this matter so much to P.E.I.? It matters because P.E.I. is an export province. Over 90% of what we produce, we export. Our success depends on our ability to move products beyond our shores, whether it is by truck across the Confederation Bridge, by plane, by ship across the Atlantic Ocean or even by digital connection. By connecting our producers to new global customers, we would be taking concrete steps toward doubling our non-U.S. exports, strengthening both local jobs and Canada's presence on the world stage. When island seafood, farm crops or manufactured goods find buyers in Europe or Asia, that success flows back home. It means more young people choosing to stay to build their futures on P.E.I. and in Atlantic Canada.
Trade diversification is also about resilience. Through building relationships with multiple partners, we provide businesses with options and workers with stability. This is how we protect the prosperity that generations of Islanders have worked so hard to build and maintain. The CPTPP, especially with the inclusion of the United Kingdom, reinforces the kind of trade values Canada believes in, which are fair, inclusive and sustainable trade.
These values are also important to Islanders. It is trade that upholds high standards for labour, strong environmental protections and clear digital commerce rules, all areas where Canada and our province of P.E.I. can lead. Our exporters do not want to compete by lowering standards. They want to compete by raising them, by offering better quality, better sustainability and better reliability.
Now, what would this mean in practice for P.E.I.? It would mean new market opportunities for our seafood industry. It would mean a stronger platform for our agri-food producers, from potato growers to the entrepreneurs turning local ingredients into global products. It would mean momentum for our bioscience cluster, one of the fastest-growing sectors in Atlantic Canada, where firms are developing health solutions that are already reaching overseas markets. It would also mean a brighter future for our tourism and cultural industries because trade is not only about goods; it is also about ideas, creativity and people-to-people connections.
When the Prime Minister set the goal to double Canada's non-U.S. exports, the Prime Minister sent a clear signal that every province and territory has a role to play. We all need to step up our game, and I know we can. For Prince Edward Island, this is an opportunity to show what our island can achieve with big ambition. Now with the CPTPP and the inclusion of the U.K., we would have another framework and the improved access it needs to grow. This is how we will reach that goal, by combining national leadership with local initiative and global ambition with island pride.
This bill is about nation building through new partnership opportunities. By ratifying the United Kingdom's accession to the CPTPP, we would help ensure that Islanders can continue to make a substantial impact on the world stage. We would strengthen our ability to export sustainable and high-quality products, exactly what we do best. We would ensure that the next generation of Islanders inherits a strong economy, one that continues the legacy of quality products.
Let us support this legislation for the benefit of our national economy and for every Islander whose work, creativity and resilience deserves to be a strong player on the world stage. When P.E.I. succeeds, Canada succeeds and when Canada trades with the world, our communities become stronger.