Speech From Throne 

January 30, 2001

For Canada the facts are clear: liberalized trade means jobs and economic growth! It means new investment in Canada. It means new opportunities for Canadian entrepreneurs to do business abroad.

One out of 3 Canadian jobs depends directly on trade. Every $1 billion in exports creates or sustains 11,000 jobs here at home. Canada’s export of goods and services accounts for 45% of its GDP, up from 26% a decade ago.

International investments are also a major contributor to our economy and create good jobs for Canadians. Over the first nine months of year 2000, New Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Canada reached a record high of $46.7 billion, up 79% compared to the same period the year before.

Above all, Canada values freer trade not as an end in itself, but as a means to a much more important end: Building a better quality of life for our people -- indeed for peoples around the world.

Our strategic investments in innovation, skills and connectivity, as well as in improvements to our quality of life, have contributed to making Canada a North American magnet for new investment, new ventures, new ideas and talent.

.And we have worked energetically and creatively with the provinces, territories and municipalities, business leaders and other organizations to promote Canadian exports and attract international capital.

A Record of Achievement

The Prime Minister has led six international trade missions, including five Team Canada missions -- helping more than 1,800 representatives of Canadian businesses and organizations gain access to international decision makers and markets directly contributing to more than 890 deals worth $24.4 billion.

Team Canada 2001 will depart for China in a few weeks.

We joined Mexico and the United States in NAFTA. We have concluded free trade agreements with Chile and Israel. We are champions of freer trade in the Asia Pacific region.

And Canada is driving force behind a Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) Agreement, currently under negotiation, which will further increase opportunities for Canadian exporters in sectors such as agriculture and manufacturing.

We believe a FTAA wil not only be a pillar of enhanced hemispheric prosperity but also a cornerstone on which the nations of the Americas will be able to deepen democracy and enhance social and economic inclusion.

In 1999, we established the Canada-US Partnership (CUSP), a process to streamline border policies and management, expand cooperation to increase efficiency in customs, immigration and law enforcement.

We look forward to working with the new US Administration on how we can strengthen our trade relationship–already the largest in the world..

2001 SFT Commitments

We will continue to ensure a supportive environment for investment in Canada by:

• Continuing to ensure that Canadian laws and regulations, including those for protection of intellectual property and for competitiveness, remain among the most modern and progressive in the world;
• Reintroducing legislation to promote a strong and efficient financial services sector.

We will work with the United States to maintain secure and efficient access to each other’s markets and continue the work begun to modernize the shared border;

• At the Summit of the Americas in Québec City this April, we will advance work towards creating the Free Trade Area of the Americas; and
• We will launch an investment branding strategy to raise awareness of the advantages of investing in Canada. As part of this effort, the Government will continue its successful Team Canada trade missions and launch Investment Team Canada missions to the US and Europe.