An estimated US$25 trillion will be needed by 2030 to sustain growth among large and mid-sized economies alike in the Indo-Pacific region.
Now that the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) has been put in force, Canada should be aggressively seeking to take advantage of this economic opportunity, says the Macdonald-Laurier Institute.
To highlight these issues and explore what role Canada may play in the region, MLI recently hosted an event with several experts from like-minded countries to discuss.
Bart Édes, a former official of the Asian Development Bank and a distinguished fellow with the Asia-Pacific Foundation in Canada weighed in on the importance of diversification in Canada’s international trade partners.
“About 70 percent of Canada’s trade is with the United States. Canada is very dependent on the US economy,” he says, “For a lot of Canadian businesses, especially smaller and medium-size enterprises, it’s quite comfortable having such a large market, one that speaks English and is geographically close right next door. But in the last four years, there’s been a bit of a wakeup call about that kind of dependence.”
Asian economies are a vast, largely untapped market as Canada looks to find its footing in post-pandemic world.
