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Canola exporters book China sales, possibly weakening Ottawa’s hardline stance Canadian exporters are making small sales of canola to China under Beijing’s stricter terms, an industry group and three sources said, possibly undermining Ottawa’s hardline negotiating stance with the world’s top market for the oilseed. The dispute over the new shipping standard, which industry groups in the world’s biggest canola …

Hunting for Diamonds Under Canada’s Frozen Tundra On the semi-frozen surface of Faraday Lake in Canada’s subarctic, two diamond rigs are drilling around the clock. It’s spring breakup north of the 63rd parallel, which means the Kennady Diamonds Inc. exploration team is running out of time. “It’s starting to candle,” says geologist Martina Bezzola, scuffing her rubber boot over the …

EU, Canada reach breakthrough on CETA trade deal The EU and Canada have announced a breakthrough towards completing the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) – a controversial free trade pact that is now likely to come into force next year. EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström and Canada’s Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland said in a statement Monday that the legal …

EDC earmarks CAD 750 M for Canadian SMEs in oil and gas sector Export Development Canada (EDC) today announced it will make up to CAD 750M of financial capacity available to Canadian companies to help support the Canadian oil and gas sector (O&G) during this challenging time. “The prolonged downturn in the price of oil has had a profound impact …

How can startups become billion-dollar firms? Ottawa studying advice The federal government is closely studying recommendations on how to help Canadian tech startups grow into global success stories —transformations that could eventually provide a boost for the ailing economy. The findings of a recent report are under analysis by the Liberal government, which has also been told internally that building …

Canada failing to market itself to auto makers, expert says Canada has competitive advantages when it comes to car manufacturing, but falls short in marketing itself and needs to change a key element of the incentive package offered to global auto makers, says Ray Tanguay, the special auto adviser to the federal and Ontario governments. Those advantages include lower taxes …

There are big business opportunities for Canadians in Iran With Ottawa’s bilateral sanctions expected to be lifted soon, Canadian businesses should be considering if they should do business in Iran. After all, it is not often that a new opportunity appears on the world stage, especially one with 70 million people. Several European countries have already had trade missions to …

Why travel the world with samples if Canada’s goods aren’t available? Allan Gotlieb is senior business adviser at Bennett Jones LLP, a former Canadian ambassador to the United States and undersecretary of state for external affairs. Matthew Kronby is international trade and investment partner at Bennett Jones LLP and former head of the federal Trade Law Bureau. More than a …

Sherbrooke’s Exo-s expands operations and business internationally with the help of $4 M in financing from EDC Export Development Canada (EDC) today announced a previously dispersed CAD 4 M in financing for Sherbrooke, Quebec’s Exo-s, a supplier of molded plastic parts primarily for the auto sector. “We’ve heard from an overwhelming number of Canadian companies about how difficult it is …

15 % more Canadian SMEs use EDC export guarantee in 2015 for international sales Export Guarantee Program surpasses CAD 1 billion mark (OTTAWA) – February 2, 2016 More than 630 small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) used Export Development Canada’s (EDC) Export Guarantee Program (EGP) in 2015,  a 15 per cent over  2014. The increase was driven, in part, by an …