OTTAWA - Canada’s international trade minister is in Ireland this week, marking a decade of the Canada-EU trade deal and looking for ways to widen it. The Honourable Maninder Sidhu, Minister of International Trade, is in Dublin today to meet his European Union (EU) trade counterparts, celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the signature of CETA and explore future opportunities for Canada and the EU.
CETA, the Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, is Canada’s free trade deal with the 27-country European Union, the agreement that underpins Canadian exporters’ access to a market of more than 450 million people. Global Affairs Canada says the relationship is reinforced and driven by CETA, which delivers strong economic growth for Canadians.
Ten years of growth in the numbers
The figures Ottawa is taking to Dublin are the core of the anniversary pitch. Bilateral merchandise trade between Canada and the EU has grown by more than 78% since CETA came into effect, and trade in services has grown by nearly 90%. The EU is Canada’s second-largest global trading partner for goods and services, with two-way trade valued at approximately $178 billion in 2025.
The momentum has continued this year. From January to August 2026, Canada’s merchandise exports to the EU grew by almost 21%, and the government says Canada’s trade with the EU has grown faster than its trade with the rest of the world.
“In a more uncertain world, CETA has given Canadian businesses something invaluable: reliable access to a market of over 450 million people,” Sidhu said in the release. He noted that trade in goods between Canada and the EU has grown by more than 78% to $135 billion, while trade in services has grown by 90%.
Who Sidhu is meeting in Dublin
At a CETA anniversary event in Dublin, Sidhu will be joined by Maroš Šefčovič, the EU Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security, and Helen McEntee, Ireland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade. The three will underscore CETA’s role in supporting the growing Canada-EU commercial partnership and its benefits for job creation and economic development on both sides of the Atlantic, with a focus on deepening cooperation in economic security, supply chain resilience, clean technology, critical minerals, defence and other areas.
Sidhu will also hold bilateral meetings with several European trade ministers, including McEntee, Šefčovič and Wolfgang Hattmannsdorfer, Austria’s Minister for Economy, Energy and Tourism. In a separate meeting with Anže Logar, Slovenia’s Minister of the Economy, Labour and Sport, Sidhu will welcome Slovenia’s recent ratification of CETA and highlight the commercial relationship between Canada and Slovenia.
While in Dublin, Sidhu will also further engage on the Canada-EU Digital Trade Agreement negotiations. Ottawa says a digital trade agreement would help Canadian companies operating in Europe by providing improved regulatory predictability, and would support interoperability of digital technologies and services with the EU.
Next stop, the Montréal summit
The Dublin visit sets the stage for the upcoming Canada-EU Summit in Montréal, Quebec, on October 29 and 30, where Canada and the EU will strengthen their partnership. Sidhu said he is in Dublin to continue building momentum as the two sides deepen that partnership ahead of next week’s summit.
Why it matters in Surrey
None of the Dublin meetings name British Columbia, but the doors being pushed open there are the same ones Surrey businesses trade through. CETA access to the EU market matters to Canadian exporters generally, and Surrey’s economy includes import and export businesses, food processing, manufacturing and logistics operations that sell into overseas markets, including a large South Asian business community with deep international trading ties. For those firms, a bigger and more predictable EU market, and a digital trade agreement that makes it easier for Canadian companies to operate in Europe, translate into more potential customers on the other side of the Atlantic without leaving the Lower Mainland.
The anniversary framing also lands at a useful moment for local exporters reviewing where their next market is. With Canada’s exports to the EU growing almost 21% in the first eight months of 2026, Ottawa’s message in Dublin is that the European door is open wider than it was a decade ago, and that it intends to keep pushing.
Sources: Global Affairs Canada news release, “Minister Sidhu to join EU counterparts in Ireland to build on CETA’s success and unlock new opportunities for Canadian businesses,” October 22, 2026.
