Canada needs to "step up its game in Asia," according to an April 17 report by the University of Calgary's School of Public Policy.
Canada is not well positioned to take advantage of the promising growth in Asia and other emerging-market economies, the report said, due to Canada's lack of a strong strategy for dealing with these countries. While the recent signing of the Canada-South Korea trade agreement was a step in the right direction, much work is still needed.
Wendy Dobson, professor at the Rotman School of Management and author of the study, said Canada needs a "strategic framework to replace the ad hoc, warm and cool politics and economics of the past few years."
In order to become part of the new economic reality, Canada needs to stop relying on the United States for most of its trade. Dobson argues that other countries are aware of Canada's lack of presence on the world stage, particularly China.
"It has not escaped notice among the Chinese that Canada has been largely absent from the Asian region and its institutions in recent years, relying only on the inertia of a few longstanding bilateral relationships," the report reads.
"An occasional visit to China by Canada's prime minister is not an encouraging sign — for Canada or China — of the Canadian government's commitment to building a more robust relationship, particularly when other countries have ongoing dialogue with China at the highest levels."
Dobson said the solution would include participating in regional institutions in Asia to help boost Canada's brand and enforcing adherence to Canadian standards by all firms investing in Canada.
The full report can be found here.
