Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne now considers refining the high-value critical minerals as "name of the game" for Canada, better than just shipping them as raw materials.
The “Canada Strong” Budget 2025 he presented offers a rare chance to rewire our trade strategy for the realities of a changing global economy. Acknowledging the limits of relying on a few export markets and a handful of commodities, the government can prioritize to invest $5 billion through its new Trade Diversification Corridors Fund to open new routes to market.
But if “shifting from reliance to resilience” is to mean more than a slogan, Ottawa must rethink what we export, not just where it goes. That means moving from raw materials to value-added goods — creating more jobs, innovation and revenue at home instead of sending those opportunities overseas.
Our economy still leans too heavily on unprocessed exports: logs rather than engineered timber, crude oil rather than refined fuels, and bulk grains rather than finished foods. The result is predictable — other countries capture the value that Canadians deserve to create.
Nowhere is this clearer than in agriculture. Canada produces about 30% of global lentils and 40% of global peas, exporting to over 120 countries. This production capacity and expertise in sustainable pulse cultivation uniquely position Canada to support global food security efforts through trade, technology transfer, and innovation in plant-based protein processing. In 2024, Canada exported over $100 billion in agriculture and food products, much of it as bulk grains, oilseeds and pulses. These are the building blocks of global nutrition, but they are also the raw feedstock for someone else’s processing industry. The real value — in branding, packaging and nutrition enhancement — happens elsewhere.
The future of Canada’s agri-food exports lies in finished, protein-based products that reflect our strengths in plant agriculture and food science. Instead of shipping peas, lentils and chickpeas by the tonnage, we should be exporting the foods made from them — high-protein flours, textured plant proteins, fortified meal mixes and ready-to-eat foods for humanitarian and commercial markets.
This is not an abstract vision. Canada’s contribution in international aid especially to the World Food Programme (WFP) was reportedly US $222 million as of September this year alone. The WFP does purchase and distribute fortified flour, canned legumes and vegetable oil in global aid operations. If Canada, with its international aid package comprising a significant contribution to WFP, could supply more of these processed, shelf-ready products — whether through humanitarian channels or concessional trade — we would keep more value at home while improving the nutritional quality of the world’s food supply.
A pro–value-added trade strategy would rest on three clear pillars:
First, link infrastructure and export incentives to processing. Tax credits, grants and tariff rebates should reward companies that demonstrate measurable increases in domestic processing and value retention.
Second, build regional manufacturing hubs near resource and transport corridors — for example, advanced wood-product clusters in B.C. and Quebec and protein-food processing zones across the Prairies. This would spread economic benefits and reduce transportation costs.
Third, refocus Canada’s trade promotion apparatus. Export Development Canada and Global Affairs Canada should prioritize market-entry support for processed Canadian products and brands — not just bulk commodities — and share risk for Canadian firms entering new markets.
Critics sometimes warn that value-added policies could distort prices or look like protectionism. But the goal is not to wall off our markets; it is to give producers a viable higher-value option when global commodity prices fall. In energy and resource sectors, any downstream investments must be tied to environmental standards and clean-tech innovation.
Budget 2025 provides both money and mandate for diversification. What’s needed now is focus — turning investment into transformation. Canada’s brand is trusted worldwide for quality, safety and sustainability. By exporting finished, branded products rather than unprocessed commodities, we can leverage that reputation for greater economic and social return.
If we continue shipping grain and importing branded foods, we are effectively selling the ingredients and buying back the ready meal. It’s time to close that loop. Canada can — and should — lead in exporting finished, nutritious, plant-based foods that meet the world’s growing demand for sustainable protein.
That would be the practical meaning of “Canada Strong”: not just more exports, but smarter ones — keeping more of the value, skills and innovation inside our borders.