Canada-China free trade must benefit Canadian ‘workers’, says new Beijing envoy
OTTAWA — Canada’s Beijing-bound ambassador says the government will have to sell any possible Canada-China free trade to Canadian workers in order to overcome rising anti-trade sentiment.
John McCallum says he’s aware of the populist anger towards liberalized trade in the Western world.
While he’d like to see negotiations move forward, McCallum says Canadians will need to see tangible economic benefits — new jobs, in particular.
McCallum cites tourism as a potential growth sector if Canada can attract even a fraction of the hundreds of millions of Chinese travellers that are estimated to be venturing abroad in the next five years.