International Trade

International trade is a vital contributor to economic growth, productivity, and investment. It also supports many well-paying, high skilled jobs all across Canada. International trade has always been important for Canada, with exports being one of the main drivers of the economy since the mid-1800s. Today, one out of every five jobs in Canada is directly linked to exports.

Although Canada's international trade has primarily been defined by the natural resources, agriculture and manufacturing sectors, the services sectors is growing in importance. According to the World Trade Organization (WTO), international trade in insurance and pension services has grown at an annual rate of eight percent over the last ten years. Over the past 15 years, world exports of financial services have tripled while Canadian exports have quadrupled.

Canadian life and health insurers are strongly supportive of efforts to increase Canada’s international trade footprint, and agreements such as the recently concluded Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) are an important step in the right direction.

This position paper briefly describes the benefit of trade in financial services to Canada, the participation of our insurance companies in foreign markets, and the policy directions the Canadian government should take to promote and facilitate trade, particularly for financial services.

A Canadian Success Story : Promoting Trade in Life and Health Insurance