Executive Summary:

One year ago, Canada released its first ever Africa strategy, marking a major milestone in Canada’s relationship with the continent and recognizing Africa as a key economic and strategic partner. One year later, the key question remains: has Canada turned its Africa strategy into action?

Amid growing geopolitical instability and economic uncertainty, trade diversification has become a priority for Canada’s new government under Prime Minister Mark Carney. As a result, the government pledged to double non-U.S. over the next 10 years. In that context, Canada has taken steps to strengthen engagement with Africa. These including nominating a Permanent Observer to the African Union, planning to open new embassies in several African countries, and expanding direct flights linking Canada with major African cities.

Despite these developments, Canada-Africa trade remains extremely limited. Less than 1% of Canadian exports go to African markets, highlighting the untapped potential of stronger economic ties. At the same time, proposed cuts to international assistance risk undermining the strategy’s development and security goals, particularly in fragile and low-income countries where support helps stabilise communities and save lives.

Canada’s Africa Strategy is ambitious and represents a step in the right direction. But to fully realize its potential, Canada must move quickly from intention to implementation. That means pursuing high-level diplomatic visits to Africa, releasing a clear implementation plan with measurable goals, and most importantly, backing the strategy with meaningful financial investment. If the government wants to achieve its stated goal of doubling non-U.S. trade in the next decade, Africa should not be overlooked. Moving the Canada Africa strategy from intention to action is crucial.

Key Findings:

• If Canadian businesses seize the continent’s potential, they could double their exports to African countries over the next 10 years, reaching $13 billion by 2035.
• Canadian importers could also double how much they source from African countries over the next 10 years, reaching $20.9 billion by 2035, supporting their economic development while providing more choices to Canadian consumers.

Policy Recommendations:

Canada should act immediately by:

• Organizing a high-level trade mission to Africa led by the Prime Minister to strengthen economic partnerships and deepen investment ties.
• Releasing a clear implementation plan for the Canada-Africa Strategy with measurable targets, including goals for increasing two-way trade and investment.
• Attaching funds to the Canada-Africa Strategy, following the model of Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy, which committed $3.2 billion to expand economic engagement in the region.
• Implementing the diaspora engagement mechanism outlined in the Canada-Africa strategy.

In the long-term, Canada could:

• Mandate Export Development Canada (EDC) to support SMEs operating in Canada and in Africa like it did for the Indo-Pacific Strategy, a Canadian success story in terms of economic engagement with a region. Replicating the successes and lessons learned of the Indo-Pacific Strategy is crucial to maximize impact on Canada’ strategy in Africa.
• Explore pathways for deeper trade integration between Canada and Africa, including the possibility of engaging selected African Countries in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.
• Consider launching negotiations to implement a full-scale Free Trade Agreement with one or more of Africa’s largest economies.

This work and the full report was Elise Legault, Mohamed Khalil Larhrib and Ciuriak Consulting.

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Key Data

Actual (2024) and potential (2035) Imports of manufactured, agri-food and mined goods between Canada and Africa (CAD billions)

Year	Region	Flow	Manufactured Goods	Agri-food Products	Mined Goods	Total
2024	Africa	Imports	2.23	1.87	5.87	9.97
2035	Africa	Imports	5.79	3.43	11.65	20.87

Actual (2024) and potential (2035) Exports of manufactured, agri-food and mined goods between Canada and Africa (CAD billions)

Year	Region	Flow	Manufactured Goods	Agri-food Products	Mined Goods	Total
2024	Africa	Exports	2.61	2.72	0.89	6.22
2035	Africa	Exports	5.54	5.63	1.83	13.00

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