Canada has signed multiple trade and investment agreements, opening markets and deepening alliances around the world. But an agreement acts more as an invitation than an outcome: these deals deliver when companies choose to build, hire, and grow here.
Canada's working to diversify its economy and forge new international partnerships. Bilateral agreements and strategic collaborations in defence, clean energy, life sciences, artificial intelligence, and advanced batteries are a part of a long-term effort to strengthen growth and resilience.
This national groundwork is essential, and it creates real momentum. The task now is to carry it through to the finish, converting global interest into investment that lands in specific communities.
Global capital is essential to advancing major infrastructure, energy and industrial projects. Multinational enterprises bring more than money; they bring technology, expertise, access to international markets, workforce development and connections to global supply chains. As they expand and reinvest, those benefits take root in the Canadian economy.
The numbers are striking. In 2024, multinational enterprises employed nearly 2.74 million Canadians, representing 19.3% of corporate sector employment. They accounted for 38.5% of corporate research and development jobs, roughly twice their share of employment. Most importantly, they account for 56.5% of Canada's merchandise exports, showing how attracting global investment provides a platform to expand Canada’s trade.
When these companies establish themselves in Canadian city-regions, they also strengthen local supply chains and help small and medium-sized businesses reach global customers. New flows of goods, services, technology, and expertise develop around operations embedded in local economies. Recent investments illustrate what is at stake.
Nokia's $340-million Ottawa expansion is expected to create more than 340 jobs and enhance its Canadian research in advanced wireless networks, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and quantum technologies. AstraZeneca’s $820-million expansion is expected to generate more than 700 highly skilled scientific positions and strengthen Canada's standing in clinical research and development.
At an even larger scale, Germany's TKMS has been selected as the preferred supplier for up to 12 submarines under Canada's Future Fleet Program. Beyond shipbuilding, the proposal would develop sovereign sustainment capacity, build a skilled workforce and integrate Canadian businesses into TKMS's global supply chain.
Investments like these are not secured by national policy alone. Companies choose locations based on talent, infrastructure, research capacity, suppliers and industry ecosystems. That makes Canada's regions central to the competition.
Through the Consider Canada City Alliance, 15 leading economic development organizations work with federal partners, including Global Affairs Canada's Trade Commissioner Service and Invest in Canada, to support international companies considering expansion. Provincial partners also play a central role in making sure they play to their sectoral strengths.
Together, they connect Canada's national value proposition with the distinct strengths, talent pools, infrastructure and industry ecosystems of individual regions.
This coordination matters because global companies continually reassess where to locate research facilities, manufacturing operations, and corporate functions. Geopolitical change, supply-chain realignment and technological competition are making those decisions more urgent.
Canada is well positioned, but investment is never guaranteed. Other countries are competing for the same companies, technologies and jobs. If regional capacity is constrained or governments fail to coordinate, opportunities can quickly move elsewhere.
National strategies create the conditions for success. Federal diplomacy establishes relationships and provinces align sectoral strengths, but city-regions often turn international interest into concrete investment.
Aligning federal, provincial, and regional efforts will help Canada secure more high-value investment, create quality jobs, accelerate innovation, and connect Canadian businesses to the industries and supply chains driving future growth.
Trade deals open doors. But Canada’s City Regions Close the Deals.
Jacquie Griffiths, Chair of CCCA and President of Invest Vancouver
Stephen Lund, CEO of Toronto Global