Trade and Investment Project

Expert research on international trade and investment treaties and globalization

The Trade and Investment Research Project (TIRP) is an independently funded project administered by the CCPA. TIRP pools the trade policy research resources and expertise of Canadian non-governmental organizations from a variety of sectors. It produces expert research on a wide range of important trade and investment policy issues.

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News & Commentary

Trade

Canada must not implement Ecuador free trade deal, say civil society organizations
We urge you to reconsider this trade agreement and to prioritize the protection of human rights, environmental sustainability, and the rights of Indigenous peoples. There must…
June 9, 2025
News & Commentary

Regulation/Deregulation

Trade

Let’s call Bill 5 what it is—a power grab
During Ontario’s February electoral campaign, Doug Ford capitalised on domestic and international stories which affectionately dubbed him “Captain Canada.” Donning a “Canada is Not for…
June 5, 2025
News & Commentary

Trade

As the U.S. drops the ball on forced labour, Canada must pick it up
Almost five years after Canada’s July 2020 ban on importing goods produced using forced labour, we have very little to show for it. Canadian Border…
June 4, 2025
Labour & Worker’s Rights

News & Commentary

Trade

Canada’s private sector workers need labour law reform
For private sector unions, the overarching trend of the last forty years has been one of decline. The rise of neoliberalism during the 1980s ushered…
May 28, 2025
International

News & Commentary

Trade

Canada’s murky North American future
We want to make our own cars. We don’t really want cars from Canada. And we put tariffs on cars from Canada. And at a…
May 8, 2025
Federal Election

News & Commentary

Trade

Trump’s trade program is sputtering—Canada has an opening
The federal election returned another Liberal minority to power under the new leadership of former banker Mark Carney. International media is reporting the result as…
April 30, 2025
Federal Election

International

News & Commentary

Trade

Canada should move towards integration with Europe instead of the U.S.
Trump’s chaotic global tariff war, which has upended the international order, shows no sign of letting up. Presidents of the U.S. have long used trade…
April 24, 2025
Labour & Worker’s Rights

News & Commentary

Newsletters

Shift Storm

Trade

On Trump and trade, Canada is asking the right questions—but proposing the wrong answers
The following is a re-print of the March 2025 edition of Shift Storm, the CCPA’s monthly newsletter which focuses on the intersection of work and…
April 24, 2025
International

News & Commentary

Trade

What does Canadian nationalism mean in the Trump era?
The election of Donald Trump has certainly changed the political dynamics in the United States. Trump’s election victory was likely predicated on numerous things,…
April 16, 2025
International

News & Commentary

Trade

What exactly just happened with Trump’s big tariff announcement?
This article was originally published in Angella MacEwen’s substack. It is republished here with permission.
April 7, 2025
International

News & Commentary

Trade

Canada’s secret weapon in U.S. trade war? Trump’s billionaire backers
Donald Trump’s first presidency was marked by an open-door policy for billionaires seeking favourable policies. His second term promises a deeper entrenchment of oligarchic power.
April 2, 2025
Labour & Worker’s Rights

News & Commentary

Trade

During Trump’s trade war, protecting the working class should be top of mind
As we await tomorrow’s “Liberation Day” tariff announcement from the White House, the threat to Canadian jobs couldn’t be clearer.
April 1, 2025