bilaterals.org logo
bilaterals.org logo

Canada-Colombia

On 7 June 2008, Canada concluded free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations with Colombia. The Canadian government has pushed this agreement, stating that “Colombia is an established and growing market for Canadian exporters (e.g. wheat, pulses, barley, chemicals, paper products, and heavy equipment) and service providers (mining, oil and gas, engineering, information, and communication sectors), as well as a strategic destination for Canadian direct investments (mining, oil exploration, printing, and education).“

Canada has also said that the FTA will “promote a more stable and predictable investment environment in Colombia.“ Many Colombians and Canadians think otherwise, and believe that the investment and economic ramifications of the FTA will lead to more instability and increased human rights violations in a country already plagued with violence and conflict. Canadian mining interests, for example, will benefit greatly from equal treatment in the exploitation of Colombian natural resources. But in a country where trade unionists and labor activists are routinely threatened and murdered, many say that the involvement of Canadian business interests will only increase illegal persecution of those who struggle for fair working conditions and other labour-related causes. Mineral exploitation, such as that being developed in the town of Marmato by Canadian Colombia Goldfields, threatens the displacement of whole communities in order to facilitate mining, in a country already estimated to have between 1.8 and 3 million internally displaced people.

Canada-Colombia trade relations are nominal in comparison to other countries, barely surpassing $1 billion in trade each year. However, in terms of sectors engaged in megaprojects, such as mining or oil and gas, Canadian multinationals are among the major players.

Regarding Canada’s promotion of this FTA, Michael Hart, a professor at Carleton University in Ottawa says, “It’s a political gesture [on behalf of the Harper government] toward an embattled government in Colombia.“ The question is whether Uribe’s government, with its civil war involving an all-out offensive on guerrilla groups, handshakes with paramilitaries, and the dirty war on trade unionists, the political left, and human rights defenders, is the kind of “embattled“ regime that Canada should be making friendly “gestures“ to.

There was no public draft text of the agreement to speak of, and the agreement was concluded without waiting for an assessment from the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade.

There has been minimal media coverage and the majority of Canadians are unaware of the existence of this accord.

The agreement was signed by the Government of Canada on 21 November 2008 over strong criticism from the opposition parties and condemnation from Colombian civil society organizations. It came into force on 15 August 2011, providing important strategic value to the government of Colombia in terms of facilitating the ratification of its FTAs with the US and the EU.

last update: May 2012
Photo: Hour.poing/Wikimedia/CC BY-SA 3.0


’A simple protest can lead to death’: Canada’s auto union on Colombia FTA
Canadian Auto Workers, the country’s largest union, last week issued a press release calling on the government to halt trade negotiations with Colombia, calling the deal "a shocking betrayal of Canadians’ expectation that we don’t negotiate with human rights abusers."
Proposed Colombia trade pact amended
The federal government has agreed to add a new element to Canada’s proposed free-trade agreement with Colombia. "It will be the first FTA in the world to require an annual human-rights assessment to be tabled in both countries’ parliaments," the amendment’s author says.
45 Colombian union leaders assassinated in 2009
Amid new reports of human rights abuses in Colombia involving the assassination of union leaders, Canada’s largest labour organization says it is appalled the Harper government will try to fast-track approval of a free trade deal with that country.
Colombia to reopen to Canadian beef
Colombia will be the first market in South America to reopen to Canadian beef since 2003, the Canadian government announced Wednesday.
Steelworkers call on Liberals to refuse support for Harper’s Colombia trade deal
As Parliament resumes, Ken Neumann, National Director of the United Steelworkers (USW) today called on Michael Ignatieff and the Liberal caucus to refuse to support the Harper government’s free trade agreement with Colombia when the bill is voted in Parliament next week.
Canada-Colombia deal on parliamentary agenda
Legislation to implement the Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement (CCFTA) (Bill C-23) may be the first order of business in the House of Commons when MPs return Monday after their summer recess.
Tories set to re-introduce Canada Colombia Free Trade Agreement
Below, a call to action from the folks managing the Stop the Canada Colombia FTA group on Facebook.
Harper touts free trade, shies away from terrorism reports in Colombia talks
As he blasted the "ideological" opponents of his free-trade deal with Colombia, Prime Minister Stephen Harper played down recent reports of a Colombian terrorism infiltration into Canada.
Stalled but not dead: Update on the Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement
The Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement (CCFTA) was withdrawn from the table while being debated for its second reading in Canadian Parliament on May 27, 2009. Stalled for now, the CCFTA will certainly be back: it has not been defeated, and its proponents (the Conservatives and some of the Liberals) await an opportunity to bring it back.