2013 was "the most successful year for international trade in Canadian history," Ed Fast has said.

The International Trade Minister this week praised the Government's "pro-export actions and pro-trade leadership," which he claimed had resulted in "preferred access, a real competitive edge and greater protection in more markets around the world." More than 60 percent of Canada's annual income and the jobs of more than one in five Canadians are directly linked to exports.

According to Fast, 2013 was a year in which record gains were achieved, helping to create new jobs and opportunities for workers, businesses and exporters in every region of the country.

The Government last year unveiled a new Global Markets Action Plan, which focuses on core Canadian strengths, aligns Canada's trade, development and foreign policy tools with the aim of advancing commercial interests around the world, and sets concrete targets to grow the presence of Canada's small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in emerging markets. The goal is to improve SME export presence in these areas from 29 percent to 50 percent by 2018.

Canada concluded or brought into force 10 foreign investment promotion and protection agreements (FIPAs) in 2013, but the most prominent of its recent trade deals was that made with the European Union (EU). The EU's is Canada's second-largest trading partner, made up of more than 500m consumers, and has a gross domestic product (GDP) of over CAD17 trillion (USD15.98 trillion). Thanks to the agreement, the number of countries with which Canada holds free trade treaties will triple from 14 to 42, providing Canada with free trade access to more than half of the entire global marketplace.

Canada has now moved up from 13th to 12th in the World Trade Organization's (WTO) rankings of the world's leading merchandise exporters. Its total exports were worth USD455bn in 2013. Energy is Canada's top export commodity, with a value of CAD115.8bn, while its exports of agriculture and agri-food products expanded by CAD3.2bn (7.3 percent), reaching a new peak of CAD47.4bn.