OTTAWA — The Liberal government says its trade diversification efforts are “bearing fruit,” with the spring economic update published Tuesday showing exports of Canadian goods to non-U.S. markets grew more than a third since before President Donald Trump launched his trade war.

Yet in the 167-page budget update, the section devoted to expanding trade at home and abroad announced just one new expenditure: $11 million this fiscal year to host the Canada Investment Summit that Prime Minister Mark Carney earlier this month said will take place this September in Toronto.

“This event will showcase Canada as a compelling investment destination and a trusted convener of global capital, with a focus on priority sectors such as energy and critical minerals, artificial intelligence, defence and infrastructure,” the document says.

The shift in focus from merchandise exports to attracting foreign investment is in line with how the Liberal government has been framing the next phase of its response to the “rupture in the world order” that Carney described in his January speech in Davos, where he urged middle powers to chart a new path against “economic intimidation” from superpowers. 

At a massive industrial tech trade fair in northern Germany last week, Industry Minister Mélanie Joly told The Logic it was time to put those words into action.

The update goes some way to reframe international trade in these terms, including when it comes to persuading automakers to move production to Canada.

In February, the federal government launched public consultations on how to adjust access to remissions from counter-tariffs on U.S. autos to better serve the goals of Canada’s auto strategy. The current system lets auto manufacturers that produce in Canada import some vehicles from the U.S. free of counter-tariffs if they keep those operations going. The consultations, which closed this month, proposed “a potential system where companies earn tradeable credits based on their production in Canada,” which the spring economic update says the government is considering “a starting point.”

The spring economic update also states plainly that trade deals will be viewed through the lens of how they can benefit Canada beyond trade in goods.

“Canada will also leverage new and existing trade agreements, including the recent agreement with China, to support new investment in the sector, diversify Canada’s auto export markets, and position Canada as a global leader in electric vehicles,” the document says.

On his January visit to Beijing, Carney announced a deal with President Xi Jinping to let 49,000 Chinese-made EVs into Canada at a tariff rate of 6.1 per cent, which he said would also drive joint-venture investment in Canada. The $50,000 price cap on the new consumer rebate for EVs and plug-in hybrids does not apply to models made in Canada—another incentive.

The shift does not mark a retreat from traditional trade priorities. In fact, the economic update proposes $91.3 million over five years to help protect the Southern Resident Killer Whale population from the increased trade-related noise and traffic off the B.C. coast. 

Similarly, the update does not suggest Canada has abandoned trade with its southern neighbour, or given up on getting the Trump administration to lift remaining tariffs on key sectors such as steel, aluminum, autos and lumber. It also makes clear the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), known as CUSMA on this side of the border, has played a key role in preserving access to Canada’s most important export market. 

That deal is facing “a likely complex review,” the document says, so private sector economists forecast trade uncertainty to remain high. Talks with Trump have been bumpy. Export diversification takes time. The “most tariff-exposed industries,” such as autos, are so integrated into the North American supply chain it can be hard to diversify much at all.

That is one reason the economic update confirms the remaining retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods will stay for now. The document says the counter-tariffs have generated $9.7 billion in federal revenue since the earliest ones took effect in March 2025. Ottawa returned $5.5 billion through granting remission requests, leaving $4.3 billion in federal coffers. That is far below the $20 billion that the Liberals projected in their election platform.