Yesterday, the Honourable Maninder Sidhu, Minister of International Trade, met with Peter Burke, Ireland's Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment. Minister Sidhu welcomed Minister Burke and congratulated him on a successful trade mission to Toronto and Ottawa. Both ministers noted the importance of trade missions in helping companies grow internationally at a time when diversifying trade is more critical than ever.
They highlighted the significance of the visit of Micheál Martin, Taoiseach of Ireland, to Ottawa in September 2025 and pledged to work together to advance shared priorities. Minister Sidhu reaffirmed Canada's strong support for Ireland's anticipated ratification of the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) in 2026 and expressed a readiness to assist when Ireland sends a multi-ministerial trade mission to Canada following the ratification.
The meeting focused on opportunities for enhanced trade under Ireland's recently launched Canada-Ireland economic impact report, Beyond Barriers: Deepening Canada-Ireland Trade and Investment, and strengthening bilateral ties in strategic sectors such as clean energy, digital innovation and life sciences.
Minister Sidhu raised the Canada-EU Summit in June 2025 as an important milestone in Canada's efforts to strengthen ties with the EU and its member states and thanked Ireland for its steadfast support in advancing deeper cooperation between Canada and the EU. The two ministers discussed the early progress that was made as well as the next steps to continue to advance the summit's commitments.
