"With CETA, trade between Italy and Canada has grown by 70%." Minister Sidhu's analysis during the Canada Trade Mission to Italy.
From 12 to 16 October 2025, Rome and Milan hosted an important mission of Canadian entrepreneurs led by Maninder Sidhu, Canada's Minister of International Trade, and Sara Wilshaw, Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, International Trade and Chief Trade Commissioner at Global Affairs Canada. The sectors represented were: defence and security, energy and clean technology, aerospace, and infrastructure.
The Centro Studi Italia Canada had the welcome opportunity to be among those invited to the press conference organised on the occasion of the plenary session in Rome, with the chance to engage in a direct exchange with Minister Sidhu. Below is a brief but significant interview that the Minister kindly granted us.
Sidhu: "The collaboration between Canada and Italy is very active. Much has been said, and now it is time to move from words to action. Seventy-five Canadian companies from various economic sectors have come here to Italy with the intention of representing the world of Canadian innovation and strengthening relations between Canada and Italy, which, as everyone knows, have been progressing successfully and growing steadily for years. Prime Minister Carney and Prime Minister Meloni also intend to further increase the level of collaboration."
The last important mission of the Canadian federal government to Italy dates back to 2017, at a different stage in history: what are Canada's expectations for this mission?
Sidhu: "To be honest, the world today is different from what it was just a year ago; we can all see what is happening in the world of international trade: the effect of tariffs is visible to everyone. Now is the time to work together, as Canada and Italy are doing, using existing international agreements. With CETA, trade between Italy and Canada has grown by 70%; eight years have passed since CETA came into force, and now I am here with 75 companies on my first mission to Europe, and it is no coincidence that we started in Italy, a privileged partner for Canada."
What actions does the Canadian Government intend to take to follow up on this important mission?
Sidhu: "We have just met with Italian representatives and companies in order to facilitate the exchange of professional expertise at this stage. The sectors we have identified are among those most suited to creating a valuable exchange between Italy and Canada; my Italian counterparts and I will follow up on this. However, relationships are not built in a single meeting; in business, relationships need to be built over time, and in this sense, I invite Italians to come to Canada."
So, the hope is that opportunities will also be created for Italian companies in Canada?
Sidhu: "Absolutely yes, the Chambers of Commerce will have their own very important role to play: with over 150,000 companies in their portfolios, we will have to think about an exchange of missions. We want to be sure that there is equal satisfaction for both parties. CETA is benefiting both Italian and Canadian workers, and just as we love Italian quality products, we also have high-quality technological innovation to offer, especially at a time when Canada is investing £9.3 billion in the defence sector. In this regard, I think there are important opportunities for collaboration, also taking into account the new NATO targets that make collaboration between allied countries necessary."
Can we hope to have Canada as our preferred energy supplier in the coming years? What about the supply of rare earths?
Sidhu: "When you consider the defence technology sector, it requires a significant amount of rare minerals, and Canada has large quantities of these. Within the G7, we have an alliance on rare minerals, and in terms of energy, we have various LNG-related projects that look to Europe as a target market: we know that we can supply clean energy to sectors and countries around the world, and this is something we are looking at very closely. We have just launched our new Major Projects Agency, through which we will speed up the approval process for major projects, reducing waiting times to just two years. We are strengthening our relationships with Indigenous Communities, Municipalities and Territories to speed up the construction of ports, rare mineral extraction facilities and LNG extraction facilities. All this will require the establishment of cooperation agreements and capital from around the world, and we hope also from Italy.
What can you tell us about the new Defence Investment Agency?
Sidhu: "This is a new agency created by the Canadian government to make military procurement more efficient, since work is often carried out in silos. With this agency, we intend to create a more collaborative approach that will make the process easier and faster. There is also plenty of room for collaboration in this sector, and the goal is to improve collaboration with Europe and Italy in particular."
According to the participants – Canadian and Italian companies – the mission was a success in terms of the quantity and, above all, the quality of the meetings. Agreements were concluded, and the hope is that the two countries will continue to collaborate, including through the exchange of experiences and sector missions that will follow up on this important first step.
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