Beijing, Ottawa agree to extend market access deal for canola, Chinese steel

OTTAWA — Beijing and Ottawa are extending a January agreement to provide Chinese market access to Canadian imports in exchange for Canadian market access for Chinese steel and aluminum.

The news comes as one of China’s most important officials prepares to visit Vancouver and Prime Minister Mark Carney plans to return to China later this month.

In March, China dropped tariffs on Canadian canola meal, peas, lobster and crab. Canada agreed in return to allow in certain Chinese steel and aluminum products.

The deal was negotiated by Carney and Chinese President Xi Jinping during a visit to China. It was set to expire at the end of this year.

On Wednesday, Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu said the deal is being extended by two years, to the end of 2028.

“This extension gives Canadian farmers, producers and harvesters stable access to China and supports billions in export opportunities,” Sidhu said in a news release.

He said the credit goes to a trade body Canada and China relaunched in January as Ottawa moved to increase exports to China by 50 per cent by 2030.

Sidhu was in Beijing for meetings with officials ahead of Carney’s planned visit to China’s tech city Shenzhen later this month for the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation summit.

“The timing of the announcement is significant,” said Vina Nadjibulla, co-founder of the Centre for Strategic Statecraft, in an emailed statement.

She said the clearing of “an immediate trade irritant” allows Carney to focus on boosting Chinese investment during his visit to Shenzhen. It also locks in Chinese steel and aluminum access, which she said will be a factor in Ottawa’s trade talks with Washington.

“Ottawa is increasingly having to navigate its economic relationships with Beijing and Washington simultaneously, and decisions made in one relationship inevitably have implications for the other,” she wrote.

On Wednesday, Ottawa announced that Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng will visit Vancouver on Sunday and Monday.

Though he is not China’s trade or finance minister, Lifeng plays a major role in crafting Beijing’s trade and economic polices.

Sidhu and Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne will welcome He and events are also planned with Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem and financial regulators.

Sidhu’s office said Wednesday the canola news stems from months of efforts to improve trade relations with China.

In June 2025, Sidhu said he and Wang Wentao, China’s minister of commerce, agreed to restart a joint economic and trade commission to address trade issues. In January, he said Ottawa secured a preliminary joint arrangement in Beijing which opened up more than $7 billion in market space for Canadian workers and businesses.

Sidhu said that since the arrangement took effect in March, canola seed exports to China have increased by 84 per cent, from $1.04 billion to $1.91 billion, compared to the same period last year.

He said canola meal exports more than doubled, from $146 million to $390 million, while pea exports grew from $107 million to $345 million. Sidhu also said lobster exports increased by 57 per cent, from $128 million to $200 million.

Warren Kaeding, Saskatchewan’s trade minister, told reporters in Regina that farmers are pleased with the deal.

“That helps so much in them being able to plan their cropping rotations into next year,” he said. “(They’re) going into the spring with a bit of confidence that they at least have a two-year extension on tariff reductions on canola and peas.”

Canadian beef also returned to the Chinese market in January for the first time since 2021, said Sidhu. From January to August, he said, Canada sent $363.2 million in beef exports to China, nearly double what it sold there in all of 2021.

“Over the past year, I’ve met with industry representatives, including the Canola Council of Canada, Pulse Canada, the Fisheries Council of Canada, the Canadian Cattle Association and the Canadian Meat Council,” says a media statement from Sidhu’s office.

“They told me an extension would give them the predictable, long-term access to the Chinese market and the certainty they need. We listened, and we delivered.”

Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson said on social media the extension provides “immediate certainty” for lobster and crab harvesters and exporters. She said discussions are continuing on other seafood products.

“Last week in China, I met with government officials and industry leaders to make the case for Canada as a trusted supplier,” she said. “Canada’s fish and seafood harvesters catch the best seafood in the world and their work drives rural and coastal communities across the country.”

In Beijing earlier this year, Carney outlined steps to build a new strategic partnership with China, including more cultural exchanges and “people-to-people” ties.

Carney said during his visit that Ottawa hoped the renewal would become an “example to the world of co-operation amidst a time globally of division and disorder.”

Culture Minister Marc Miller made a five-day trip to China last month with dozens of representatives from Canadian creative industries. His office said seven new commercial agreements worth more than $4.2 million were signed during the trip.

The Carney government is seeking to double non-U.S. exports in the next decade in response to the unstable geopolitical and trading environment ushered in by the re-election of U.S. President Donald Trump.

China is Canada’s second largest single-country merchandise trading partner, accounting for $125.7 billion in two-way merchandise trade in 2025.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2026.

— With files from Kyle Duggan and Jeremy Simes

Dylan Robertson and Catherine Morrison, The Canadian Press