Why Canada’s trade strategy needs its universities |
Canada has spent the past decade learning a lesson the hard way.
Once unthinkable tariffs on exports like steel and aluminum. Global supply chains disrupted and broken under pressure. And diplomatic tensions that put major markets on pause. Each time, the lesson has been the same: relying heavily on a narrow set of trading partners makes us vulnerable. When shocks hit, Canada can’t maneuver.
Canada’s universities represent one of the country’s largest knowledge-based economic sectors. They support hundreds of thousands of jobs, generate tens of billions of dollars in economic activity, and anchor innovation ecosystems across the country. They are also already doing the market-building work that trade resilience requires, building trusted international relationships well ahead of policy timelines.
The urgency of expanding and diversifying Canada’s trade relationships was underscored in Davos, where Prime Minister Carney spoke about the rupture now reshaping the global economy. Trade is being weaponized. For middle powers like Canada, where trade accounts for two-thirds of our GDP, diversification is now the foundation of sovereignty and an urgent national priority.
But it is also a long game. Markets cannot be replaced on command and trust cannot be established overnight. For decades, Canada’s universities have helped build the relationships, research capacity, and talent pipelines that trade depends on.
In February, Universities Canada will lead a delegation of 21 Canadian university presidents to India. Their focus will be strengthening academic and research partnerships in clean energy, health innovation, artificial intelligence, and digital technologies. These relationships are grounded in shared priorities and mutual benefit.
A delegation of university presidents so large and diverse is nearly unprecedented. Joint research produces insights that feed directly into commercial innovation. Faculty and graduate researchers work with companies to bring new products to market, stimulating trade. This institutional collaboration will help Canadian firms enter new regions through trusted networks and support the mobility of talent in both directions.
In advanced economies, this is how influence is built. By building trust, strengthening networks, and supporting the development and validation of technologies in foreign markets, governments can help lower barriers to market entry well before trade occurs. The Prime Minister’s message in Davos was clear: in a world where traditional multilateral institutions are under strain, progress depends on coalitions that work, built issue by issue and sector by sector.
Universities are often the first institutions to form those coalitions, and the last to leave when conditions become difficult. This credibility and continuity make them uniquely effective in markets where purely commercial or diplomatic ties are emerging.
India is central to the shift now facing middle powers like Canada. It is the world’s most populous country, with one of the fastest-growing economies and a market where access is expanding even as competition intensifies. Canadian universities have spent decades building relationships there through joint laboratories, talent exchanges, and collaborative research.
The benefits flow back home. Research partnerships attract international funding, strengthen domestic innovation and give Canadian students and researchers access to the global networks modern industries demand. Canada–India collaborations show this clearly: the University of British Columbia’s partnership with Manipal Academy of Higher Education advances global health research while linking Canadian scientists to large-scale clinical data; Simon Fraser University’s work with Indian institutes and accelerators connects Canadian researchers and startups to applied research opportunities; and a $30-million initiative involving the University of Toronto and the University of Alberta demonstrates how coordinated international funding can amplify Canadian expertise.
Canada must treat this capacity as a strategic imperative. The returns on institutional relationships are not immediate, but they compound. In a world that has become less forgiving, that durability is a competitive advantage.
Governments, businesses, and institutions all have a role to play in trade diversification. Many peer countries embed universities directly into trade missions and foreign policy priorities, aligning research collaboration, talent development, and innovation exchange with national economic objectives. In Canada, these efforts remain fragmented.
The India mission by Canadian university presidents is a model for how institutions can help meet our national priorities. And at a moment when Canada is being called to act with open eyes about the world as it is, it is exactly the kind of model we need.
Gabe Miller is the president and CEO of Universities Canada.
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