Canada’s trade deals need a small-business usability test

Saumure, who Policy Options identifies as a CPA and principal at Zenbooks and founder of OpenSME[1], writes that Prime Minister Mark Carney told the European Parliament on Sept. 17 the goal of a deeper Canada-EU partnership is "collective resilience."[1]He cites Statistics Canada figures showing that the top 500 exporters – about one per cent of all exporting businesses – generated 77.7 per cent of Canada's goods exports in 2024.[1] In his view, a strategy built on a handful of large exporters "can be undone by decisions in a few boardrooms."[1]The piece reports that, according to the Library of Parliament, Canadian merchandise exports to the EU hit $42.8 billion in 2025, a 23.4 per cent increase from 2024.[2] But Saumure also points to a Global Affairs Canada report that found only 43.1 per cent of Canadian firms had a general knowledge that CETA existed and just 4.8 per cent said they understood its details.[2]Saumure writes that "CETA did not fail small businesses,"[1] but that "market access and usable market access are different things."[1]He proposes that every major economic agreement Canada signs should come with a standard SME implementation package, released the same day as the agreement.[2] He also calls for a simple annual measure showing how many SMEs actually trade under each such agreement[2], along with targets for that number.Saumure concludes that Canada's diversification "will be measured in how many small businesses are able to use the agreements it signs."[1]