The Prime Minister of Canada spoke at the APEC CEO Summit 2024, where he highlighted the importance of gender equality in the business world, as well as investment in clean energy to drive digital transformation.
“Trade creates growth, but there is no guarantee that this growth will benefit everyone. We have to make sure that it is well distributed,” said Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, during his participation in the APEC CEO Summit 2024, last Friday in Lima, Peru.
During his nine years in charge of the Canadian government, Trudeau has promoted the economic empowerment of women, respect for diversity and the search for new trading partners. The focus on the latter has led to more than 80% of Canada's trade coming from APEC economies.
During the negotiation of trade agreements, Trudeau says that his country has prioritized clauses that protect women's rights, labor rights, as well as environmental protection.
“We have always understood from a Canadian perspective that for trade to be effective, it must be a win-win situation, not only between the countries involved, but also for the citizens,” he said. Otherwise, the Canadian prime minister claims, it creates a catalyst for democratic instability, as citizens believe that political and economic actors do not support them.
On the other hand, Mary Ng, Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development of Canada, highlighted the importance of women's participation in companies of all sizes, whether or not they own them.
“We have a statistic in Canada that I often like to share, especially in the business community, because it really is about return on investment. In Canada, if you add more women to the economy, we add $150 billion and globally, we add $12 trillion,” Ng said at the APEC CEO Summit.
Asked about Donald Trump's recent victory in the US presidential election, Trudeau criticized the Republican tycoon's efforts to dismantle NAFTA during his first term in office (2017-2021). Had the decision been carried out, the negative consequences for the Canadian and US economies would not have been long in coming. Instead, Ottawa proposed an update of NAFTA, as well as the USMCA to update trade relations.
“We did it because, in fact, middle-class workers in Canada and the United States have built things together for decades and generations with tremendous success. Making the case for how this creates jobs in both economies, how it creates opportunity and prosperity, was hard work. It wasn’t easy and it won’t be easy this time either. Little secret: there is no American administration that is automatically easy for a Canadian government. They take a robust look at their own interests and Canada adjusts,” Trudeau said.
Speaking about the introduction of artificial intelligence into the economy, the Canadian premier highlighted that his country was a pioneer in creating a Global Partnership for AI in 2018. It was a joint initiative with France and was created in the framework of the G7 meeting in Charlevoix (Canada), being one of the first times that the topic was addressed at a summit of world leaders. But when it came to analyzing how to turn words into actions, Trudeau identified a major challenge.
“The biggest limiting factor for AI will be energy. The energy consumption required for AI has not yet been fully understood by anyone. How are we going to achieve this? Because Canada already has 80% clean energy, which is a huge advantage. Companies from all over the world are investing in Canada because of our clean energy, workers or innovation,” the governor stressed.
Trudeau later expressed optimism about Canada's uranium reserves and the opportunity to build large-scale reactors and small modular reactors to meet energy needs in recent years, as well as sell them to other countries.
The premier said the country has experience in regulating and building reactors, but also in training personnel and supply chains, and even in recycling at the end of their use. Finally, Trudeau called for action for APEC economies to prioritize energy investment before launching into large digital transformation programs.
“ One of the biggest inequalities that still persists is that around 40% of the population on the African continent does not have reliable and constant access to electricity. Electricity, a technology that is more than a century and a half old, transformed lives at the time, but it has not yet reached everyone. We cannot wait another 150 years for AI to empower people in the global south,” he concluded.
