Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement

Additional background information

In August 2002, the Minister of International Trade announced that Canada and the Andean Community had agreed to begin exploratory discussions towards an FTA. As a part of the exploratory discussions, the Minister launched extensive domestic consultations with business, citizen-based organizations and individual Canadians, as well as with the provincial and territorial governments, to obtain advice and views on priorities, objectives and concerns to help define the possible scope of this initiative. The consultations indicated broad support for an FTA.

On June 7, 2007, the Minister of International Trade announced the launch of free trade negotiations between Canada and Colombia and Peru. The Canada-Peru FTA was signed in May 2008 and the Canada-Colombia FTA was signed in November 2008. Canada and Colombia enjoy good commercial and investment relations as the presence of Canadian companies, particularly in the mining, oil exploration and printing sectors, continues to grow.

On November 21, 2008, the Honourable Stockwell Day, Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway, signed, on behalf of Canada, the Canada-Colombia FTA. This was the third FTA signed by Canada in 2008 and Canada’s sixth FTA with a country in the Americas. At the same ceremony, Agreements on Labour Cooperation and the Environment, as well as a Double Taxation Convention were also signed. Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the President of Colombia, Alvaro Uribe, witnessed the signing of the agreements.

On June 30, 2010, the Honourable Peter Van Loan, Minister of International Trade, announced that Bill C-2, the implementing legislation for the Canada-Colombia FTA, the Labour Cooperation Agreement and the Agreement on the Environment had received Royal Assent. (See News Release: Legislation to Implement Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement Receives Royal Assent)

The Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement (FTA), the Labour Cooperation Agreement and the Agreement on the Environment came into force on August 15, 2011. (See News Release: Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement Comes into Force)