A trio of Canadian ministers travelled to Japan this week for a mission focused on trade, industry, and defence, looking to seal deals and hedge against plodding trade talks with the U.S. and Mexico.
Canada’s international trade minister, Maninder Sidhu, led the four-day trade mission to Japan, alongside defence minister David McGuinty. The two ministers were joined by 300 delegates from 171 companies — the largest Canadian trade mission to the Indo-Pacific since the program’s launch in 2023. (Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien’s 2001 mission to China featured 600 delegates.)
Canada’s industry minister, Mélanie Joly, overlapped with Sidhu and McGuinty for one day. She travelled to Japan after a trip to China, where she discussed Canadian quotas on Chinese electric vehicles with BYD, Chery, Geely, and Shanghai Launch Automotive Technology, as well as Canada–China industrial co-operation.
In Tokyo, Ottawa’s ‘bundling’ of ministers — Sidhu, McGuinty, and Joly — underscored just how closely trade, national security, and industrial policy are connected. Of the 171 companies on the mission, 45 hail from the “defence and security” sector, the most of any industry. The other companies deal in cleantech, information and communications technology, agriculture, and forestry.
This ministerial trip builds on Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s visit to Japan in March. Carney and Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae upgraded the bilateral relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, covering defence, economic security, energy, technology, and trade ties. Japan is Canada’s fifth-largest merchandise trading partner.
Cars and CUSMA
The timing of the mission is telling. The first formal trilateral meeting to review the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) is set for July 1, when the three countries will decide to either renew the deal for 16 years, withdraw from it, or kick off an annual review process.
Ottawa framed the trade mission to Japan as “building on its enduring commitment to trade diversification.” The trip could certainly accomplish that goal, but it also allows ministers to soothe the worries of Japanese companies, who will be watching the CUSMA review process closely.
As Goldy Hyder, president of the Business Council of Canada, told CTV, “Japan has made it clear that for continued investment — in particular in auto manufacturing — they want us to maintain preferential access to the U.S.” Japan’s ambassador to Canada has registered similar concerns.
Defence and security, from sea to sky
Canada–Japan defence ties are growing, due in part to the Canada–Japan Agreement on the Security of Information (January 2026) and the Transfer of Defence Equipment and Technology Agreement (June 2026). Both agreements are creating new opportunities for Canadian companies to work with Japanese defence firms.
In Tokyo, McGuinty looked to build on this progress, meeting with his Japanese counterpart, Koizumi Shinjiro, to discuss “shared security priorities.” Until July 5, both Canada and Japan are participating in the U.S.-led Exercise VALIANT SHIELD, a sprawling naval operation around Hawaii and Guam. What’s more, Canada reportedly plans to participate as an observer in a project involving Japan, the U.K., and Italy “to develop a next-generation fighter jet.”
All these signals underscore the deepening partnership between Canada and Japan. It's particularly beneficial for Japan, which has been locked in a spat with China over Taiwan since November 2025. Partly in response to Chinese aggression in the region, Japan is making historic investments in its Self-Defense Forces, for the first time aiming to spend the equivalent of two per cent of its GDP on defence.
