“Strong and free”. A strong and free Canada. These are the words that stand out on the first page of the Globe and Mail newspaper on 5 March last, the day after the start of the economic war between Washington and Ottawa. A ti-e-molla of announcements and smokies on the duties, up to the entry into force of the 25 percent American “tax” on aluminum and steel.
Wall Street did not like, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 index that grafted the reverse Compared to the enthusiasm followed to the coronation of The Donald. The Canadians are not illusions. Former premier Justin Trudeau, however, was clear: with his duties, the US president wants to bring the country to economic collapse to annex it as a 51st state of the Union. After the stab behind the shoulder received from the historically more friendly nation, now the anger wins. Enclosed in a very Canadian expression: “Elbows up and gloves off”. That is, on the elbows and go the gloves. The gesture that in ice hockey means that it is time to fight. At the moment, only with the wallet, boycott the made in the USA. The result is a commercial void that attracts Italy, also under the push of the Ceta Treaty with the EU: in the five years since its entry into force, in 2017, exports to Canada grew by 40 percent.
The Italian ambassador to Ottawa Alessandro Cattaneo, as a career diplomat, measures words. «Vice president Antonio Tajani said it well: the war of duties is not convenient for anyone. With its vocation to exports, Italy knows that international trade creates widespread prosperity and for this reason it is working, recomposing existing tensions. Having said that, Canada has been aiming for some time to diversify its economy. Europe is a privileged interlocutor, with Italy in the foreground: in 2024, after Germany, it was the second commercial partner of the country, with an export of 12.3 billion Canadian dollars, about eight billion euros, and an exchange of 15.5 billion, equal to almost ten. Italy and Canada are oriented to collaborate for the complementarity of their economies ». What opportunities do they open? “There are all the sectors. In traditional ones and in those with high technological content. The “Roadmap” for strengthened cooperation, signed last year by President Meloni and Prime Minister Trudeau, gives prominence to energy, aerospace, artificial intelligence and critical raw materials ».
In the background of the probable federal elections, with the duel between the liberal Mark Carney, new prime minister, and the conservative Pierre Poilievre, so our companies have good cards to play. In Canada, new pipelines are needed to sell energy in Europe and Asia, and companies such as Tenaris, Saipem, Bonatti, Eni, Snam and Fincantieri – have been operating here for years. Enel Green Power and the AB group can help a country that focuses on carbon neutrality by 2050, but which pollutes so much to extract oil. Leonardo can make use of the reduction of the import of American technologies, providing helicopters, drones and defense components, while Sacmi, Danieli, Brembo and Comau are an alternative to American suppliers in the automotive and packaging. Also translating into numbers, the 345 million euro car exports has Ferrari, Lamborghini and Maserati as jewels, while Gucci, Prada, Versace, Moncler and Armani hold the luxury flag in a reality that at 95 percent casual robes. In 2023, Natuzzi, Tomasella and Calligaris, but also Alessi, Smeg and Flos, among others, brought Italian design to the Canadian houses for 150 million euros, while in the pharmaceutical exports – from 580 million in 2024 – there is room for Menarini, asked, Bracco and Recorded.
Last but not least, the agri -food: Italy is the third exporter after USA and Mexico. To strengthen its status of agricultural superpower, Canada can count on Italian manufacturers of machinery, from New Holland, owned by Exor, Maschio Gaspardo, Carraro and Celli, companies lesser known to the general public. With the boycott in place, Barilla, Ferrero, Lavazza and the consortia of Parmigiano Reggiano or Parma ham could also grow. The wine, alone, is worth 420 million euros, but the “gabelles” on the Californian labels potentially favor brands such as Antinori, Zonin and Frescobaldi. Despite the distances, Italian fruit and vegetables also find a place on the Canadian tables. Dom Rampone is convinced of this, who descends from a Piedmontese family who arrived in the 1930s in the Okanagan Valley, a wine area of the British Columbia. Export cherries to Taiwan thanks to equipment that replicates temperature, lighting and humidity of the fruit on the tree and, in parallel, develops business for the Italian chamber of western Canada trade. Now he works on another project: helping a Treviso radicchio farmer to export his product to this remote province overlooking the Pacific. If he succeeds, the agencies that promote Italian companies will have to do extraordinary.
