By David J Hornsby, Carleton University, The Conversation
Recent events have been nothing short of shock therapy for many Canadians. The threat of economically devastating tariffs by the United States at the behest of President Donald Trump have only reinforced that the time is ripe for Canada to diversify its foreign engagements and collaborations — like with the African region.
Africa’s geopolitical and economic trajectory is reshaping the global order. With the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) poised to become the world’s largest single market, a youthful population driving innovation and vast renewable energy potential, the continent is no longer a peripheral player — it’s a cornerstone of the 21st-century economy.
Yet Canada, despite years of consultations and pledges, has delayed the release of a comprehensive Africa trade strategy. The time for hesitation is over.
AfCFTA window is closing
The AfCFTA, which spans 54 countries and 1.3 billion people, is projected to boost intra-African trade by 52 per cent by 2035. For Canada, this represents a significant opportunity to diversify exports beyond traditional partners like the U.S. and China.
Canadian sectors from agri-food to clean tech are well-positioned to meet Africa’s demand for value-added goods and infrastructure.
Global competitors are already moving: China’s trade with Africa surpassed $200 billion in 2023, while the European Union and India have accelerated trade pact negotiations across the continent.
Without a formal strategy, Canada risks losing access to a market that could define the next decade of economic growth.
Geopolitical stakes have never been higher
Russia and China have deepened their influence across Africa, often at the expense of democratic governance and transparency. Canada’s absence isn’t just an economic miss — it’s a strategic void.
By aligning with African priorities like Agenda 2063, which emphasizes self-reliance and sustainable development, Canada can counterbalance exploitative partnerships with ones rooted in mutual benefit.
As Agenda 2063 identifies, African leaders are refocusing their agendas from the struggle against apartheid and political independence to “inclusive social and economic development, continental and regional integration, democratic governance and peace and security.” Africa faces a collective US$100 billion annual infrastructure deficit following centuries of colonial incursion and extraction.
Recent Canadian investments in peace and security, good governance, people-to-people ties ($54 million) and economic empowerment ($176 million for women and youth empowerment) signal intent, but without a unified strategy, these
efforts are fragmented.
Aligning perfectly with Africa’s needs
Canada’s world-class engineering firms and institutions like the Canada Infrastructure Bank could partner with African states and institutions like the African Development Bank and replicate successes achieved in projects like Ghana’s renewable energy grid.
Africa’s startup ecosystem thrives in the financial technology and agritech sectors, where Canadian expertise and venture capital could catalyze growth.
Projects like the Lobito Corridor, offer a chance for Canadian firms to contribute to rail and transport development that could be transformative.
With significant solar and other renewable energies potential, Africa is critical to the net-zero transition. Canadian mining firms and clean energy innovators are natural partners for lithium and cobalt projects, despite the dubious human and environmental rights track record of some Canadian mining companies in the region.
A Canada-Africa strategy needs to signal a support for mandatory adherence to environmental and human rights standards for mining firms, such as Canada’s Towards Sustainable Mining framework, while strengthening accountability through mechanisms like independent oversight and legal consequences for violations that already exist. By prioritizing partnerships with African governments and local communities, such a strategy could ensure ethical practices through transparent agreements, community consent protocols, and shared governance models foster a future of more ethical behaviour.
From aid to equity
Decades of humanitarian aid have fostered good will, but Africa’s leaders increasingly demand collaboration
Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy emphasizes gender equality and aligns with Africa’s push for women-led development.
But a true partnership requires reciprocity, like South Africa’s significant investments in Canadian mining and climate research collaborations. The African diaspora community, numbering over 1.2 million in Canada, is a bridge to these opportunities.
The G7 presidency provides opportunity
The alignment of the Canadian 2025 G7 presidency with South Africa’s 2025 presidency of the G20 offers a pivotal moment to unveil Canada’s African strategy and to mainstream African priorities, from debt relief to digital inclusion.
The forthcoming G20 gatherings of finance ministers and central bank governors in Cape Town offers a perfect moment to demonstrate an actual plan to diversify Canadian foreign policy engagements and interests while positioning the country to rally allies behind a renewed set of initiatives that exist across the continent.
To delay any further will not only frustrate business and diaspora groups alike, but will continue to relegate Canada to a marginal role in the continent’s economic and social development.
The EU’s public and private investments in the green and digital transitions in Kenya and Ghana’s lithium deal with Australia underscore the urgency for a co-ordinated and concerted approach. Canada’s reputation as a reliable partner hangs in the balance.
A call for cohesion
A Canadian Africa strategy is critical now more than ever. To fully engage, any plan will need to articulate pan-African trade and streamlined export opportunities. It should leverage soft power by expanding diplomatic missions across regional economic communities.
Investing in mutual growth via joint ventures in mining, agri-processing, and digital infrastructure is also crucial. Embedding climate justice by linking critical mineral exports to African renewable energy projects will foster sustainable development — all the while maintaining key imperatives of gender equality, one health and the exchange of knowledge through things like the South Africa-Canada Universities Network.
Africa’s rise isn’t a distant future — it’s unfolding now. Canada has the tools, the values and the economic imperative to act. Delaying further isn’t just a missed opportunity; it’s a generational misstep.
The strategy is drafted, the stakeholders are ready. All that’s missing is the political will to hit “publish” and get started.
David J Hornsby, Professor of International Affairs and the Vice-Provost and Associate Vice-President (Academic), Carleton University
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
