Article content

OTTAWA • As the Harper government launches a cross-country blitz to sell Canadians on the newly inked free-trade deal with the European Union, corporate Canada — long-criticized for sitting on piles of cash — at the same time appears ready to begin investing more in new markets.

Trade Minister Ed Fast said Monday that federal ministers, MPs and business leaders will be spreading the word on the benefits of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), announced by Prime Minister Stephen Harper in Brussels on Friday, across all regions of Canada.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Corporate Canada ready to spend in 2014 on signs of global rebound: CIBC Back to video

“The Canada-EU free-trade agreement is, arguably, the most comprehensive and, arguably, biggest trading initiative in Canadian history,” Mr. Fast told reporters in Ottawa.

“With 28 countries and 500-million consumers, the EU is the world’s single-largest importing market for goods,” he said.

“And the big winners are Canadian business and investors who will have unhindered access to such an enormous and wealthy market,” he said.