This weekend, Mary Ng is in Brussels seeking to deepen Canada's economic ties with the EU.
The EU and Canada have benefited from a free trade agreement since 2017, which has boosted bilateral trade by 65 per cent, and set up a raw materials partnership in 2021.
Ng met EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic for a lunch on Saturday following a meeting with Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the director general of the World Trade Organization in Geneva on Friday.
"Trade agreements are one thing, and we have seen really great numbers, but what more can we be doing to help Canadian businesses enter into any of the 27 member states...and what more can we do to the same in Canada" Ng said.
She said critical minerals and smaller businesses would be among the focus areas with the EU.
The EU, in particular, is keen to forge partnerships to secure metals that are key for the energy transition - cobalt, lithium and nickel - to reduce its dependence on China.
Canada is also pushing to diversify its exports and set itself a target in 2018 of increasing non-US exports by 50 per cent by 2025.
Ng said the country was on track to meet or exceed the target.
Canada struck trade deals with Indonesia in December and Ecuador last week and is pushing hard in the Indo-Pacific region.
The minister is leading a delegation including more than 200 businesses to Australia, Singapore and Brunei next week.
"We are at the table with the countries in Southeast Asia," Ng added.
Ottawa threatened retaliatory duties and legal action against the United States after President Donald Trump announced tariffs on Canada and Mexico a week ago and before he paused their imposition for 30 days.
Ng said Canada could challenge Washington at the WTO if tariffs were imposed.
"We would consider all of the options available to Canada because Canada is a country that believes in a rules-based trading system," Ng said.
