Minister of International Trade
The minister of international trade is the minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet responsible for the federal government's international trade portfolio. Along with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Development, it is one of two ministers associated with Global Affairs Canada.
Maninder Sidhu has served as the minister of international trade since 2025.
History
The post was first established in 1983 as the Minister for International Trade by the Government Organization Act, 1983, which re-organized various governmental functions and updated the Department of External Affairs Act. The lead responsibility for international trade was reassigned from the Department of Industry to the Department of External Affairs, and the position was created to assist the senior departmental minister, the Secretary of State for External Affairs at the time, in carrying out their responsibilities relating to international trade. Gerald Regan, then the Minister of State, was appointed to be the first office holder.While the name of the department and the title of the senior departmental minister changed numerous times, this formal title remains unchanged. However the minister has been styled differently since 2006.
Starting in 2006, the minister has been styled with a variety of titles. When Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper formed his first government on February 6, 2006, he appointed David Emerson, who was re-elected days earlier as a Liberal candidate, to the office styled Minister of International Trade. Subsequent ministers were styled as Minister of International Trade until 2018, when the position was renamed Minister of International Trade Diversification.
In 2019, the portfolio was merged with Small Business and Export Promotion and renamed Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade. In 2021, the role gained additional responsibility for economic development, being renamed Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business and Economic Development. In 2023, the role lost responsibility for small business to the Minister of Small Business, at which point it was renamed Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development, a title it had until 2025, when it lost responsibility for economic development.