http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2011/08/07/harper-latin-america-tour.html
Brazil is undergoing "a tremendous boom, and Canada's just a blip on its radar," said the CBC's Terry Milewski, who is travelling with the prime minister.
Harper's main goal is to help boost trade between Canada and Brazil, but he will also talk about security in the region. But the prime minister will not be talking down Canada's existing trade relationships while courting alternatives.
Under Harper, the Conservative government has tried to cement trade ties with Latin America and the Caribbean.
An April 2009 diplomatic cable from the U.S. embassy in Ottawa, published by WikiLeaks, gives some insight into the prime minister's thought process on bolstering ties within the Americas.
According to the classified document, a chat with former Australian prime minister John Howard got Harper thinking that Canada could hold more sway with the United States if his country had strong relations with other countries in the region.
"Harper had long been favourably impressed by Australia's ability to exert outsized influence with the U.S. in particular — and other powers as well — by emphasizing its relations in its own neighbourhood," the cable says, referring to a conversation with a senior Foreign Affairs official.
"PM Harper hoped to gain similar benefits for Canada by increased attention to Latin America and the Caribbean."
The Conservative government sent International Trade Minister Ed Fast on a trade mission to Brazil in June with 19 Canadian companies, including Bombardier and SNC-Lavalin.
Efforts appear to be paying off. Exports to Brazil of Canadian merchandise totalled $2.6 billion in 2010 — up 60 per cent from the year before.
But Canada and Brazil do not have a free-trade agreement. Disputes over agriculture and aerospace during the 1990s and early 2000s hampered trade talks.
However last year, the countries agreed to co-operate on science, technology and innovation in a two-year deal worth $1.5 million.
Brazil is undergoing "a tremendous boom, and Canada's just a blip on its radar," said the CBC's Terry Milewski, who is travelling with the prime minister.
Harper's main goal is to help boost trade between Canada and Brazil, but he will also talk about security in the region. But the prime minister will not be talking down Canada's existing trade relationships while courting alternatives.
Under Harper, the Conservative government has tried to cement trade ties with Latin America and the Caribbean.
An April 2009 diplomatic cable from the U.S. embassy in Ottawa, published by WikiLeaks, gives some insight into the prime minister's thought process on bolstering ties within the Americas.
According to the classified document, a chat with former Australian prime minister John Howard got Harper thinking that Canada could hold more sway with the United States if his country had strong relations with other countries in the region.
"Harper had long been favourably impressed by Australia's ability to exert outsized influence with the U.S. in particular — and other powers as well — by emphasizing its relations in its own neighbourhood," the cable says, referring to a conversation with a senior Foreign Affairs official.
"PM Harper hoped to gain similar benefits for Canada by increased attention to Latin America and the Caribbean."
The Conservative government sent International Trade Minister Ed Fast on a trade mission to Brazil in June with 19 Canadian companies, including Bombardier and SNC-Lavalin.
Efforts appear to be paying off. Exports to Brazil of Canadian merchandise totalled $2.6 billion in 2010 — up 60 per cent from the year before.
But Canada and Brazil do not have a free-trade agreement. Disputes over agriculture and aerospace during the 1990s and early 2000s hampered trade talks.
However last year, the countries agreed to co-operate on science, technology and innovation in a two-year deal worth $1.5 million.