Dr. Edward Akuffo (Image Credit: UFV)

By Alyssa Conti

SEIZING OPPORTUNITY

UFV professor’s Canada-Africa trade report brought to Senate amid U.S. tariff uncertainty

Jan 25, 2026 | 12:03 PM

CHILLIWACK — A researcher at the University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) is looking to pitch a new trade frontier as economic uncertainty continues seeping up from across the U.S. border. 

Dr. Edward Akuffo has contributed to two recently published federal government reports on Canada-Africa trade relations, including the latest 61-page follow-up urging officials to make Africa a “strategic priority”.

“Canada is at least two decades behind when it comes to broadening and deepening its relationship with the African continent,” Akuffo noted. 

The December 2025 report cited figures from the African Development Bank (ADB), stating that Africa’s population is estimated to nearly double by 2050, rising from 1.4 to 2.5 billion.

Despite this, Africa accounted for only one per cent of Canada’s merchandise trade in 2024. Akuffo suggests that Canadian governments have historically viewed the continent as having “insignificant geostrategic value.” 

Restaurant Closure

Langley sports bar shuts doors after more than a decade in service

12h ago

Draft Policy

AbbyPD seeks public feedback on police response to service complaints

14h ago

Air quality is being monitored after a barge fire in Surrey, B.C.

14h ago

“This is largely due to the portrayals of the African continent as economically poor and conflict-ridden,” Akuffo says. “Yet this perception doesn’t measure squarely with the current reality of a continent that is primed for takeoff.”  

The report presents 21 recommendations, such as increasing direct investment and strengthening Export Development Canada, the Trade Commissioner Service, and other tools to deepen Canadian commercial engagement in Africa.

Canada also launched an investment fund for Africa in 2005, which provided risk capital for private-sector development on the continent and bolstered the country’s economic diplomacy. 

“It can be argued that those investments have contributed to unlocking economic opportunities in the extractive industry in Africa, where Canada’s mining assets, which was valued at $6 billion in 2005 and is now valued at $39 billion 2026,” Akuffo said.  

That fund was discontinued during the Stephen Harper government.

The ADB expects Africa to be home to 13 of the world’s top 20 fastest-growing economies from 2025 – an opportunity Akuffo is urging to seize. 

“Without significant effort and a serious commitment, Canada risks becoming a peripheral player in that area of the world.”