TORONTO – A senior investment strategist at Vanguard says he is optimistic that certain concessions from Canada could help achieve a positive outcome for the review of North America’s free trade agreement coming this year.
Ashish Dewan says that despite attempts to diversify trading partners, the Canadian economy is still largely reliant on U.S. trade.
He says the sector-specific tariffs like those on steel are having the biggest negative effect.
In exchange for removing some of those tariffs, Dewan says U.S. policymakers may want access to Canada’s dairy market and reforms to the Online Streaming Act.
Overall, he says he is optimistic about the outlook for the Canadian economy this year, being supported by labour conditions, fiscal stimulus and other factors.
Dewan says he expects gross domestic product to come in at 1.6 per cent this year.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 21, 2026.
