Expanding Canada's trade footprint is at the top of Prime Minister Stephen Harper agenda as he arrived Friday for the Summit of the Americas in Cartagena, Colombia.
The weekend summit brings together some 34 hemispheric leaders, and Canada will be facing a robust bloc of Latin American nations expecting more impressive economic growth this year.
Harper is focused on expanding Canada's trade in South America, and will be looking for support among the other leaders for entry into the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
But Canada's supply management system, which protects certain produce such as eggs and milk from international competition, has been seen as a roadblock by other countries, including the United States.
Aside from trade, there are other issues at the summit including debate over whether Cuba should be welcomed to the fold. There is growing consensus among Latin American and Caribbean countries that Cuba should be allowed to join the gathering.
All nations, with the exception of Canada and the U.S., are unequivocal in their support of Cuba returning to the Summit. Ecuador's Rafael Correa is boycotting the summit because of Cuba's absence.
"I hope this will be the last summit without Cuba," Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, the summit host, said this week.
But Harper does not welcome the idea.
"This is a meeting of democracies and Cuba is the outlier here," Harper's director of communications Andrew MacDougall said Thursday.
But Harper's opinion might not have much impact if he takes a hard line.
Nations like Argentina, Brazil, Peru and Chile have emerged as strong economies despite the global economic turndown of the past few years, and there is new unity among regional countries.
In fact, the U.S. and Canada were purposely excluded from the group of Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), which was created last December.
According to regional expert and author Hal Weitzman, Latin America is no longer desperate for foreign investment.
"It's important for Canada and any large developed country to remember that the dynamic has changed and you're not just competing with the U.S. to show that you're not American, but there are a whole load of other investors who are prepared to come in on very different terms and under very different conditions," Weitzman told The Canadian Press.
"It's like a long-term investment to get involved in Latin America now and to treat them as partners and to listen," he adds.
Meanwhile, Harper said that Canada had a new air transportation deal with Colombia, which allows better co-operation between air services.
He also signed a memorandum of understanding with Colombia that would hand over $1 million over the next two years to help law enforcement in Honduras and Guatemala.
But there is growing consensus that North America needs a fresh take on drug enforcement, as extreme drug-related violence occurs in some parts of the region.
With files from The Canadian Press
