Canada Announces Increase in Direct Flights Permitted to and from China
by Bruce Parkinson
Government of Canada logo.
Minister of Transport and Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, the Honourable Steven MacKinnon, has announced an incremental increase to the number of direct flights permitted between Canada and China.
Coming on the heels of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s visit to Beijing earlier this year, the government says the decision delivers on the Canada-China Economic and Trade Cooperation Roadmap and supports the renewal of Canada’s economic relationship with China.
“Increasing passenger and cargo flights with China is a very positive step towards our trade diversification goals while also reinforcing our strong people-to-people ties,” MacKinnon said.
“We are giving Canadian travellers more choice and more convenience while growing our commercial relationship with China.”
Canadian and Chinese airlines are now permitted:
- To incrementally increase direct passenger-combination flights.
- Up to 20 all-cargo flights per week.
- Reciprocal access to all points in each country.
China is the second-largest single-country merchandise trading partner to Canada, with $124.8 billion worth of two-way merchandise trade in 2025. Canadian merchandise exports to China were valued at $34.1 billion, while merchandise imports were valued at $90.6 billion.
Canada has air transport agreements or arrangements covering more than 125 countries.
