While the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement was created earlier this month, the massive multi-lateral trade deal still awaits ratification once Parliament resumes under Canada's new Liberal government.

The deal has garnered a lot of concern around supply management, but Brian Innes, the president of the Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance (CAFTA) has said in past the TPP would open up significant market access for export commodities like canola or pork.

Now that the election is over, Innes maintains his belief that the TPP would be beneficial to Canada, and hopes to move forward once the full text is released.

"Certainly I wouldn't want to pre-judge the outcome, and I think everyone is interested in doing the right analysis, but from what we know about the agreement and the positive impacts it will have, we can only see one option," Innes says. "I think having the opportunity to review the text, the Liberals will see the opportunity the text provides, and in doing so, hopefully they come to a conclusion that will support the growth and economic prosperity of agriculture in Western Canada."

According to Foreign Affairs, the TPP would eliminate or reduce tariffs on Canadian products like pork, canola oil, and wheat in Pacific Rim countries such as Japan and Vietnam.

However, Jan Slomp, president of the National Farmers Union (NFU) says this agreement may not be all that it seems. He says the deal isn't actually about trade, but rather about trans-national corporate rights.

"The sum of the whole thing is next to nothing for farmers improving market access, and even if there is, the price mechanisms are such that farmers at the farm gate do not gain at all," he says. "There is no gain if you produce more and export more if the price is below the cost of production, and often that's the case. So we need to have trade promoted that actually benefits across the chain, not just the traders, not just the processors, but farmers for a change."

Slomp says his biggest concern is still for Canadian supply management. He hopes the Liberal government will not want to ruffle feathers with Canadian dairy producers, and in turn choose not to ratify the TPP.

Innes, on the other hand, says when the full text of the TPP becomes available, he hopes the Liberals will see an opportunity in the deal for Canadian farmers. He says CAFTA looks forward to working with the new government to realize trade opportunities for Canada.