Day is pushing his cabinet colleagues for a larger chunk of the $50 million the government sets aside annually in the budget under the Global Commerce Strategy.

Internal and external critics, including some of the provinces, have bemoaned Canada’s weak or outdated image abroad.

“We are getting the cue from people outside the country who are saying that Canada should market itself more and get the message out about what a good place this country is in which to work and invest and to live,” Day said in an interview.

Some of the components of a larger visibility push are already in place.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade has been bringing groups of foreign journalists to Canada, paying for their flights, accommodations and giving them a daily allowance.

While they’re here, the reporters get special access to high-profile figures such as Day, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney and the heads of the major banks.

The media coverage pays off in spades, says Day.

One recent junket produced positive coverage in France’s Le Figaro and Belgium’s De Tijd, with headlines like, “Canadian Lessons for Belgium,” or “The Canadian banking sector brags it’s one of the most solid in the world.”

“You’re not buying the ads, you’re subject to an array of questions from a reporter, which is fair game,” said Day. “But we think we’ve got a fair message that stands up to those investigative questions.”

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The provision in the government’s budget bill makes good on an election promise by Prime Minister Stephen Harper to relax the rules on foreign investment, including measures to encourage more foreign ownership of Canada’s airlines and uranium mining.

“It is unfortunate to see the government of Canada acting more in the interest of foreign investment than in the development and support of a Canadian economy,” Brent Patterson, a spokesperson for the Council of Canadians, said yesterday.

However, Liberal MP Scott Brison (Kings-Hants) acknowledged that foreign investment is key to economic recovery.

Proposed changes to the Investment Canada Act would raise to $1 billion the amount foreign investors from World Trade Organization countries can invest before coming under government review. That threshold now is $312 million in asset value.

“We are saying anything under a billion dollars doesn’t need the review that we have right now. Anything over a billion dollars still gets reviewed,” Industry Minister Tony Clement told reporters.

“We need foreign direct investment … because that creates jobs and opportunities for Canadians,” Clement said, adding there will still be national security interests that will have to be met.

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