Canadian Minister of International Trade Peter Van Loan said on Friday that global prosperity depends on free trade and investment, not protectionism.

"A core message from Canada at the G20 Summit will be to open doors to free trade around the world. We will continue our work on restoring the health of the global economy and defining the path forward for future sustainable growth," Van Loan said in a keynote speech at the University of Toronto.

"The G20 meeting will be an occasion for countries to reaffirm the commitments they made at last year's Pittsburgh Summit," said Van Loan.

"We all committed to resisting protectionism to ensure economic recovery. As recovery remains fragile, that commitment remains crucial," he said.

During his speech, Minister Van Loan urged the audience to give broad support to free trade among all nations. The audience include academics, international researchers and senior representatives of G20 countries.

G20 summit will be held on June 26-27 in Toronto, Canada, to discuss sustainable growth, financial system reform, international financial institution reform, and trade freedom promotion.