OTTAWA, March 5 (Reuters) - Canada, citing fears that

recent trade turbulence could cut the value of domestic

companies, on Wednesday vowed to make it harder for foreign

firms to launch "predatory" takeover bids.

Innovation Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne made the

announcement a day after U.S. President Donald Trump launched a

trade war against Canada and Mexico.

Under the Investment Canada Act, Ottawa can approve or

reject mergers and acquisitions based on their net benefit to

the country. Champagne said from now on, investments would also

be studied to see if they might undermine Canada's security at a

time when the economy was facing unprecedented challenges.

"As a result of a rapidly shifting trade environment, some

Canadian businesses could see their valuations decline, making

them susceptible to opportunistic or predatory investment

behavior by non-Canadians," Champagne said in a statement.

"When these businesses are important to Canada's economic

resiliency ... it would run counter to Canada's interests to

allow them to fall victim to this type of behavior."

He did not give details. Last July, the government put the

mining industry on notice that any major deals targeting the

country's producers of critical minerals would only be approved

under "the most exceptional circumstances".

In March 2024, Ottawa introduced tougher national security

reviews of proposed foreign investments in sensitive sectors to

enable it to quickly spot potentially problematic deals.