globalEDGE Blog - By Tag: Canada

In an effort to develop closer trade ties with China, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper met with Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao in Beijing last week.  Canada’s goal is to continue to increase its trade with China in hopes of decreasing its reliance on trade with the United States.  This goal especially relates to the oil industry and Canada’s effort to overcome the increasing environmental regulations being imposed by the United States.  Canada sees China as a solid alternative for trade because of its vast market size and high demand for foreign oil.

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Forbes has just released its list of "Best Countries for Business" and this year Canada has reached the top. Canada jumped up from last year’s number 4 spot to claim the top spot on the list. Countries were ranked based on 11 key factors including “property rights, innovation, taxes, technology, corruption, freedom (personal, trade and monetary), red tape, investor protection and stock market performance.” Through a variety of reliable sources, Forbes was able to evaluate countries based on these characteristics and rank the countries in order of business attractiveness.

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A new report by KPMG is claiming that the clean technology sector is a strong force in the economy of several Canadian provinces, including British Columbia. The report says that clean tech firms will directly generate over $2.5 billion for the economy in 2011, not including other economic benefits created by these companies. This is a 57% increase from 2008. The growth is not expected to slow either; KPMG has stated that the sector will grow 16.5% to 8,400 employees in 2011.

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A new study by Aon Consulting determined that Toronto is the most desirable city in the world for corporations to recruit and hire employees. The research included 90 cities world-wide, and compared cities based on demographics, education, government regulations, and employment practices.

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Spanning across the Detroit River just over a mile long between Detroit, Michigan and Windsor, Ontario, the eighty-one years old Ambassador Bridge is the busiest commercial border crossing in North America. It's also falling apart.

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The global recession caused many companies to delay any expansion goals and to stay away from risky proposals. Retailers, for example are still risk-averse, however their concerns about future growth is making start considering expansion again. Some U.S. companies are taking steps into international expansion into Canada.

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As the Trade North America Conference continues, it is important to understand the nuances of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) which make the implementation of NAFTA’s goals possible. One of the largest barriers to getting the agreement passed, and which still creates issues today are the legal issues surrounding the agreement, as well as how it deals with the differing legal systems of each of the countries involved.

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Why should a small business enter the Canadian and Mexican market? There are a plethora of opportunities in both countries. From a United States perspective, they are the largest foreign investor in Canada and the most popular destination for Canadian investment. The U.S. exports to Canada exceed their exports to the entire European Union. Mexico isn't far behind with the second largest market in the world for U.S. exports. In 2007, U.S. and Mexico two-way trade exceeded one billion dollars a day. I will briefly discuss both the challenges, potential, and strategies for entering both the Canadian and the Mexican market.

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An integral part of the Trade North America Conference are sessions about the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). It is essential to be educated about NAFTA in order to be able to expand your business in North America.

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The Trade North America Conference, happening in Detroit this week, is a great opportunity for the Midwest regional business community to learn about today’s trade climate. Underscoring the importance of the event, Undersecretary of Commerce, Dennis Hightower and former Governor of Michigan, John Engler will be speaking. The focus of the conference is to equip businesspeople with information which will enhance their ability to successfully export products to Canada and Mexico.

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What do you do when your cell phone company changes its prices in the middle of your two year contract? If you terminate your contract, you will be charged and you cannot simply say "no" to the changes. Some companies promise fixed rates while the contract lasts; however, in many countries in the world, companies have a policy of "prices are subject to change". The reason why a cell phone company would decide to raise prices is in the hope to make a bigger profit - you either pay the high price or you pay the charge to cancel. However, this is where they go wrong.

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Check out this ranking of the top MBA programs outside the US, from BusinessWeek. Just in case you're curious, here are the contenders:

1. Queen's University, in Canada
2. IE Business School, in Spain
3. INSEAD, in France
4. University of Western Ontario, in Canada
5. London Business School, in the UK
6. ESADE, in Spain
7. IMD, in Switzerland
8. University of Toronto, in Canada
9. IESE, in Spain
10. Oxford University, in the UK

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Passport requirements have been a complicated issue for travelers in North America. Starting June 1, 2009, new travel requirements will be implemented by the USA which will consequently have an effect on Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and 17 nations in the Caribbean region. The WHTI (Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative) will require all persons to present a valid passport when entering the USA by land or sea. As of 2007 these requirements have been in effect for air travel. Because of a friendly border crossing agreement, the Canada Border Services does not require U.S. citizens to present a passport when driving to Canada. This agreement used to be mutual, however the USA wants to strengthen border security and standardize travel documentation.

These new regulations will have a tremendous economic effect on the involved nations. Canada will feel the change more strongly than the USA since a bigger percentage of Canadians have passports compared to Americans. The changes will not affect business travel as much as leisure trips. Niagara Falls, Windsor, Toronto, and Montreal are among some of the most visited places in Canada. Furthermore, the summer is a popular period for many who live close to the border to go on camping trips in Canada. During the summer of 2009, however, there will probably be a huge decrease in travel. The WHTI is expected to lower U.S. travel receipts by close to $800 million (compared to data from five years ago) in the two years following full implementation. Furthermore, according to a report prepared by The Conference Board of Canada, U.S. travel to Canada is expected to fall by approximately 3.2 million trips and the Canada-USA trips by 7.4 million. This report however was prepared at a time when the world was not facing a financial crisis. Consequently, it is now expected that travel would fall by even bigger numbers.   

Tourism in North America will most likely face a not so profitable season this summer while travelers try to find their way through the confusion of new travel documents.

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