We interview Eric Eide of the Alliance for Southern California Innovation on the occasion of his recent appointment as the organization's new Managing Director. Eric shares a profile of the mission and work of the Alliance and discusses the contours of innovation in Southern California noting key trends, opportunities and challenges. We are proud to have Eric's leadership and insights as part of our MAPLE community where he serves on our Advisory Board. In 2021, MAPLE Business Council and the Alliance for Southern California became partner organizations with the goal of highlighting our complementary missions.

We are honoured to sit down this month with Ontario's lead economic representatives for California and New York, Consuls and Senior Economic Officers, Ms. Chelsea Peet and Mr. Aaron Pinto, to take a look back at 2021, and to look ahead at what’s to come for Ontario in 2022.

From the beautiful and dynamic city of Long Beach, California, we interview the city's Economic Development Director, John Keisler, for an update on one of California's largest cities with approximately 500,000 residents and a $3 trillion economy as it navigates the pandemic. With a booming tech sector, a new Long Beach Accelerator, and major investments from technology companies such as Swift, Relativity Space, and Virgin Orbit among others, there is much to get to know in this market.

This month, we are honored to share an interview with Nigel Neale, Consul, Senior Trade Commissioner and Director of Trade & Investment at the Consulate General of Canada in New York. John Costanzo, Executive Director of MAPLE New York, interviewed Nigel on the work of his team and some of their recent initiatives promoting economic ties between Canada and New York. We hope this interview provides a helpful window on how Canada engages economically with the New York region and opportunities for New York businesses to consider north of the border.

We are honored to be sharing an interview with the new U.S. Consul General in Vancouver, D. Brent Hardt, who became the senior U.S. diplomat for British Columbia and Yukon in August. In October, we had the pleasure of hosting a fireside chat with CG Hardt at our MAPLE British Columbia Fall Reception. In this interview with MAPLE B.C. Executive Director, Jason Tse, the Consul General outlines the work of his office and the opportunities between the region and the United States. Thank you CG Hardt for the opportunity to expand on our discussion from our recent event together.

MAPLE New York Executive Director, John Costanzo, interviews Khawar Nasim, Acting Consul General of Canada in New York, on Canada’s Consular roots in New York, the breadth and depth of Canada - New York economic ties and the importance of the recent entry into force of the USMCA trade agreement.

We speak with Air Canada for an update on how the airline is navigating the disruption to business and leisure air travel as as result of the pandemic. New York City-based, Vincent Gauthier-Doré, Senior Director of USA Sales, shares perspectives on the steps Air Canada has taken to welcome passengers back. This is also our first interview with one of our MAPLE New York members since announcing our new Chapter this month.

As this is a very special month for us having just turned 5 years old, we are also including the full interview with our Executive Director of our new MAPLE New York Chapter - John T. Costanzo. John shares perspectives on Canada-U.S. trade collected over 35 years in the field which includes having led Jericho, New York-based Purolator International. Welcome to MAPLE, John.

We are honoured to sit down this month with Ontario's lead economic representative for California, Consul and Senior Economic Officer, Ms. Chelsea Peet, to learn more about the work of her team in connecting Ontario and California together for trade, investment and innovation collaborations. Ontario is the 7th largest economy in North America by GDP, and if it were a country, it would be the 3rd largest trading partner of the U.S with California representing Ontario's second largest U.S. export market.

Looking south to Riverside County in Southern California, Jaime Hurtado, Manager of Trade Delegations and International Business Matching, answers our questions about this vibrant, diverse and growing part of our territory. We appreciate the time to catch up with Jaime and the Office of Foreign Trade. Riverside County is the first county in the United States to open an international trade office.

This month we have the special pleasure of interviewing Thierry Weissenburger, Consul and Senior Trade Commissioner at the Consulate General of Canada in Los Angeles. Thierry recently moved to Southern California to lead the work of a 16-member trade commissioner team based in LA and San Diego responsible for the Southern California, Arizona and Nevada territory. Thierry brings a wealth of experience to our region including past leadership roles for Canada in Northern California, Boston and Ottawa.