We return for an update on the innovation ecosystem in Southern California. Eric Eide, Managing Director of our partner, Pasadena-based Alliance for Southern California Innovation, shares their latest research on this topic prepared in partnership with Boston Consulting Group. The fresh insights reveal exciting trends in SoCal's startup and VC landscape, the growth of our world-class academic institutions, and how Southern California compares to other major tech hubs such as the Bay Area, Boston and New York City.

Los Angeles will be welcoming the world for global events in the coming years including the Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2028. We are honoured to hear from Terri Batch, CEO of Global LA, for some perspectives on the opportunities awaiting Canadian businesses in the Greater LA region which include leveraging all that our USMCA/CUSMA free trade agreement offers. 

In the vast expanse of North America, Canada and Colorado represent two distinct yet interconnected regions with a thriving economic relationship. Though separated by thousands of miles, the economic ties between the Canadian provinces and the Centennial State have strengthened over recent years, reflecting a robust partnership that spans various industries from natural resources to technology. This article delves into the intricate economic relationship between Canada and Colorado, highlighting key sectors of interaction, diplomatic ties, and the future outlook for this transnational partnership.

In the early days of MAPLE® Business Council, we had the pleasure of meeting and later collaborating with Linda DiMario who at that time was the Executive Vice President of the Greater Irvine Chamber in Orange County, California. In Linda, we found a kindred spirit in promoting what makes Greater Irvine and OC a great place to live and do business as we pursued our respective outreach to Canada and the United Kingdom. Among her other pursuits, Linda is now Director of Community Engagement at the Octane organization and we asked her if she would share some insights from her distinguished career in economic development that spans the U.S. and which has also led to the building of many key economic bridges internationally. We are grateful that Linda accepted our invitation. 

We are equally excited and honoured to share insights on the California market from Cynthia Coulter, Managing Principal of Los Angeles-based Aleksandra Corporation. As a  "business spirit guide",  Canadian expat, and a long-time MAPLE Executive Member, Cynthia has helped businesses of all sizes to enter new international markets with a focus on California. A big thank you to Cynthia for taking the time to share with us some of her market insights along with a window on her own journey to Southern California for our August issue.  

Riverside County has strategically established itself as a focal point for clean energy initiatives, advancements in HealthTech and Life Sciences, Agtech and Climate Tech. Riverside County is experiencing explosive growth and has immense opportunity for entrepreneurs looking to take their business to the next level. Find out why Riverside County is a thriving hub for businesses to grow and flourish.

And this month, Ontario International's Trade and Invest teams in California and New York profile the breadth of the artificial intelligence ecosystem in the Province. The roots of AI run deep in Ontario, spanning over three decades to the groundbreaking work of Geoffrey Hinton, the esteemed scientist from the University of Toronto who pioneered neural nets.

Today, the confluence of public and private investment, policy, talent, higher education, and innovation are continuing to advance AI innovations and future technological breakthroughs within the AI domain. 

This month our look north and south across the Canada-U.S. border starts with getting an expansion to the U.S. right. As Paula Cruickshank, Senior Vice President, Ontario at the Business Development Bank of Canada shares, when the time is right for U.S. expansion, you need to ensure you also have the right strategy. Paula discusses how even when Canadian businesses are well positioned for U.S. expansion,  having the right strategies and fundamentals in place is still critical for success. And she shares insights into how to get it right.

You may not be aware that 2024 ushered in Canada's modern slavery legislation, the Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act which came into force on January 1, 2024. With the Act, Canada introduced reporting obligations to combat modern slavery in the supply chains of many businesses and other "entities" with connections to Canada. Lindsay Clements and Jennifer Wasylyk, Partners at Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP, profile this important legislation for us. 

Doing business cross border has significantly changed due to the pandemic.  This article looks at changes in doing global business in recent years from a practitioner's perspective, specific trends and factors that impact successful brand entry into a new country and how several countries where you might take your business are expected to do economically in 2024. Data referenced in this article is sourced from the EGS Global Business Bi-Weekly Newsletter, monitoring over 40 online information sources, visiting many of the countries listed post-pandemic and input from the EGS network of in-country associates who live and work in their economies.

San Bernardino County is open for business! This is the premise the County had the pleasure of promoting while hosting a “Growing Global Partnerships” roundtable and tour with the MAPLE Business Council and Canadian business leaders in August.  With Canada consistently a key market for international trade and foreign direct investment, the County was honored to share information regarding its many business advantages, learn more about Canadian business initiatives, and support the MAPLE Business Council by becoming a member. 

Have you ever wondered what keeps the heartbeat of Canadian-American trade pulsing? Look no further than Canada's international bridges, the spectacular landmarks that serve as the lifeblood of our economic relationship with the United States. The Federal Bridge Corporation Limited (The FBCL), a Canadian federal Crown corporation, shoulders the responsibility of many of these vital arteries, maintaining them to be open every second of every day, all year round, at strategic locations like Sault Ste. Marie, Point Edward, Lansdowne (Thousand Islands), and Cornwall, Ontario.

The world needs more Canada... still. 

That’s what I thought when old friend Clark Grue, CEO of Rainmaker Global Market Access,  invited me late last Fall, to co-found and Chair, Celebrate Canada Worldwide;  a not-for-profit committed to bringing Canada to the world stage. After 30 plus years dedicated to representing the country I love, I just couldn’t resist. 

Six months later, on June 29, 2023, following  a 10-year hiatus and a global pandemic, our flagship event, "Canada Day London" made its triumphant return to Trafalgar Square. 30,000 of our closest friends came together to soak in the goodness of Canadian culture, making it the largest Canada Day celebration in the world outside Canada.

Worldwide, we had observed the rise of “populist” movements and wondered how much they could take hold. Populism on any end of the political spectrum can be dangerous. The simplicity of the message is good at capturing raw emotions, but ultimately just reflections of false prophethood that don’t offer real solutions to real problems. It also leads to political sectarianism that excludes rather than unites when we all know we are always stronger together, especially in these uncertain times. Like many, Lisa and I stood wondering what this century will bring for our children. And how we might resist.     

How about having everyone over for dinner? 

The Latino GDP Project seeks to provide a factual view of the large and rapidly growing economic contribution of Latinos living in the United States. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is a broad measure of economic activity, representing the value of all finished goods and services produced within a geographic area in a given year. GDP growth is a nearly universal summary statistic for the performance of an economy.

Long Island is often mischaracterized as solely a bedroom community of the NYC business sector. While it’s true that Long Island was the birthplace of the first housing development in the U.S. for returning World War II vets (Levittown), it has a much more storied history. 
 

Gesta Abols and Neil Kravitz, Co-Leaders of the Cross-Border and International Practice at Fasken together with Paul Blyschak, Counsel, identify 5 areas of interest that U.S. buyers should be aware of when pursuing M&A opportunities in Canada.

The authors point out that private M&A in Canada, as well as Canadian business practice, are very similar to the U.S. It is no surprise then that Canada is consistently amongst the most popular destinations for U.S. outbound investment.

As we enter 2023, the commercial real estate world continues to prove it is not one story, but several unique narratives based upon geographic location and product type. While we all attempt to underwrite the markets based upon detailed analytics using the best information we have, like all asset classes, real estate is subject to many external factors that often cloud our crystal ball. The only real constant is change.

Before 2022 is too far behind in our rear view mirrors, we are taking a brief look back at how our MAPLE® community grew last year sharing some of the highlights of a very busy year. 

Amidst the whitewaters of a pandemic, global supply chain issues, a war in Europe, and a global labour shortage, is this the time for Canada to lace up for the big game? Maryscott "Scotty" Greenwood, CEO of Washington D.C.-based Canadian American Business Council, explores how this moment in history is an opportunity for Canada to flex its inherent advantages to contribute to the good of the democracy-led, rules-based international order. It's a thought provoking read.

August 1996. I am sitting on the plane approaching Vancouver, holding my breath, looking out the window. Down there, I see a magical landscape of a fairy-tale-like city immersed in greenery with impressive bodies of water, bathing in the lazy afternoon sun, all wrapped around by a range of spectacular mountains. I am stunned and fall in love with the city before stepping onto its grounds.

What awaits me here?

The last two years have thrown one curveball after another at North American business—Covid, supply chain disruption, rising US-China tensions, and the biggest war in Europe since 1945. These events have heightened uncertainty and raised the specter of a return to 1970s stagflation--or worse. But these fears are overblown. While there will be imbalances to work off, both the US and Canada are well-placed to emerge stronger from these trials.

The COVID pandemic has transformed the global economy and one of the major consequences will likely be a strengthening of the already robust trading relationship between Canada and the United States. The pandemic has changed the way we work, disrupted global supply chains and accelerated technology adoption, among other effects. The war in Ukraine has given added impetus to many of the changes and injected geopolitical uncertainty into the economy.The changes mean businesses have to face a new set of challenges on top of the ones that pre-dated the pandemic. These include an aging population that’s led to labour shortages in Canada, the U.S. and elsewhere in the developed world.

I grew up in the suburbs of Washington DC in the 1990s. It was an idyllic upbringing in a sheltered, middle-class neighborhood just 15 minutes from downtown DC. In high school, I participated in any kind of activity that would have me. Somehow, that ended up including the high school choir, which was an essential validation of any meager talent I had since my older brother was an accomplished singer. The best part of being in the choir is that we got to go on an exchange trip to another city - and that year we went to Toronto.

North of the 49th parallel this month, we turn our focus to an exciting organization in British Columbia that came to be because of the vision of its founder, Paola Viviana Murillo. A native of Colombia, Paola came to Canada by way of the United States and saw an opportunity to bring together and celebrate the Latinx communities of Greater Vancouver and British Columbia. Her vision led to the founding of Latincouver - the Latin America Plaza in B.C. - one of the leading organizations in the province, if not in Canada, that is focused on supporting Canada's Hispanic communities.

Major financial institutions are projecting Alberta will lead Canada in economic growth in 2022. Doubling down on investment attraction throughout the pandemic has led to billions in private investment across agriculture, energy, technology, and financial services to flow into Alberta.

Invest Alberta’s clients were part of this journey, announcing $19 billion in investment and over 5,000 jobs last fiscal. As Alberta continues to grow its pipeline of high-impact, high-value investment, new announcements and growing government steps to keep Alberta competitive are paving the way for emerging sectors and continued investment in technology, fintech, agriculture processing, hydrogen and more.

Thank you for the opportunity to describe to your readers what the Government of Canada has been doing in support of Canadian businesses during the past year. Despite continuing to address the challenges of COVID-19 during 2021, the International Business Development team at the Canadian Consulate General in New York was able to make considerable progress in advancing Canadian commercial interests in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut and Delaware. We brought over 180 high-potential new Canadian business clients to market to connect them with sources of capital for fundraising, investors, mentors, distributors, agents, sales partners and customers.

Québec is all set to become the North American leader in the manufacture and assembly of lithium-ion batteries. An economic powerhouse in its own right in Canada, Québec is strategically located to tap the U.S. market and its enormous potential for electric transportation. The province is primed to make a sizeable investment to develop a battery industry and accelerate the transition to electrified transportation.

The Province of Ontario, Canada, is home to a thriving innovation ecosystem where we pride ourselves in the belief that we, as a province, become stronger and more dynamic when we incorporate diversity into our way of life. Ethnicity, language, and gender combine to paint a vibrant picture of Ontario’s values – a place where everyone is welcome. In Ontario, more than 200 languages are spoken on a daily basis, and people from over 150 countries have been welcomed to and now call the province home. In our provincial capital city of Toronto, more than 50 per cent of residents are foreign-born.

Is it really the right time to seek out new opportunities by expanding to a new country? With all the travel restrictions and drastic changes to immigration policies, you might think its crazy to consider that international expansion right now. Or maybe it’s just being courageous. With the proper perspective it might be just what you need to succeed right now.