We visited 4 major cities in Canada, namely Toronto, Quebec City, Montreal, and Vancouver, through the Media Tour with an invitation organized by Invest in Canada (the International Trade component of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada).
Read our report on Toronto and Quebec City to find out more about opportunities that Canada can offer as a next destination for your business, career, and studies in animation. About Vancouver, please check our interview in Annecy 2016.
The Competitiveness of Canada
Canada is now known for attracting many foreign companies as their new business location, supported by its solid trade agreements, economic growth, and talent base.
- Access to NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement): allows business to reach a market with a combined GDP of $20 trillion.
- Strong ties with the EU: The Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) is expected to come into force in 2017.
- Strong workforce base: A highly educated, motivated and flexible workforce is available. According to OECD’s “Education at a Glance 2015” published November 2015, Canada ranks first among OECD countries for post-secondary education and 54% of the adult population in Canada has completed tertiary education.
- Competitive business cost: According to KMPG’s Competitive Alternatives 2016, a guide to international business location costs, overall business costs in Canada are the lowest in the G7 (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom), and come in at 14.6% below those in the United States.
A Single-Sentence Summary of the Four Cities
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Mike Darch, President of the Consider Canada City Alliance, described the characteristics of each city:
Toronto: Canada’s business and financial center, and the largest city in Canada.
Quebec City: The lowest unemployment rate in Canada, and brings in global companies in order to create a base and build their own companies.
Montreal: The technology center of North America.
Vancouver: The most Asian city that’s not in Asia, the fastest growing city by GDP, and the second lowest unemployment rate in Canada.
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