Canadians spend more than 60% of their disposable income on overseas good and services, particularly those from the USA, supported by the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA), which came into force on July 1, 2020.
For businesses in the UK, Canada offers vast, often untapped, opportunities to engage with an open minded, highly receptive market, that shares a number of cultural aspects as well as a common language.
Untapped opportunities for UK businesses in Canada
Trade and investment opportunities between the UK and Canada have long had their benefits, ranging from cultural similarities to the UK-Canada Trade Continuity Agreement (TCA) post Brexit. The agreement provides continuity, predictability and stability for trade between Canada and the United Kingdom. For example, the agreement facilitates a competitive advantage in the UK market, including preferential tariffs.
However, in 2020 it was estimated that around 11,900 UK VAT-registered businesses exported goods to Canada and 7,600 UK VAT-registered businesses imported goods. While that's significant, there are approximately 236,000 UK businesses making the most of overseas opportunities overall, and a total of 4,894,356 registered businesses in the UK at the end of March 2022 (interestingly, that's an increase of 3.8% from the year before).
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Leading the way in trade and investment opportunities in Canada
Knowing the opportunities that are available for UK businesses by nurturing relationships with Canada, gigCMO has always championed it as a market for relevant organisations that we work with.
With that in mind, we were invited to join the panel for a Canada-UK Chamber of Commerce, High Commission of Canada and the Institute of Directors' Panel Discussion and Networking Reception this month. The event is entitled 'Trade & Investment opportunities in Canada for UK businesses.'
The event, which takes place on 13th October, is overseen by Andrew Smith, Minister (Commercial & Economic) at the High Commission of Canada. He is a representative from the Department for International Trade, who will be delivering keynote introductions and happens to hail from St. Boniface, Manitoba - the same small corner of Canada as Mark's own family. He will be joined by a panel including Cora McLaren from HSBC UK, Kevin McGurgen from Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, a representative from BritishVolt and Mark from gigCMO.
The event, which will be held at Canada House on Trafalgar Square, is an exciting opportunity for business leaders to understand and consider market expansion through trade and investment opportunities in Canada.
On joining the panel this month, Mark said: "International trade is crucial to companies in the UK and Canada. As a Canadian citizen by birth and a British citizen by choice and knowing both the UK and Canada as home and places of work, I am passionate about the opportunities that both have to offer one another. It's a great pleasure to be around those with the same vision for shared success."
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