As of August 2009, China remained the largest U. S. supplier, followed by Canada, but the European Union as a whole had surpassed Canada as a supplier to the U. S.1 The Buy American provisions and the ‘thickening’ of the border present additional challenges to Canadian exporters. [...] According to the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), a London-based economic consulting fi rm, the U. S., Canada and Europe will account for about 49 percent to the world’s total gross domestic product (GDP) in 2009.2 This will be the fi rst time since the beginning of the mid-19th century Industrial Revolution that Western economies produced less than half of the world’s GDP. [...] Some businesses have moved to strengthen their level of engagement in the Asia-Pacifi c region, and the Government of Canada recently moved at senior political levels to build stronger economic relationships with China and India – the two countries anticipated to lead the world in growth in the foreseeable future. [...] Federal and provincial government leadership and private sector cooperation “have combined to take a world class port in Vancouver and to connect it to world class transportation systems to help grow the economy today and position it for even greater economic prosperity in the future.”5 This is an ongoing success story for Canada, and a model that is being adapted in other areas of the country. [...] The challenge is how to maintain the level of investment to ensure Canada’s post-secondary institutions “generate skilled and knowledgeable workers and attract more international top-fl ight talent”27 to meet the demands of the labour market.
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- 40
- Published in
- Canada
