Canadian Chamber of Commerce

As Day One of the the Atlantic Chamber of Commerce Annual Conference comes to a close, we want to extend a sincere thank you to our outstanding speakers for an engaging and insightful day of learning and discussion. Thank you to: Candace Laing for sharing valuable perspectives on Canada’s business environment, economic priorities, and the future of Canadian business. Gerry Protti for leading an engaging fireside chat with Candace Laing and providing important national and international insights on Canada’s economy and competitiveness. Matt Symes for his presentation, “AI for Chambers: Urgency, Principles and Opportunity,” and for sharing practical insights on how Chambers can prepare for and embrace AI. Deneen Belliveau for her leadership and continued support of Chambers and Boards of Trade across Canada. Today was filled with meaningful conversations, valuable networking, innovative ideas, and collaboration among Chamber professionals from across Atlantic Canada. We look forward to another excellent day tomorrow!

Earlier this week, our President and CEO, Candace Laing, joined the Atlantic Chamber of Commerce for their AGM as a keynote speaker, sharing insights on trade, workforce challenges, national unity and the important role chambers play in Canada’s business community and economy. Thank you to the Atlantic Chamber of Commerce and all attendees for your thoughtful discussions and enthusiastic engagement throughout the event. It was great to see chamber and business professionals from across Atlantic Canada come together to exchange ideas and explore opportunities for Canada's economic growth and competitiveness.

Yesterday, we convened an industry roundtable with the Honourable Marjorie Michel, Minister of Health, and the Honourable heath macdonald, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, to discuss how changes to the mandates of the Pesticides Regulatory Directorate and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency can be leveraged to enhance the competitiveness of Canada's $150 billion agriculture and agri-food sector.   With the addition of an economic and food security lens to the agencies' mandates in the Spring Economic Update, the focus must now be on ensuring this important step results in tangible improvements to the regulatory process at the department level. We look forward to continuing our work with stakeholders to advance these objectives, and special thanks to the Canadian Federation of Agriculture for their partnership on this initiative!

More on PM Mark Carney’s remarks in New York. Our Principal Economist, Andrew DiCapua joined BNN Bloomberg to share his economic perspective on Carney’s push to position Canada as a global investment hub. The conversation touched on Canada’s opportunity to strengthen its position as a competitive and resilient global partner through major projects, trade diversification, economic resilience, and a renewed focus on competitiveness and defence. Key Takeaway: Canada is ready to compete, invest and lead. Watch the Full Interview ➡️https://hubs.ly/Q04jpJJL0

Yesterday’s remarks by PM Mark Carney in New York reinforced what Canadian business leaders have been saying for some time: Canada has a major opportunity right now, but we need to act with urgency and confidence. Our EVP, International & Chief of Public Policy, Matthew Holmes appeared on CPAC to talk about Carney's Canada Investment Pitch to New York. For business, this means: • Accelerating major projects. • Diversifying trade and investment relationships. • Investing in strategic industries and infrastructure. • Positioning Canada as a stable and competitive place to do business. This is not about stepping away from the United States; it’s about building a stronger, more resilient Canada, while reinforcing our role as a strong North American partner. Watch the Full Interview ➡️ https://hubs.ly/Q04jp4F00

Pivot or Peril: Are Canadian Cities Diversifying or Doubling Down on America? Today, the Business Data Lab (BDL) released new analysis examining which Canadian cities are successfully diversifying beyond the U.S. market, and which remain highly exposed to U.S. trade disruption and are now showing signs of local economic stress. The findings suggest Canada’s trade diversification is real, but highly uneven and concentrated. Some key findings: • Calgary, Ottawa–Gatineau, Toronto, Saskatoon and Kelowna are among the CMAs making the strongest gains in non-U.S. export diversification • Oshawa, London and Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo are among the regions showing some of the clearest signs of trade-related economic stress • What looks like diversification is actually concentration: non-U.S. exports rose 17%, but the number of exporters increased far less – suggesting existing exporters are driving most of the gains, rather than new firms entering global markets. • Roughly 90% of non-exporting businesses still describe themselves as “local” in nature The broader takeaway: diversification is increasingly becoming a resilience strategy – not just a growth strategy. Canada does not just need more trade. It needs more traders. That’s one reason why BDL is currently developing a new trade diversification tool designed to help Canadian businesses better identify international market opportunities and understand where their products may already be competitive globally. Read the full analysis below. Thanks to Jasleen Kaur Trehan for collaborating with me on the analysis. FYI: Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Catherine Fortin LeFaivre (elle/she/her), Shane Mackenzie, Matthew Holmes, Economic Developers Association of Canada (EDAC), John Perrott, Daniel Caramori, Xavier Roy, Ruhee Ismail-Teja, MPP, Stephanie Naday, Margot Orr-Stevenson, Saad Usmani, George Greenwood, MBA, CPA, CFP, Federation of Canadian Municipalities, Mark Rendell, Brett Chang https://lnkd.in/ezKvy-dW #Trade #TradeDiversification #CanadaUS #CanadianEconomy #Exports #SMEs #EconomicDevelopment #SupplyChains #TradePolicy #EconomicResilience #BusinessData #Productivity #CdnBiz #CDNPoli #GlobalTrade #Manufacturing #ServicesTrade #BusinessDataLab #CanadianChamber

Canadian cities are facing a critical question: diversify beyond the U.S. market or remain highly exposed to trade disruption. In this latest analysis, our Business Data Lab examines which Canadian cities are successfully expanding into new markets, and which are already showing signs of local economic stress tied to U.S. trade dependence. Key findings include: • Mid-sized manufacturing cities with high exposure to the U.S. market are showing signs of economic stress • Cities with more diversified export destinations are better positioned to withstand trade uncertainty • Communities tied closely to automotive and industrial exports face greater vulnerability to shifts in U.S. demand • Export diversification is emerging as an important factor in long-term local economic resilience Read the full analysis ➡️https://hubs.ly/Q04jb3Nr0 #Trade #Economy #CanadaUS #SupplyChains #BusinessData

It was an honour celebrating Mr. Alain Bouchard as the recipient of the International Business Leader of the Year Award. His entrepreneurial vision, global leadership and lasting contributions to Canadian business continue to inspire the business community across Canada and around the world. 

On Monday, members gathered for the Q2 meeting of our Ottawa Liaison Committee, where they were fortunate enough to be hosted by Senator Andrew Cardozo, who spoke to them about how businesses can best engage with the Red Chamber and kindly offered a tour of the beautiful Senate of Canada Building.   Members heard from other distinguished speakers, including the Honourable Francis Scarpaleggia, Speaker of the House of Commons, who discussed his more than two decades on Parliament Hill as an MP and his role leading the House through daily proceedings as its 40th Speaker. Allison Gifford from Clear Strategy also joined to talk recent shifts in the political landscape and the challenges associated with holding together a progressive coalition nationally.   Thanks to all our guests and members for these engaging discussions!