Going Global

There is a brighter and more prosperous future for Atlantic Canada that can be achieved through increased global competitiveness and international trade flows.

Canadian sectors, (e.g., energy, mining, agri-food, information &computer technology, aerospace and education) can all be positioned to garner significant benefits from the growth in global trade flows from these rising economies.

We in the Atlantic Region possesses many of the necessary “raw ingredients” for success.

The Important Issues

Emerging economies and their rising middle classes will rely on the rest of the world for inputs to build their infrastructure, supply their factories, design and fuel their modes of transport, as well as feed, house and educate their children.

The GDP of emerging economies now accounts for nearly half of global GDP and is growing at more than double the rate of western economies. By 2025, 52%of global middle class consumption (approximately $22 trillion) will be derived from the middle class in Asia and almost half will come from China. In Indonesia alone, over 90 million people (2.5X population of Canada) will join the middle class.

The Important Issues

1-2%world

5-8%world

2012 2013 2014

Adv. Econ.

1.2 1.2 2.2

U.S. 2.2 1.9 3.0

Euro Area

-0.6 -0.3 1.1

Japan 2.0 1.6 1.4

U.K. 0.2 0.7 1.5

Canada 1.8 1.5 2.4

China 7.8 8.0 8.2

India 4.0 5.7 6.2

Brazil 0.9 3.0 4.0

Russia 3.4 3.4 3.8

Growth Prospects(IMF, April 2013)

Switzerland and Singapore are the most prosperous and competitive in the world and a key source of their competitiveness is not natural resources but based on success in international trade.

Critical success factors are:

– Conscious selection of “champion” industries and sectors.

– Broad coordination across public sector, private sector and academic institutions.

The Important Issues (continued)

4

BUT

Today, approximately 75% of all Atlantic Canada’s regional international exports are to the USA and are accounted for by fewer than 500 companies.

Even if the U.S. pulls out of its slow-growth rut, we can no longer afford to be so reliant on one market which faces such severe headwinds – and with so few internationally oriented companies.

Canadian capacity, such as energy, mining, agri-food, information and computer technology, aerospace, education and tourism can all be positioned to garner significant benefits from the growth in global trade flows from these rising economies.

The challenge is that other regions, often better organized and financed, see these same opportunities. They are creating strong linkages among their private and public sectors, and leveraging these linkages to make informed choices about where they can create global and national champions. They have a focused global trading strategy – and that is what we need now.

The Important Issues (continued)

What’s Needed

Atlantic Canada must have a clear, granular and region-wide global trade and investment strategy if we are to seize the

incredible opportunities in emerging markets.

Atlantic Canada must have a clear, granular and region-wide global trade and investment strategy if we are to seize the

incredible opportunities in emerging markets.

We urge a focus on strategic sectors where we believe we can create sustainable and globally competitive national champion industries and companies that will, in turn, provide a net benefit to Atlantic Canada’s economic prosperity.

– These would likely include defence and security, aerospace, information and communications technology, oceans technology, education and training, tourism and agri-food.

– A “Going Global” Steering Committee should be formed to ensure focus is maintained and goals are managed for this critical objective.

– Membership should be a cross- section of both private and senior public sector leaders who wield enough knowledge, access and influence to drive alignment and make binding commitments at the Atlantic Canada level.

Our “Big Ideas”

Each task force must be given the mandate to develop a detailed regional strategic plan for its industry sector including:

– Providing five year blueprints for building business processes, globally relevant competencies, strengthening competitiveness and expanding international trade flows in each sector.

– Recommending supporting activities in the areas of training (including immigration), applied academic research, government processes, and innovation and productivity.

– Tracking our international trade performance against a peer group of countries using key measures, such as export growth, trade penetration and share of exports to emerging markets.

Our “Big Ideas” (continued)

We need a focus on making Atlantic Canadian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) more export ready. Growth-oriented SMEs are the key to job growth and wealth creation in every region and country. To grow, SMEs need to trade, and they need the skills to compete in global markets.

– Private sector, in partnership with governments across Atlantic Canada, and federal agencies and organizations, should develop a series of “reverse trade missions”, focusing on the most promising global opportunities.

– A reverse trade mission is a new format where we bring global firms to us, rather than travelling to them.

– This transforms what we are currently doing to build export capacity into bigger, integrated and high-impact events focused on emerging markets. Reverse trade missions can engage literally thousands of our local firms, particularly Atlantic SMEs, at much lower cost and higher impact.

Our “Big Ideas” (continued)

The big ideas outlined are appropriately ambitious, hopefully exciting, but they are not “blue-sky impossible” – far from it.

They will flow from the collective product of thousands of personal actions taken by committed, passionate individuals like us who want Atlantic Canada to succeed in the changing and challenging world arena.

On the following slide is a list of some things you can do, as a business leader in our region, to help create a better Atlantic Canada.

What You Can Do

Learn more about BRICS countries.

Organize or attend a “reverse trade mission” where key foreign companies come to Atlantic Canada.

Do a strategic competitive assessment of your own company: Consider going global: do a strategic competitive assessment of your own company. Is it ready to compete globally? How can your company benefit from:

– Rapid economic expansion in emerging economies?

– Greater regional focus on champion industry sectors?

– The $150 billion in major capital project investment in Atlantic Canada over the next 20 years?

Mentor a new immigrant to Atlantic Canada.

Volunteer to participate on a regional sector task force to develop regional economic and export strategies.

What You Can Do

Thank you for your help with this important

initiative