Why Canada?

From the time it takes to start a new company to tariff-free manufacturing to some of the lowest cost structures in the G7, Canada’s large cities are magnets for expanding international companies.

Economic fundamentals

The compelling list of reasons to consider Canada’s large cities starts with the country’s stellar economic fundamentals, such as:

• Rated the world’s soundest banking system for the fourth straight year by the World Economic Forum, also by Global Competitiveness Report 2011-12 and Global Finance Magazine, Oct 2011
• Fastest economic growth among G7 countries expected for 2012, according to the IMF
• Highest proportion of post-secondary graduates in the OECD
• Is among the lowest in the G7 for debt-to-GDP ratio
• Lowest taxes on new business investment in the G7
• One of the most favourable tax treatments for R&D among the G7, with up to a 12.9 point advantage over the U.S.
• High quality of life featuring public healthcare
• A commitment to the rule of law and a strong justice system

Soundness of Banks World RankStanding among 142 countries. Ranking based on the degree of soundness of financial institutions. Source: Global Competitiveness Report 2011-2012

On average, it takes only one government procedure to register a company in Canada, and the entire process, often done online, takes about five days.

At a time when many countries are raising corporate income taxes, Canada’s corporate taxes are decreasing across a broad range of categories. Employers in Canada’s large cities enjoy the lowest payroll taxes among their counterparts in G7 countries, and in 2012 Canada’s combined federal-provincial statutory general corporate income tax rate averages 26% — 13 points less than the U.S. rate. Canada’s overall tax rate on new business investment is substantially lower than all G-7 countries.

National free trade zone

As part of the campaign to reduce the tax burden on businesses, the Government of Canada announced a major new initiative that sees tariffs on all manufacturing inputs reduced to zero by 2015. Canada’s large cities can be considered within a national Free Trade Zone that stretches from the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans. As you consider which of Canada’s large cities is right for your business, you have the advantage of duty-free treatment. With Canada’s 50% per year straight-line depreciation method for manufacturing or processing equipment, you can significantly enhance profitability on new Canadian operations.

Canada’s enlightened approach to new business start-ups shows up well in business cost comparisons with other countries – with Canada enjoying an overall 5% cost advantage vs. the United States. The cost of prime office space in Canada is among the most competitively priced in the world.

With so many incentives for entrepreneurship, it’s no wonder that Canada enjoys one of the world’s highest numbers of entrepreneurs as a percentage of its working population — 12% compared to 9.8% in the U.S.

Interactive Google Map of Consider Canada City Alliance Cities

Click on the maple leaf icon to view economic development agency information. Click here for a larger map view if required. 

Most of Canada’s population of 34.7 million people live within 200 kilometres of the United States. In fact, the inhabitants of the country’s three biggest cities — Toronto, Montréal and Vancouver — can drive to the U.S. border in two hours or less.

Multi-cultural with a global mind-set

While being close to the U.S., the inhabitants of Canada’s large cities including Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton, Québec City, Winnipeg, the Waterloo Region, Halifax, and Saskatoon are more culturally diverse and multi-lingual. One in every five Canadians has a mother tongue other than English or French, and both Asian and European languages are spoken extensively.

This diversity extends to geographic trading links. Recent multibillion-dollar investments in port, rail, road and air transportation infrastructure have attracted major third-party distribution and logistics companies establishing operations in Canada’s large cities. This, combined with the national initiative to eliminate tariffs on all manufacturing inputs, means that international companies wanting to undertake value-added manufacturing can enjoy zero tariffs and excellent supply chain efficiencies from their Canadian operations.

For companies in the services sector, value chains are increasingly global in nature, and Canada’s large cities share time zones with North and Latin America. Your Canadian operations will be highly integrated with those located throughout the western hemisphere.