Case Study #1: Canada in the Global Business Environment
Canada: A trading nation?
You are preparing for a top-level meeting between the Minister of International Trade, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and senior business executives representing several multinational corporations as well as a large group of small- and medium-size enterprises. The objective of the meeting is to discuss Canada’s strategy in responding to the changing global business environment. Expectations are high since everyone wishes to move beyond political pronouncements and joint statements, to specific strategies and actions. The Trade Canada Summit is raising expectations and all are committed to motivating a call to action across major stakeholders engaged in international commerce.
While Canadians like to refer to the country as a “trading nation”—partly because of history and partly because of the large impact of trade on the Canadian economy today, leading practitioners and senior officials recognize several truths:
• Canadian trade is highly concentrated in import/export activities with the United States
• Certain industry sectors such as automotive and resource-based businesses account for a disproportionately large amount of Canada’s trade
• Intra-company trade—transfers of resources between affiliated companies—is an important part of Canada’s “export” business

The hard reality being confronted, and one which serves as a critical backdrop for this meeting, is the realization that by current standards, Canada does NOT qualify to be referred to as a trading nation. One point of agreement between all parties is that Canada CAN and MUST do better.
Your role
You are a senior consultant engaged jointly by the Government and the private sector stakeholders, to guide and facilitate the meeting and to assist in any agreed follow-on actions. Your success will be measured by