Media Release

Collaboration is the New Competitive Advantage: Canada's Large C-11 Cities Launch New Unified Brand and Bilingual Websites

ConsiderCanada.com and CanadaEnTete.com promote Canada’s strong global position for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and trade

January 18, 2011: Ottawa, ON – So far in 2011, two prominent American media outlets are buzzing about Canada’s investment potential. This month both the Wall Street Journal and The Washington Times have lauded Canada’s business appeal citing a wide variety of economic metrics, and Canada’s large “C-11” cities are indeed open for business. Today the C-11 coalition of Canada’s large cities is launching ConsiderCanada.com and CanadaEnTete.com, two new Web sites that provide comprehensive information for global companies considering expansion into North America.

Canada’s large cities have a lot of good economic news to share with companies considering expanding in or moving to the country. Canada’s federal corporate income tax rate will fall from 18% in 2010 to 15% by 2012 — less than half of the top U.S. federal marginal corporate income tax rate, and the lowest in the G7. As the Wall Street Journal noted, relative levels of taxation matter because companies and investors send capital where it can achieve the highest returns.

The Washington Times reported that, “It may not be long before Americans see our northern neighbor as the land of the future.” According to the World Economic Forum, Canada has benefited from the soundest banking system in the world for the last three years running. For the eighth consecutive time, KPMG’s Competitive Alternatives study finds Canada leading the G7 with the lowest business costs. The C.D. Howe Institute, which studies social and economic policy, also stated that Canada’s international reputation as a destination for capital and investment is better than it has been for a generation.

Spear-headed by the Ottawa Centre for Research and Innovation (OCRI), Ottawa’s lead economic development agency, ConsiderCanada.com and CanadaEnTete.com usher in a new era of cooperation by Canada’s large cities. “Collaboration is the new competitive advantage. Banding together to share knowledge, build consensus on Canada’s selling points and getting out a consistent message around the world allows the C-11 to achieve more together than working in isolation,” says John Jung, CEO of Canada’s Technology Triangle Inc. in Waterloo Region, a C-11 partner. Jung is also co-founder of the Intelligent Community Forum.

“I see the C-11’s unified promotion efforts as an innovative step in the right direction,” says Glen Hodgson, the Conference Board of Canada’s Senior Vice-President and Chief Economist, who is attending working meetings with the C-11 in Ottawa this week. “Relative to many G-7 countries and in particular the U.S., Canadian governments as a whole are in a much better fiscal position, and our large cities can and should capitalize on this competitive advantage.”

“Economic development professionals from Toronto, Montréal, Vancouver, Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax, Québec City, Winnipeg, the Waterloo Region, and Saskatoon work together every day to guide international companies to the Canadian city or cities that offer the most strategic fit,” says Michael Darch, Executive Director of OCRI’s Ottawa Global Marketing team. “ConsiderCanada.com and CanadaEnTete.com are the latest tools at our disposal to bring new opportunities home.” –

The ConsiderCanada.com and CanadaEnTete.com Web sites include foreign direct investment success stories, promotional videos, digital brochures and PowerPoint presentations.

Economic development agencies participating in the C-11 include the Greater Halifax Partnership, Québec International, Montréal International, OCRI (Ottawa Centre for Research and Innovation), City of Toronto, Canada’s Technology Triangle Inc. (Waterloo Region), Economic Development Winnipeg Inc., Saskatoon Regional Economic Development Authority, Edmonton Economic Development Corp., Calgary Economic Development, and the Vancouver Economic Development Commission.

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C-11 Contacts:

Jill McCubbin
Conversation Architect
market2world communications inc.
Office: 613-256-3939
Email Contact

Michael Darch
Executive Director, Global Marketing
OCRI (Ottawa)
Email Contact
613-828-2318 ext 271

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